Excerpts:
Q: Your one tweet has caused a nation-wide furore. Apparently you decided to end the show without consulting the channel( where the show airs)?
A: (Sighs) I give my life and blood to the show. Even now as I talk to you I haven`t slept for the last 36 hours. I`ll never give up the show. I just wanted a break because I was exhausted.
Q: Absolutely. I hear the channel was taken aback by your tweet announcing the show`s end. What made you take that shocking decision?
A: Every show has it own profile and destiny. The format on `Comedy Nights...` required me to put together 26 episodes around the adventures of six family members. The 26 episodes stretched into 50 and then into a 100 episodes. I felt we needed to reinvent ourselves.
Q: I am aware of the barrage of movie offers that came your way until you finally said yes to the Yash Raj offer?
A: That`s right. Before I said yes to Yash Raj`s `Bank Chor` I turned down some really good film offers including one by Sunil Manchanda the producers of `Tere Naam`. I also said no Farhan Akhtar`s offer. I felt really awful saying no to this one. The Yash Raj film I signed was supposed to go on the floors in March 2014. Now it`s June. I am still not able to give them my dates. Actors crave to be in Yash Raj films. And here I am, delaying the shooting. I don`t want them to think I am arrogant. But I consider `Comedy Night...` to be bigger than any film.
Q: Apparently the Channel can`t afford to let you go because the ratings of your show alone are higher than the aggregate ratings of all their other popular shows?
A: If that is the case I don`t want to think about it. But I do know people wait for my show every week. I don`t want to sound boastful because my mother would slap me if I became vain. `Comedy Nights...` and every member of the show`s family have become popular. I want the show to grow. For this I need a break of a month at least. True, no show in the history of Indian television has remained no.1 uninterrupted for a 100 episodes. But I don`t want to compromise on quality.
Q: So once and for all are you planning to quit Comedy Nights?
A: I did 300 episodes of Comedy Circus. I am not the kind of person to abandon a show. Let me tell you, the offers that are coming my way are extremely tempting. I`ve no complaints against the channel. They`ve been wonderful to me.
