Rajat Sood recently emerged as the winner of India’s Laughter Champion which was judged by Archana Puran Singh and Shekhar Suman. He took the trophy home after beating Nitesh Shetty, Jayvijay Sachan, Vighnesh Pande, and Himanshu Bawandar in the finale. After winning the first season of the show, Rajat talked to News18 Showsha about his future plans and revealed how he would love to be a part of The Kapil Sharma Show if he gets a chance.
Rajat also talked about how comedy is not considered a profession by many in Indian society. When asked about Munawar Faruqui’s shows getting cancelled in various cities, Rajat mentioned that it is his (Munawar’s) artistic choice to decide on the topics he wants to talk about.
Did you expect that you’ll be the winner of India’s Laughter Champion?
From the first day of my shoot, I had this vision that I want to take home that trophy. When you are doing something, you aim for the best. I am a very over-positive guy. I always had this thing in mind that I am here so I’ll have to take that trophy. Honestly, I also knew that the competition was very tough. A lot of good talent existed. Other contestants were performing so good. They have been performing for years. But I function on my belief and I always believed that since I am here, I want to make an impact.
What are your future plans?
I have a lot of plans. I am like a kid who loves all toys. I write ghazals, and songs. I want my songs to be released now. It would be great if that happens.
Do you want to be a songwriter next?
This is one of the plans. My major agenda is to perform comedy shows. I am also interested in hosting. I have been hosting a lot of shows in Delhi – book launches or other promotional shows.
Have you received offers from any television show for hosting?
Not for now but I am open to it. I am also interested in acting therefore I am open to those opportunities too. Since I write Ghazals, I can publish a book someday. There are so many things. I am planning, I will figure it out slowly.
Do you want to stick to stand-up comedy or will you be willing to have a show like The Kapil Sharma Show?
I think that (TKSS) is also comedy therefore whatever I get, if it is humour oriented, I will be open for it. That’s one stage all of us have been watching. If I get a chance, I would love to be a part of it.
Have you been contacted by Kapil Sharma or his team?
As of now, no. Soon I am planning my India tour. I will be travelling to different cities and doing my solo shows. That’s also a part of the plan.
Unfortunately, comedy is still not considered a full-time profession by many. Did you face hindrances in this regard when you decided to become a comedian?
Yes yes (it happened) but I also think that it is nobody’s fault. That’s how society functions. Especially in India, only doctors and engineering are considered professions. Whatever you do other than this, they are like ‘What’s this?’ They have so far not accepted fashion designing as a profession, forget about comedy. This is what society thinks. I think it’s our responsibility to prove to them that it is a profession too and this is how it functions. I think I have been able to do it. I ensure that people around me are aware of comedy and know how the art form functions so if somebody else takes comedy as a profession around them, they know what it is.
Were you ever told not to take comedy as a profession?
When I was doing engineering, I told my professors that I do not like it and that I want to do comedy. They told me, ‘Comedy toh Saturday-Sunday ko hoti hai. Study for rest of the five days.’ This is the Indian mindset, ‘Follow passion on weekends and work for the rest of five days’.
Why did you do engineering first?
When I stepped into engineering, in the first year itself I started performing on stage. By the second year, I decided what I want to do this in my life.
People often take offense at petty things these days. As a comedian do you fear that someday, somebody might interpret your joke wrong? Do you feel a sense of responsibility?
You are right, there is a sense of responsibility in every artist. We all have our own audiences, we know what they are emotional or sensitive about. I think this isn’t new. Every society has had certain restrictions towards art. This is not a 21st century problem. Earlier there were different issues and now we have different issues. I think it is my responsibility to understand what my audience thinks. I need to present my thoughts in a way that they do not get offended. As an artist, I am also trying to learn how to say things without offending others.
In this regard, do you follow some guidelines or censor yourself?
Not for now because I generally work around romance. I am majorly working around that. I have not found anyone who told that that they are against love and I hope this does not happen.
Munawar Faruqui is also a stand-up comedian. Lately, a lot of his shows are getting cancelled. What’s your response in this regard? Do you think he is going wrong somewhere?
This is an artistic choice. We all know which domain we want to talk about and it comes from our background. My background is very different and so I cannot comment without knowing who is coming from which background. It is his artistic choice to decide on topics he wants to talk about and he is doing it.
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