'Bollywood has never intrigued me'

Parizad, the host of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, feels her personality comes out best on the show. “I hold back no emotion on the show. I laugh, cry and express my displeasure as well. It’s always best to be honest and you will be widely accepted,” Parizad said.

Laughter is also about spontaneity and there has to be a certain amount of speed in thought and action. There is a bit of hesitation in the beginning of the show but all that eases out once you get people talking to you. “When you are on the show with someone like Navjot Singh Sidhu, you just can’t hold back any emotion. He talks so much on various topics that you just have to keep pace with him,” observes Parizad.

She feels that those with a natural flair for making people laugh such as stand-up comedians would never tire of what they do. They always have something new up their sleeve. “It’s such a pleasure to watch Russell Peter or Ash Chandler perform live. Even today when you watch Friends, you’d still find the first episode just as funny as the latest one,” Parizad observes.

She avers reality shows have become an inevitable part of the entertainment diet. With too much work and too little time to socialise, these shows double up as a perfect de-stresser for people. “If there are shows that can make you cry then why not have a show that can make you laugh? With immense pressure at work, shows like these help people unwind,” she says.

While she says it isn’t easy to make people laugh, every TV host has to learn to strike the right chord with the audience. “You must be able to feel their pulse. Once you know what your audience really wants, then all you have to do is just blend in,” she says.
Parizad seems to have found comfort on the small screen. When most popular actors scramble for space on the small screen, Parizad is content with just her shows, “I would like my space to do what I want to. I can’t succumb to any pressure. Bollywood has never intrigued me. I still remember the dialogues of most Hindi films but I don’t want to enter Bollywood unless something big and substantial comes my way.” It’s crazy because just when I thought I had found my space on the small screen, there are a whole lot of actors who also want to be TV hosts as well,” she adds.

Parizad is a die-hard foodie and a travel freak as well. “My husband and I travel all the time and explore various cuisines. I must say the Chettinad fish curry down South is one of my favourites, it’s something that I just can’t resist,” she says.