I don’t think comedy is that difficult: Harsh Chhaya

Catch Harsh Chhaya unaware, he comes across as an extremely intense person, sometimes an almost menacing tone greets you on the telephone. And the actor has no qualms absolutely agreeing, “Rub me the wrong way and I can be not a very nice person to be with.”

But that does not stop him from showing his hilarious side in his new play Bakul Na Baar Vaagi Gaya, where he plays the character of Bakul Bhaat who feels the heavens have taken a dislike to him or rather his name. The life of Harsh’s character on stage starts going very wrong when his new neighbour, also with the same name, moves in next door. Not only does he have to deal with a divorce, but also escape a Rs 4 crore debt and a sudden death.

Harsh, who has earlier been seen in serious roles on the stage (Javed Siddiqui’s Kacche Lamhe), does comedy come naturally to him or is it quite an effort? He is quick to point out, “It is difficult to say. After all I am just an actor. It is an out-and-out comedy, so it is a lot of fun.

I don’t really think comedy is that difficult for me and I have a good team to help me in unchartered territories.”

Harsh admits that while he has always tried to maintain a steady connection with theatre, it was his commitment towards television that kept him from exploring different roles on the stage. He says,
“There has been too much commitment for my projects on TV. And Gujarati theatre takes as much time. At this juncture, I realised it was possible, so I took it up.”

His crew having recently worked with actor Sachin Khedeker in Kanjee Virrudh Kanjee (a serious play), how did he gear up for his comic role? Harsh admits that he in fact watched a lot of plays on the Gujarati stage that gave him a better understanding of what the audience really wants. He explains, “In Gujarati theatre, people don’t really want to spend money and not have a good time.

Hence, comedy always works. Watching plays on the stage was a part of the exercise before staring rehearsals for Bakul Na Baar Vaagi Gaya.”