Sucheta Khanna: Comedy is not easy, but once you have the craft, the sky is the limit
Sucheta Khanna did not need much convincing when Office Office Chali Musaddi Ki Beti came her way. The decision was made before the narration was even finished. A cult show, a legendary production house, a director she had worked with before and trusted completely—for her, that combination was more than enough reason to say yes.
She said, "It's a cult show, and there's a new approach to it." Now, in the earlier show, we had Mr. Pankaj Kapur, who always went to the office, and his problems were never solved. But this is 2026. So, we have Musaddi's daughter coming in, and she's going to solve problems, like at the snap of her finger. They thought of getting someone from his family for the home atmosphere.”
“There's a bachelor Bua who is loud, happy-go-lucky, and she doesn't worry about anything. She has brought up both Musaddi's daughter and the son since they were kids, and ever since then she's dedicated her life to bringing them up," she added.
The role gave her something she had been genuinely missing. She said, "Me doing comedy, honestly, where are comedy shows even made nowadays? So, for me, doing a comedy show itself was one of the reasons that I took this up.”
“And secondly, Eagle Films, a legendary production house, and Mr. Rajan Wagdhare, the director. The combination was awesome. So, that's more than half the reason why I took this up," she added.
On what comedy actually demands, Sucheta talks about Sachin Pilgaonkar . She said, "Comedy is not easy. But it's a craft. And I've had, by God's grace, fabulous mentors. Mr. Sachin Pilgaonkar, who is my godfather. Whatever I am in this industry is because of him. I owe all my performances to him. Because of the way I was trained under him, from that day onwards I became a different person, and I became a different actor.”
“Comedy is something I have learned from fabulous people like Sachin ji, Supriya ji, Reema Lagoo ji, and a whole lot of my co-stars who are so good at it. And it's not easy to do comedy, but once you have the craft, then you can improvise, and it's just like, the sky is the limit," she added.
She also has a precise understanding of what comedy demands beyond just performance. She said, "Comedy is not only about performance. You have to be in the present moment. You have to be very attentive, very focused. And on top of that, if you have lines full of allusion, then you really have to be focused. And if you have to improvise in that, this whole combination is a very premium one. And I love doing it."
The character of Bua evolved in a way that delighted her. The workshops before the shoot were where it really took shape, and she brought an idea to the table that the team ran with completely. She said, "I thought that to give it a zing, let's make her a little flirtatious." Fortunately, Rajan ji and Umesh ji, they all liked the idea. They said we can try it. So, they tried a couple of episodes, and I think it worked for them because then they started writing accordingly. So, she's this really glamorous and very flirtatious kind of Bua, who's very loud and charismatic and funny and lovable."
On the broader landscape of comedy on Indian television, she is honest about what has been lost and measured about what she hopes returns. She said, "Currently, Indian television has practically no comedy shows. Very, very few are being made. Comedy is so necessary. At one time, there were some channels that only did comedy shows, and now they too have started doing a lot of drama.”
“But speaking personally, I miss comedy shows so much. It's such a refresher. When we did Lapataganj as well, it was so, even today, people remember it," Sucheta ended.
She said, "It's a cult show, and there's a new approach to it." Now, in the earlier show, we had Mr. Pankaj Kapur, who always went to the office, and his problems were never solved. But this is 2026. So, we have Musaddi's daughter coming in, and she's going to solve problems, like at the snap of her finger. They thought of getting someone from his family for the home atmosphere.”
“There's a bachelor Bua who is loud, happy-go-lucky, and she doesn't worry about anything. She has brought up both Musaddi's daughter and the son since they were kids, and ever since then she's dedicated her life to bringing them up," she added.
The role gave her something she had been genuinely missing. She said, "Me doing comedy, honestly, where are comedy shows even made nowadays? So, for me, doing a comedy show itself was one of the reasons that I took this up.”
“And secondly, Eagle Films, a legendary production house, and Mr. Rajan Wagdhare, the director. The combination was awesome. So, that's more than half the reason why I took this up," she added.
On what comedy actually demands, Sucheta talks about Sachin Pilgaonkar . She said, "Comedy is not easy. But it's a craft. And I've had, by God's grace, fabulous mentors. Mr. Sachin Pilgaonkar, who is my godfather. Whatever I am in this industry is because of him. I owe all my performances to him. Because of the way I was trained under him, from that day onwards I became a different person, and I became a different actor.”
“Comedy is something I have learned from fabulous people like Sachin ji, Supriya ji, Reema Lagoo ji, and a whole lot of my co-stars who are so good at it. And it's not easy to do comedy, but once you have the craft, then you can improvise, and it's just like, the sky is the limit," she added.
She also has a precise understanding of what comedy demands beyond just performance. She said, "Comedy is not only about performance. You have to be in the present moment. You have to be very attentive, very focused. And on top of that, if you have lines full of allusion, then you really have to be focused. And if you have to improvise in that, this whole combination is a very premium one. And I love doing it."
The character of Bua evolved in a way that delighted her. The workshops before the shoot were where it really took shape, and she brought an idea to the table that the team ran with completely. She said, "I thought that to give it a zing, let's make her a little flirtatious." Fortunately, Rajan ji and Umesh ji, they all liked the idea. They said we can try it. So, they tried a couple of episodes, and I think it worked for them because then they started writing accordingly. So, she's this really glamorous and very flirtatious kind of Bua, who's very loud and charismatic and funny and lovable."
On the broader landscape of comedy on Indian television, she is honest about what has been lost and measured about what she hopes returns. She said, "Currently, Indian television has practically no comedy shows. Very, very few are being made. Comedy is so necessary. At one time, there were some channels that only did comedy shows, and now they too have started doing a lot of drama.”
“But speaking personally, I miss comedy shows so much. It's such a refresher. When we did Lapataganj as well, it was so, even today, people remember it," Sucheta ended.
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