Shekar Suman who has a way with words describes his career on TV as something he did "by default. I had the craft to do it but not the heart. I did stand up comedy, hosted shows and then I got typecast. But Shekhar Suman is not just about humor. It should be the last thing I should be known for," he says.

After testing his vocal chords in SaharaOne's Jjhoom India, he is now on the judge's chair in Sony's ongoing reality show, Ustaadon Ka Ustaad. A promo on air shows Suman sparring with Co-judge Javed Akhtar over a participant's performance. "I won't call that sparring. I would call it a minor difference of opinion. We have our own creative space and we all have a say, that's all. Just because he is Javed Akhtar or I am Shekhar Suman, doesn't mean we have to agree with each other or accept everything said on the show. If that was the case, the channel wouldn't have had three judges from three different aspects of creativity. They would have made it with just one judge”, argues Suman.

Suman is in the midst of working on "Surkh, a Sufiana album". Ask him if we are fast becoming a nation of just singers and dancers, considering the number of reality shows and talent hunts we have on TV today, he laughs, "Well, we are a diverse nation. In India we celebrate everything with song and dance. We have different forms in music – ghazal, thumri, folk, pop, you name it we have it, likewise in dance. Why, even our film promos are nothing but songs? Do we ever have an emotional scene as a teaser for a film? We have vast talent and if that gets an outlet on TV, why not?"

Finally with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, the Devgans and Akshay Kumar being wooed with big bucks, is Bollywood bowing down before the small screen? "When I started it years ago, I drew a lot of flak. But then the biggest of all, Amitabh Bachchan did TV; it was like the Pied Piper showing the way. Many others followed like Govinda, Anupam Kher, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala and then Shah Rukh arrived. When Mr Bachchan did TV it was understandable… he did it because of his financial problems, but when Shah Rukh did it at the peak of his career, TV got its due. TV was no longer a medium to look down upon. Unwittingly, unknowingly, the LOC between films and TV was broken. Today everything is part of the big, flourishing entertainment industry. And yes, there is a lot of money in it, immense recognition and reach and the stars have to do nothing but make good use of their name and stardom…so everyone is happy”, implies Shekar Suman.

Coming up next for Suman is a film called “One Fine Monday" and hopefully many more meaty parts.

Author: Suhaani Rai