In a Celebpreneurs Podcast with The Free Press Journal, Shekhar Suman talks about his new chat show, interviewing personalities like Bal Thackeray, Parveen Babi, his acting institute and more

In 1997, India got a taste of its own desi late-night talk show in the form of Movers And Shakers, hosted by Shekhar Suman. The show format included interviews with celebrity guests, comedy routines, and performances — and Suman’s impersonation of various personalities, the most famous of which was that of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Suman, who debuted with Utsav, which starred Rekha, was more successful in the TV space, the most memorable one being the comedy show Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993-94). He continued with the talk show format with Simply Shekhar and Carry On Shekhar, and was also one of the judges on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (2005), along with Navjot Singh Sidhu, which he later left. Now, after a gap of 14 years, he’s back to the late-night show format with Shekhar Tonite, which debuted on YouTube on May 15, with his first guest being Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

That’s not all, though. He’s also launched the Shekhar Suman Film Academy, a new-age institute built for actors and storytellers of today, with an intensive three-month acting programme designed and conducted by Shekhar Suman, complemented by masterclasses with actors, casting directors, and filmmakers. The curriculum focuses on voice, speech, emotional access, body awareness, camera readiness, and character building.

“Movers And Shakers was not a comedy show. That’s what I’ve been trying to explain to the whole of India, that it was a late-night, laid-back talk show. It was basically conversation, on which I made socio-political satirical comments. So there was no emphasis on trying to make you laugh. I mean, that was purely coincidental. But the idea was to awaken people in a lighter vein. And so we used the craft of satire because then it's easily understandable. Politics is a very dull, pedantic subject, so just to make it lighter, we would use satire to talk about the ills of the system. Also, there was a touch of irreverence. With the guests, especially politicians, we would ask slightly uncomfortable questions, but there was no intention to degrade or run them down. It was in a manner which was both likeable and even tolerable. But I left it at a point because, as an actor, I could not have just sat in the chair and been a host,” Shekhar explained to us.

Being more successful on TV than in movies