Fun, wit, humour... all in one reading!

What comes to your mind when you hear MTV! Cyrus Broacha? Fun, wit and humour… isn’t it! Well most of you will agree to this, as he’s the most wanted host of Indian television’s first reality show – MTV Bakra. Although very few people know that this witty, humorous and impulsive character is equally a good writer too. Yes, you read it right! Meet Cyrus Broacha, the writer, in an interesting conversation with Smita Dwivedi. A stand-up comedian and prankster, Cyrus as an MTV VJ became a household name with his reality shows. His tryst with acting started at a tender age of 12 when he shared the screen with Pankaj Parashar and Naseeruddin Shah in the Bollywood flick – Jalwa. His first professional performance was for the play ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, under the baton of Pearl Padamsee.

Besides regular appearances on small screen and Bollywood flicks, Cyrus has also entertained viewers with his unique dancing style on Sony Entertainment Television’s hit show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Having interviewed almost everyone in the Hindi film industry, Cyrus has been the International Ambassador for AIDS Awareness and has also moderated The Youth Conferences with UNAIDS in Hanover. Currently, he is entertaining us with a news satire show, The Week That Wasn’t on CNN-IBN, co-written and directed by friend Kunal Vijayakar.

As a school boy, Cyrus always wanted to be a writer. He always promised this to his primary teacher, whenever he was asked, “What you would become when you grow old?” For those who still don’t know, Cyrus Broacha has been writing since 1997. And it’s a natural progression for him to be a humor & satire writer, I guess. His first book Karl, Aaj aur Kal was a testimony to my thought. A semi-autobiographical comedy about celebrities, Bollywood and politics, Karl, Aaj aur Kal traces the lives of two young best friends, Karl and Kunal, giving a humorous, tongue-in-cheek and witty account of how they make it big in tinsel town.

The jumpstart…

So how and when did it all begin, and Cyrus shared, “When I was with MTV in the first year, somebody from Mid Day approached me to write. They used to give me brief, which obviously I never followed. But they were really nice and allowed my pieces of writings to publish. Subsequently, I started writing for many dailies, weeklies and magazines. I always wanted my writing to be open…otherwise it would look like school composition.”

Commercial break…

On asking when did he decide to pen down a book, he disclosed, “One day a lady from Random House approached me to write a book. I thought it to be a joke. Eventually, I agreed but never took it seriously till she came up with a copy of the contract. I was shocked to see the mammoth piece of writing, which I was supposed to read. I just flipped through it, thought a while and started writing.” But even after signing the contract with Random House, Cyrus was finding it difficult to be a professional writer, “It was much easier for me to write a column but writing a book was really tough…just compare 800 words to 60,000 words..., it was scary.”

The roadblocks…

If the urge to write a book was so strong, then it must be a wonderful experience to be a professional writer, to which Cyrus replied, “It was not that wonderful as I thought it to be. I had to be disciplined…alter my routine…be a regular in writing…and most importantly – stay away from distractions. To have all the conditions set at the same given time was quite difficult for me. For the first time I was very much concerned about people’s opinion. Now, every time I write, there is some pressure somewhere.”

Cultural interests …

So what does he likes to read, and he told, “Right now, I am reading - the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) – a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi, and the national epic of Iran and related societies. Consisting of some 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh mainly describes the mythical and to some extent the historical past of (Greater) Iran, from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.”

What’s new…

As of now, Cyrus has come up with the most riveting piece of writing – his just released book – The Average Indian Male. It’s a hilarious and must read for all women and men. The book takes you on a laughing riot like never before with India’s best known funny man, who’s back as an agony aunt and master critic, set out to deconstruct a subject we’re all familiar with – the average Indian male. The mama’s boy, the itchy man, the man who holds hands with another man, Cyrus tackles these and many other quirks and shortcomings of Indian men with his inimitable style and unfailing logic.