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Rediff.com  » Movies » Shekhar Suman is back with Movers and Shakers!
This article was first published 12 years ago

Shekhar Suman is back with Movers and Shakers!

Last updated on: March 1, 2012 13:12 IST

Image: Shekhar Suman
Rajul Hegde in Mumbai

Shekar Suman's iconic chat-cum-standup comedy show Movers and Shakers is making a comeback after a decade, on Sab TV.

Suman first appeared in the show in 1997 when it was on Sony Entertainment Television. It ran for four years, till January 2001. The new show will air from March 12, Monday to Friday, at 10:30 pm.

With Anna Hazare likely to be the first guest on the show, Shekhar Suman is excited about his second innings as a talk show host. He gives the details to Rajul Hegde.

How does it feel to be back presenting Movers and Shakers?

I have grown with the show, found my identity and stardom there. I was lucky to be there at the right time and now I am excited to be back.

It feels like a homecoming. It's a cult show and a great platform to reconnect with the people as well as be the common man's voice. It was loved in India and all across the globe.

'Comparisons will be very exciting'

Image: Shekhar Suman with son Adhyayan

What is new this season?

This time it will be incisive, irreverent, endearing and entertaining, all at the same time.

We have a bigger set with new elements but the basics will remain the same, like the band, guests, coffee and the table.

We have made some changes in the format with more celebs and even clips from old episodes to see how the celebs and I have changed over the years. Comparisons will be very exciting and I am looking forward to it.

So who's on your guest list?

We will have people from the earlier season plus new celebs.

We plan to get Anna Hazare for the first episode. He represents the common man and he is a righteous person.

'We're not assuming that it will be a runaway hit'

Image: Shekhar Suman with Navjot Singh Sidhu on Laughter Challenge

Any guests you want to bring back from the earlier season?

I want most of them. When I saw Boman Irani, I remembered nothing of the way Boman looked then. He was young and thin. He had come on the show as a photographer; he was just going to be an actor then.

It would be exciting to get Boman now and show him the clip and talk about the whole thing.

Are you anxious about whether you can create the same magic today?

There is always anxiety and butterflies in your stomach when it comes to the next season. Would it be as exciting as the previous one?

The trick is to tweak it and think about ways and means to make it more exciting. You can't take the show for granted because it has worked the previous season. You have to make it interesting, with new elements for the new generation who are not aware about the show, and also for the people who have not watched it during the last season.

We are working very hard, not assuming that it will be a runaway hit, hoping that the desired result will come.

Movers and Shakers was a path breaking show and to expect that kind of TRP is probably difficult, but, who knows, if you are honest with your craft and work hard.

'I'd like to see Dekh Bhai Dekh turn into a film'

Image: A scene from Dekh Bhai Dekh

Why did you take so long to come back with the second season?

It didn't happen for so many years due to some reasons. The show was always admired by audiences and now seems the right time to bring it back.

Would you like to do any other show of yours again?

Dekh Bhai Dekh. A whole generation has grown up with it.

When they posted the question on Facebook, 'Shekhar, ab dobara karega to what would it be', half said Movers and Shakers and the rest, Dekh Bhai Dekh.

Anand Mahendru was toying with the idea of making it into a film, but he was a bit under the weather and had a heart problem.

I would like to see Dekh Bhai Dekh turn into a film or come back in a second season. It would be very exciting.

'I have been busy with my film script'

Image: Shekhar Suman with wife Alka
Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar

Of late you've hardly been seen on TV.

I have been on television for the last 19 years, right from Dekh Bhai Dekh, Reporter and many other shows.

I took a break in the last few months because judging curtails your creativity. Also, in the last few weeks I have been busy with my film script.

Now the actor in me wants to do a lot more. So I want to act in films, TV or theatre.

How are you managing both TV and your directorial debut?

That's a big question. I have to because I have invested time and money in it. And also a role for Adhyayan Suman (his son), who is looking forward to it.

It's the first medical thriller made in this country. It's about a terminally ill young patient who gets involved in a conspiracy and how his life changes.

Watch Movers and Shakers here!