In a league of his own

CHENNAI: Cyrus Broacha says he has some great memories of Chennai.Unfortunately, he says he can't talk about them because "most of them are happily married today." That's the 'Bakra' man for you, summed up in a sentence. As candid as he is witty, Cyrus will be in town this weekend to perform a stand-up show alongwith Vikram Sathaye.After he bamboozled his followers last year by saying in an interview that comedy was getting to be rather tiring and that he wanted to take on more ' serious ' projects, he put us at ease by taking a dig at himself, all over again, "Well, I've started flossing," he says seriously and adds, "Keep in mind, serious or not I aim very low!" Seriously? As busy as ever with his news-satire show on CNN IBN – The Week That Wasn't, a string of stand up shows and a second comedy book release last year, it does seem like Cyrus, who turned 40, has his hands full. Amid all that's going on, does the comedian have any time to spare for his first passion, theatre? "Well, after marriage, what else can I do on a Saturday night?" Only the customary drumroll and canned laughter is missing here.While it is evident that his comic flow rolls independent of a script, the Chennai audience is bound to be a little different from what he is used to. Considering Cyrus was in our fairand- humid city just last October, we wondered if he picked up some of our local flavour along the way to use in the show, "Oh no," he says and adds suggestively, "Too many permissions involved." And is he worried about how it will go down at the Music Academy, he shrugs, ""Like all Indian males, I’ll come late and end early. As long as nobody gets violent, I'll be ok." But that aside, we've saved the best for last. For those who missed Cyrus' shows in 2010, the comedy man took liberal digs at our Superstar last year when Endhiran was released.He denies it, though, a little too vehemently, "Not true. Speak to my lawyer." Maybe he's had a run-in with Rajinikanth's legions of ardent fans. What would he say to Rajinikanth if he ever met him? Cyrus takes his time to respond to this one and for the first time he seems genuine – no puns or cracks, when he says, "I have met Rajinikanth and I think he almost smiled at me." And if he offered Cyrus a role in one of his films, would he take it up? Pat comes the reply, "100 per cent".Well, what can one say? The world has a whole load of comedians and then there's Cyrus Broacha! Thankfully, there's only one like him.