She made us laugh as the adorable nurse Lottery and now Rochelle Rao is back on The Kapil Sharma Show which premiers tonight on Sony TV. The model, beauty queen and anchor can’t contain her excitement when asked about her part in the show. Although she cannot reveal much about her character, she says it is definitely going to be different from what she has played so far. “I will be portraying different avatars and characters this time around with a whole new level of madness,” she says.
Rochelle, who is married to model, actor and VJ Keith Sequeira, has been associated with fashion and anchoring since the 6th season of the Indian Premier League. She was also one of the contestants on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa season 6 and Bigg Boss 9. When asked what made her opt for comedy, she says, “For me, comedy is something that makes you happy. I am quite clumsy and keep tripping over things. I love to laugh at myself and have lots of fun — it is a huge part of my personality which people don’t know. So, when the offer for such a great show where I could explore the goofy side of my personality came my way, I happily accepted it. I thought I should not let it go.”
Talking about her experience of being a part of The Kapil Sharma Show which is full of madness, Rochelle says that her experience of shooting with the team has always been good. “The good thing about comedy is that you always end up having a great time. Both behind and in front of the cameras, when we are going through our lines, there’s laughter and spontaneity. It is a family-like environment where we are trying to help each other. Unlike fiction, where you are kind of responsible for your own character, here, all of us are like a big gang enjoying it all,” she quips.
So what’s new on the show this time? Rochelle says that Kapil has a particular style and that’s not going to change. “We love him for his style. And that’s not going to change — he is the same old Kapil and as entertaining as always. But having said that, we will definitely bring a new element to the show this time. The show changes, grows and the characters keep evolving. We are going to have the old bunch but also a few new faces. It is going to be a good mix of the old and the new,” she explains.
According to Rochelle, former cricketer and politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is also an integral part of the show, is ‘like the entertaining uncle of the group.’ “Sidhu paaji is great. He always shares his words of wisdom with us and has constructive criticism for everybody. He has great stories to share from his travel and real-life experiences,” she adds.
Despite an increasing number of female comedians in our country, people still think that women aren’t funny enough. Sharing her views on this, Rochelle says that it is time people got used to seeing women do comedy. “If you be patient and listen to them carefully, I think it hardly takes 5 minutes to find out if the girl is funny or not. The girls on the show — Sumona and Sugandha and other female comics that we have in our country, are so good. It takes time for things to change. Earlier, we had this notion that those doing TV can’t do films, those playing heroes can’t do character roles etc. But now, these notions do not hold true. Similarly, the attitude towards female comics will also change. The more number of women start doing comedy, the more will be the acceptance. It is just a question of us supporting each other and making sure that good content is out there so that we can perform and enjoy it as well,” she concludes.
Rochelle Rao, who will be making a comeback on Sony TV’s The Kapil Sharma Show premiering tonight, talks about what she likes about comedies, what’s new on the show and the perceptions about female comedians in India
