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SINGAPORE: Sanjeev Bhaskar is arguably the world’s favourite BBI. That’s British-Born Indian, of course. And now, fans in Singapore can catch him on BBC Knowledge (SingTel mio TV Channel 30) with his new travelogue programme, "India With Sanjeev Bhaskar".
“It’s a really, really clever title, isn’t it?” he deadpanned.
The actor shot to fame using humour to comment on the cultural nuances of being part of a minority group in the hit BBC sitcom "Goodness Gracious Me".
Bhaskar is also known for his role as Sanjeev Kumar, an incompetent talk-show host who works out of his parents’ living room in "The Kumars at No 42". Incidentally, he is married to his co-star, Meera Syal - who played his feisty (and randy) grandmother on the show. In real life, the couple have a two-year-old son.
Hilariously, the versatile comedian can currently be seen on stage in the leading role of King Arthur in the London West End musical "Spamalot". He serenaded this reporter with a few reverberating lines from one of his keynote pieces (“I’m Arthur, King of the Britons, ruler of them all. Of England, Scotland and even tiny little bits of Gaul.”)
According to Bhaskar, his aim on the show was to be a travelling companion. “I really wanted to do something that was personal and also hadn’t really been covered before,” the 44-year-old actor told TODAY over the phone from London.
“I didn’t want to just travel to India - I wanted it to be an opinion. And one of the programmes was completely personal. I retraced my father’s steps when he came from India to the United Kingdom. It was like trying to give snapshots of what 21st-century India is about, maybe get an idea of how old and new coexist in a very vast and rapidly changing world.”
In recognition of his body of work, Bhaskar has received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) - which, of course, he said he looks forward to profiting from someday.“I think the OBE entitles me to beat peasants with a stick. The queen will give me a stick at some point and then I can hit people with it. Other than that ... I might get £40 ($105) for it on eBay or something.”
Indeed, Bhaskar deadpanned that the biggest misconception that people have of him is “that I’m really nice”.
Said Bhaskar: “I’m horrible. People think I’m nice and friendly and warm and all that kind of stuff. And I’m not, really. My evil plan is to take over the world.
“I might be a James Bond villain.”
And how exactly did he get to be so funny? Good dietary habits, apparently. “Lots of salad,” Bhaskar intoned. “Lots of salad makes you really, really funny.” - TODAY/sh
"India with Sanjeev Bhaskar" is on every Saturday on BBC Knowledge(SingTel mio TV Channel 30), 8.05pm. Repeat telecasts on Sundays at 2.05pm.
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