Sunil Grover Unplugged in Dubai

The Indian comedian and Bollywood actor who is coming to Dubai to present his show, Sunil Grover Unplugged, talks about what brings out the best in him and how his observations of life reflect in his characters

Sunil Grover is a comedian who wears many masks. Each and every character Grover has played so far including Dr. Mashoor Gulati, the hilarious Gutthi and Rinku Bhabhi and Surya Prakash has won him legions of fans. However, this time around, when he steps onto the stage in Dubai on March 29, he promises to present an interesting new act that will have the audience in splits.
Grover will be presenting an 'unplugged' side wherein he will show how he creates his various characters. He will also do impersonations of Bollywood stars while engaging the audience with a number of new gags.
Taking place at Shaikh Rashid Auditorium in Indian High School,  Sunil Grover Unplugged is a Colors Live Event.
"All of my gigs are a reflection of things we experience in our daily lives," said Grover,  who is known for his witty observational comedy and impeccable timing.
"Gutthi and Rinku Bhabhi are not completely fictional characters. We often come across such types of women in our lives. I have seen them and I am sure you too have seen them and it gives me immense joy to present these beloved characters in Dubai. I am looking forward to hear the audience laugh out loud with an extreme dose of humour that's in store for them," said the comedian, who recently shot for his latest movie Bharat in Abu Dhabi.
Grover spoke to City Times about plans for his Dubai show and his take on comedy. Excerpts from the interview:

What have you lined up for your Dubai show this time?
I am looking forward to show the unplugged side to the Dubai audience, emphasising on how we create characters, apart from performing popular characters that I do on television along with some other elements, while also doing impersonations of some Bollywood actors. The audience can also expect some new gags and jokes.

What does it take to be a stand-up artiste?
You need to be able to stand for an hour at least. Physical strength is a must whereas you also need to observe people and have an inclination towards comedy or whatever generates humour. You need to know how to laugh at yourself, and making people laugh should bring you happiness. That's what it takes to be a stand-up artiste.

Where do you draw the inspiration for your characters?
Life in general. I love people. Knowing about them and observing them makes you want to replicate or make caricatures of them. And if you are doing so, you have to replicate the emotions of the people you want to represent or do a caricature of. Sometimes, you have to add an artistic touch to the characters, making them real-life characters and not fictional. Hence, the people, surroundings and the urge to laugh and make people laugh, inspires me.

Movies, TV or stage - which medium brings out the best in you?
Stage is an instant medium whether people like it or not. Television relatively takes a week to telecast after an act is performed, while a film takes even longer, but all the mediums have their own good points and I love all of them. Television has been great and extremely kind to me. Right now, I am also exploring films and I am enjoying that too, but stage is something that makes me happy because you instantly know whether your act is working or not. Moreover, you get to meet people that actually watch you on television and in films when you are performing in front of them. I thank God for giving me an opportunity to perform in/on all three mediums. Radio, as a medium has also been good fun. I have been part of it and have loved that too. As a performer, wherever you get an opportunity to perform, especially with a nice set of people, that medium becomes fun, automatically.

With the digital medium making inroads into the entertainment industry at a very fast pace, do you think this is the end for stage shows?
It's all about evolution and changing with time, but I don't think that stage shows are ever going to end because stage shows have the kind of energy that you don't feel elsewhere. Before radio, television and films, there were only stage shows. When you watch an act on stage, you get to feel and see the person in front of you and that brings you a different connection, making the performance all the more enjoyable. In fact, stage shows are actually going to increase because of the growing number of artists and mediums.

Does audience engagement matter to you? What do you do when you cannot connect to them?
I'm lucky that most times I connect to the audience. I like to interact and engage with the audience in various forms, but sometimes yes, if there is a difficulty in building the connection, I use a couple of tools for which I have become pretty much upfront.

Tells us about your most famous goof up on stage?
The best part about doing comedy is that even if you goof up on stage, people think that it's part of the act, but I usually declare my goof ups. I recollect during a college play, mistakenly, I said the last dialogue of the play after my third dialogue. I was unrehearsed, I soon realised it and covered up for the mistake.

You recently shot for the Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer Bharat in the UAE. Tell us a bit more about that.
My whole energy is centered on Bharat and after the release, I have planned to talk to a few filmmakers to listen to various scripts, and hopefully sometime soon, I will be announcing the final plans. Yes, I have finished the shooting schedule of Bharat in Abu Dhabi, and I'm now looking forward to performing for the Dubai audience as they have always been wonderful. I always get a lot of love from them!
Show details:
Date:  Friday, March 29
Time: 9pm onwards
Venue: Sheikh Rashid Auditorium, The Indian High School, Dubai
Tickets:  Dhs400 (VVIP), Dhs300 (VIP), Dhs200 (Gold), Dhs100 (Silver), Dhs65 (Bronze) available at Meraticket.com
michael@khaleejtimes.com