‘There’s Very Little Comedy These Days’

‘Earlier,
the
comedy
track
used
to
run
parallel
to
the
main
story
with
songs
et
al.’
‘Nowadays,
it’s
just
once
one
scene
here
and
there.’

Shubha
Khote
admits
that


at
88,
it’s
difficult
to
get
roles.

But
her
sense
of
humour
remains
intact,
as
she
recounts
anecdotes
from
her
rich
life,
and
tells



Rediff.com
Senior
ContributorDinesh
Raheja,
“Whenever
he
(brother
Viju
Khote)
made
any
small
mistake,
I
would
joke,
‘Tera
kya
hoga‘.”

Your
career
in
comedy
took
off
after

Chhoti
Bahen
with
Mehmood.
What
worked
about
your
comedy
team
in

Sasural,
Hamrahi,
Dil
Tera
Deewana,
Ziddi
etc?

We
did
so
many
films
together,
the
chemistry
just
happened
automatically.

I
don’t
know
how;
I
am
just
happy
it
worked.

Was
this
the
best
phase
of
your
career?

Yes.
That
is
also
the
phase
when
I
did
lots
of
films
for
film
production
houses
in
Madras.

Those
days,
I
was
in
Madras
more
often
then
I
was
in
Mumbai.

After
your
marriage
in
1964,
there
was
a
drastic
reduction
in
the
number
of
assignments.

I
never
retired.

I
did

Tumse
Achha
Kaun
Hai
(1969)
while
I
was
pregnant.

Why
did
Mehmood
and
you
stop
working
with
each
other?

See,
my
husband
was
posted
out
of
Mumbai
for
a
year,
so
I
took
a
break.
And
once
you
go
away,
you
lose
a
year
or
two.

And
the
continuity
thread
breaks
off.

Thereafter,
I
started
doing
character
roles.

Mehmood
also
was
fed
up
of
working
with
me
after
so
many
films
together
(laughs).

He
was
interested
in
working
with
other
actresses
like
Mumtaz,
Naaz
and
Aruna
Irani.

What
motivated
you
to
produce
and
direct
the
Marathi
film

Chimukla
Pahuna
(1967)
in
which
you
acted
alongside
your
husband?

I
had
a
very
nice
subject
on
hand
and
my
husband
said,
go
ahead.

The
film
didn’t
cost
me
too
much;
I
just
had
to
sell
one
car
(laughs).

A
comic
highlight
in
the
1970s
was

Gol
Maal
in
which
you
feed
Amol
Palekar
parathas
while
reminiscing
how
your
late
husband
had
died
after
eating
the
same.

I
enjoyed
acting
in
the
film.

Working
with
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee
was
great
fun
because
he
would
crack
lots
of
jokes.

He
was
very
well-read
and
said
so
many
interesting
things.

What’s
your
opinion
on
screen
comedy
today?

There
is
very
little
comedy.
Earlier,
the
comedy
track
used
to
run
parallel
to
the
main
story
with
songs
et
al.

Nowadays,
it’s
just
once
one
scene
here
and
there.

Did
your
brother
Viju
Khote’s
iconic
role
as
Kaalia
in

Sholay
result
in
jokes
at
the
family
table?

Whenever
he
made
any
small
mistake,
I
would
joke,
‘Tera
kya
hoga‘
(laughs).

How
did
you
handle
the
passing
away
of
your
brother
Viju
in
2019
and
your
husband
of
60
years
this
year?

Now
you
are
making
me
serious.

I
still
can’t
accept
it.

I
would
keep
telling
Viju
to
be
careful
of
his
health
but
he
would
dismiss
it
with
a
joke.

My
husband
was
my
great
support.
Till
one
year
ago,
he
was
very
active.
I
can
show
you
pictures
of
him
dancing
at
a
party
at
the
age
of
90!

Did
you
rely
on
your
daughter
(TV
personality
Bhavana
Balsaver)
in
this
difficult
phase?

She
took
care
of
me,
she
looked
after
me.
She’s
always
there,
holding
my
hand.

A
recent
survey
asked
80
year
olds
to
look
back
and
say
what
they
would
have
done
differently.

I
don’t
have
any
regrets.

Your
take
on
life
today?

Try
to
enjoy
life
as
much
is
possible
so
that
it
doesn’t
hurt
so
much
when
you
are
confronted
with
pain.

Tragedies
are
a
part
of
life
but
you
have
to
move
ahead.