Tickle me dark grey

“I think there is something about the way I look,like a happy round fellow who always has a joke lined up somewhere down his sleeve,” he says cheekily. In town for the promotion of his latest film Raat Gayi Baat Gayiand to cheer on participants of the Pune Marathon,Shukla feels funny is his middle name. “I’d probably dry out had it not been for the humour that keeps me upbeat every day,” he says.

The movie basically deals with the intricacies of lives of modern day couples and the value systems they possess. “It’s not difficult for any individual to be tempted and that is what the movie speaks of. It’s primarily a one-night stand situation in the movie,which eventually has some interesting comic twists involving three couples,” he adds.

While Rajat Kapoor and Neha Dhupia play the lead characters in the film,the movie also features Vinay Pathak,a cameo by Ranvir Shourie and actresses Anu Menon and Iravati Harshe. On casting Dhupia in the film,Shukla says,“Both Rajat and I interacted with Neha for the first time on the sets of Mithya. And while to most she just portrayed the image of yet another glam actress,to me,she came across as a nice warm person who could surprisingly act very well. That is why while making this film,we chose to cast her.”

Shukla also feels that given different types of situations,both men and women handle things differently and that these are situations which give rise to many humourous interludes in our otherwise mundane lives. “It is exactly what the film is about. The three couples think that they know each other well,when during a party they all are attending; the truths about them unravel,much to their shock,and the amusement of onlookers,” he says. So what does he have to say about films that are tentatively described as multiplex films? “Nothing really. I mean everyone is entitled to an opinion. I believe all movies are commercial as long as they make money for those involved. My personal favourite brand of humour involves comedy that is not black. I hate serious overtones in my movies. My movies have a dark-greyish humourous undertone to them. It helps bring a smile on the faces of the audiences and a little bit of gyaannever hurts anyone,” he says before signing off in his trademark cheeky style.