‘We Punjabis are full of energy,’ says actor and stand-up comedian Jaswant Singh Rathore

Tell us about your background.

I am from an agricultural family. My uncle was a big fan of movies and actors like Vinod Khanna, Govinda, Mithun da and others. We used to rent VCR to watch films in Ludhiana and that’s how I developed a liking for films. I started performing in ladies sangeet where I used to sing and tell jokes.

When did you decide to make it a profession?

It all started when I participated in a talent hunt competition in college. I was a gold medallist for three consecutive years while representing my college at youth festival.

When was your first actual stage performance?

My first actual stage performance was when I anchored a fashion show for which I was paid Rs 1,500. That gave me a big confidence boost as people had actually forgotten that it was a fashion show and were all praise for my comic act.

You took a long break from stand-up comedy until you got India’s Laughter Champion. Tell us more about it.

Yes, India’s Laughter Champion made me come back on stage after a gap of 12-13 years. I had stopped doing stand-ups because it was getting boring. So, I started working in Punjabi films.

How did you prepare for this show?

I won’t lie that I was a bit overconfident in the beginning but eventually I understood that the stage belongs to the best performance and it does not see the performer. I worked day and night for a couple of months enhancing my stand-up skills.

Who do you think is most difficult to mimic?

Technically speaking, Suniel Shetty and Sunny Deol have a very similar voice register. It is quite difficult for a mimicry artiste to pull off both of them and I was praised for mimicking both of them distinctively. I have also dubbed for both of them in popular films like I love New York, Hello Darling and more.

What do you have to say about the judges Archana Puran Singh and Shekhar Suman?

I feel like I have achieved a new level performing in front of them. They both have such technical knowledge and analyse each act very carefully.

A lot of comedians come from Punjab. What’s the reason?

I think the social environment plays a very big role. As you may know, the amount of energy we Punjabis have is unmatched. We try to be happy in the worst of the situations and always look at the brighter side in life. It’s easier to make people happy when you’re happy within!