Talking point with Suresh Menon

Tell us a bit about this new show, Lifebuoy Hello Kaun? Pehchaan Kaun! On this new show, we8217;re trying to find the best copycat in the country.

Tell us a bit about this new show, Lifebuoy Hello Kaun? Pehchaan Kaun!
On this new show, we8217;re trying to find the best copycat in the country. These are people who8217;ll mimic your favourite Bollywood stars, cricketers and politicians. I8217;m one of the judges on the show.

The other judge on the show is Chunky Pandey. What8217;s your equation with him?
Chunky and I share a great relationship. He8217;s the kind of guy who pokes fun at himself and I8217;m like that too. So we got along very well. We had a wonderful time bitching and passing nasty comments. This is the second time I8217;m working with Chunky. We just finished work on a movie called Khalballi, which will release in January.

Who is your all-time favourite mimic?
It would have to be Johnny Lever. That man is so funny. He has entertained so many moviegoers and has done it to perfection. Nobody can beat him, in my opinion. My second favourite mimic is me.

Of all the disguises you8217;ve donned, which is your favourite?
Sachin Tendulkar. I love that man. He8217;s without doubt my favourite subject. I especially love the way he speaks. And he8217;s a fantastic batsman, so of course, I love to watch him play. And both our moms worked in the LIC office in Santa Cruz ; she would come home excitedly and tell me stories about him. I guess that forms a bond. Also, I guess I love him so much, because in a lot of ways, he reminds me of myself. Not for the cricket skills, but because we8217;re both tenacious people.

Tenacity must8217;ve come handy during your early struggling days in the industry.
Definitely. It would8217;ve been easy for me to throw in the towel and go back to what I was doing before. But I didn8217;t. I hung on because I knew this is what I want to do. And really, since I8217;ve joined the industry, I8217;ve thoroughly enjoyed myself. I love being on the sets 8212; everything about it is wonderful. That8217;s why I say that I identify with Tendulkar. He went through a bad patch too, but he hung on. And you just have to watch him play to know how much he enjoys doing what he is doing.

Have you always been a good mimic?
Actually, I8217;ve been able to mimic people since childhood. I used to imitate birds and animals and all the uncles and aunties in our society; and in school and college, I would imitate all my teachers. But I don8217;t think I considered making this a serious profession until much later. You know how it is when people ask you what you do. You say you8217;re an actor and then they8217;ll ask 8216;No, what do you really do?8217;