Shekhar Suman He has expressed disappointment with the current state of stand-up comedy, with many modern comedies depending on bad language and crude humor instead of solid writing. After judging popular comedy reality shows like ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ and ‘Comedy Circus’, Shekhar feels how comedy has evolved over the years and the quality has declined.the actor said that today’s comedy feels less organic compared to the early days. “Now it’s forced; it used to be simple. The comedians were good too, and they had new thinking. Comedy has gone to vulgarity now. It’s ugly. There are double meanings, double standards now. This change came because people stopped thinking. Until you don’t think, read or create anything new, you will only end up stealing jokes here and there, presenting it in a different way,” he reflected in an interview with Bollywood Bubble. Shekhar also criticized the rise of profanity-laden content online and said that many creators wrongly assume that abusive language automatically makes comedy entertaining. “If you go to YouTube for comedy, it’s full of abuse; you can’t even listen to it. Some people think abusive language is cool and the audience enjoys it, which is wrong. Earlier, there were also TV serials that were funny, like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, which had great writing and scripts. But now, the whole thinking and vision is gone. Comedians just aim to make people laugh with a bunch of jokes and gags here and there, it’s an easy way out.’Asked if there are any young comedians he admires today, Shekhar avoided naming people and instead noted that today’s audience accepts all kinds of performers. “Look, both bad and good people have an audience today. I wouldn’t like to talk to anyone specifically. The people who are watching have received love from the audience, and the people who aren’t watching, the audience might not like.”The actor also reminisced about the first season of ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in 2005, where late comedian Raju Srivastava was the second runner-up, and Sunil Pal he won the competition. According to Shekhar, despite not winning the title, Raju remained well-loved and remembered by the audience over the years.Recalling his conversation with Raju before the start of the show, Shekhar said, “When the show was about to start, Raju Srivastav was a great comic actor. He came to my house and asked if he should do the Laughter Challenge after getting the offer. What if I come second? I said, ‘So what?’ But, he was hesitant because Raju feels that he is a senior in the industry and has a name, and he will feel insulted if he doesn’t win, but I advised him to participate and he did.“
