An institute of comedy, courtesy Raju Srivastav

LUCKNOW - Want to make people laugh? Then join the class. Comedian Raju Srivastav is planning to set up a comedy training institute in his home district Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

“My objective behind setting up the institute is to produce professional comedians, who will make others forget their worries and pains in life through laughter,” Srivastav told IANS Thursday.

The comedian is of the view that the talent to make others laugh is innate, but he feels that even those who have it are at times not able to become successful comedians as they lack presentation skills.

“My upcoming institute would particularly focus on this very aspect to produce professional comedians. I want to hone the skills of comedians by training them to carry themselves confidently on stage,” Srivastav added.

Vulgarity in comedy shows concerns Srivastav a lot.

“What’s the use of the comedy that you cannot enjoy with your parents, sisters or other family members? I believe if comedians practise self-regulation, we can promote comedy in a better way,” he added.

Srivastav who started in Bollywood playing bit roles in movies such as the Salman Khan starrer “Maine Pyar Kiya”, “Mr Azad” and “Baazigar”, is now waiting for his forthcoming movie “Bhavnao ko Samjho”, which is to be released next month.

“The speciality of the movie is that it has over 50 stand-up comedians. Apart from acting, the scripting and direction has also been done by the team of comedians,” Srivastav said.

Srivastav achieved national fame after winning STAR One’s “Laughter Challenge” show a couple of years back. He is now a regular on several comedy shows on TV channels as well as stage shows all over India.

The comedian has nearly 2,800 live shows to his credit including in countries like the US, Britain, Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Fiji, Dubai, Bangkok and Hong Kong.