Happy, inside out

THEATRICAL

Sihi Kahi Chandru hands me a cup of payasa as I step into a house whose living room has been transformed into a kitchen for his cooking show, Bharjari Bhojana. “I made it out of American corn,” he tells me. It tastes like regular payasa, but with hints of corn, I tell him. He’s happy with the verdict and calls for a lunch break. We head upstairs into his office, which houses a simple desk and a wardrobe lined with awards.

For many, Sihi Kahi Chandru is the guy in the Hawaiian shirt who cooks on television. For others, he’s the guy who inevitably plays the comedian in movies. But lurking beneath those layers of foodie, chef and comedian is an actor who yearns to do some serious cinema. After all, that’s how he first got a taste of stardom. And that’s how he became Sihi Kahi Chandru from Chandrashekhar. 

Enough of laughs

He doesn’t bat any eyelid when I ask him if he feels typecast by the industry. “I always feel typecast as an actor. I am trying everything to break out of the comedy mould. But that’s what both the industry and the audience want, and I like keeping them happy. But deep inside, I want to do a serious role. I want to exhibit my acting sensibilities,” he explains. This sounds justified as the man has done over 340 comic roles and even produced over 10,000 episodes of comedy till date (Silli Lalli, Pa Pa Pandu). 

The situation seems ironical. While Chandru is trying hard to get rid of labels, the label of a chef is fast becoming a part of his core identity. And no matter how hard he tries, Sihi Kahi Chandru just can’t seem to move beyond the kitchen. For instance, when he first came up with the idea of a cooking show, he did it after realising that there was nothing of the sort on television then, and plus he enjoyed cooking. Thus followed Nalapaka and Rasapaka.

However, when people started to look at him only as a foodie, he felt his original identity crumble. “Rasapaka became so popular that people associated me only with food. It led to an identity crisis. Nobody talked about my films any more. That’s when I decided to stop doing it.” But just like certain flavour combinations, Sihi Kahi Chandru could only go well with food, or so the audiences thought. 

So, when the show Bombat Bhojana came to him, he couldn’t say no. After about 800 successful episodes, the actor in him couldn’t take it anymore, and it urged him to give up on the food business yet again. “To get rid of the foodie image, I underwent a transformation. I reduced weight drastically,” he says. But it looks like neither the audience nor the world of food is ready to give up on this ‘foodie’ as yet. So, currently, you will find him cooking things like American corn payasa and more on his new show Bharjari Bhojana. 

And Sihi Kahi Chandru doesn’t mind it anymore, for he plans to balance it out with serious roles. In fact, he wants to direct a serious film for which he is already looking at scripts. And he has also capitalised on this fandom to establish a company that manufactures food products (Bombaat Bhojana). “I have become a star not by acting, but through my food shows. So, this is my way of giving back to my fans. And this will also be my legacy,” he explains.

The son of a spinning manager and a housewife, Sihi Kahi Chandru tells me he’s had a happy childhood, where his parents tried to give him and his brothers the best of everything. He says he was a tharle (a naughty person) as a kid and was quite popular in his school. But as naughty as he was, he was equally passionate about acting. He was a constant figure in all the dramas and fancy dress competitions. Even while he worked as a medical representative, lugging around a 15 kg-bag for most part of the day, the bug refused to die. “The medical representative job got sickening after a point. Eventually, I quit, and to my luck, I got a call to audition for Sihi Kahi the same day. That serial changed my life,” explains Chandru. 

The serial opened many doors for Chandru. The next obvious step was the world of films. But when a movie in which he played the hero got shelved, he found himself without work again. And just like how he decided to set up a home services company when Sihi Kahi was delayed, this time too, Chandru decided to take control of his destiny and decided to try his hand at comedy. “At that time, the industry had many villains, but not many comedians. So, I jumped right at it. My first comic role was in Avale Nanna Hendthi. It was a hit overnight,” he explains. Ever since then, Sihi Kahi Chandru has been entertaining the audiences in movies like Maleyali Jotheyali, Josh, Puttakana Highway, Mayadanta Male and so on. 

Not many know this, but this actor is also a trained mime artiste. “I was trained by Nola Rae, one of the top mime artistes of those times. I was poised to do mime shows across the country before Sihi Kahi fell into my lap,” he says. Talking about his future projects, Chandru says, “I am taking a break right now. Apart from the cooking show, I don’t want to do anything else. If I do step into comedy, I will only be producing it, not directing or acting in it.”

Tricks of the trade

For someone who made a name for himself as an actor without any kind of formal training, Chandru believes that to be a good actor, one needs certain qualities. “To be a good actor, you have to be a very observant person. You should learn to imbibe a lot of things just by looking around. You need to be physically fit. You should read well and be knowledgeable. And be sensitive to life around you,” he explains.

Speaking about his daughter, does he offer her advice or any kind of support? He vehemently denies it. “She’s very independent. And she’s my competitor, so how can I offer her advice? If I meet a director, I would rather ask a role for myself. I am still alive as an actor, aren’t I? Having said that, we are each other’s support system. We offer our views about each other’s performances.”

Chandru is also a strong believer in promoting Kannada cinema. He feels that the audiences don’t appreciate Kannada movies enough, which is why many good films don’t last for more than a week. “The quality of Kannada movies has increased, but unfortunately, the audience hasn’t accepted them. We aren’t passionate about our own language,” he rues.

The lunch break is now over, and we head downstairs. The lights come on in the kitchen, and Chandru changes into yet another colourful shirt. He finds his familiar spot, behind the cooking stove. His trademark smile is back, showing no trace of the underlying aspirations and struggle. The actor is back at his job!