VJ Cyrus Sahukar tells iTalk why he won't do any more spoofs till a new gum is invented!

Cyrus is a foot-and-a-half taller than Howard, the actor who plays Aamir Khan. And, Cyrus plays Darsheel Safary in the MTV Fully Faltoo Film Festival spoof, Bechaare Zameen Par. As you watch this giant kid running all over school, screaming "Ma, Ma..." breaking into slapstick antics, you are certain this is a Cyrus  addition to the script.

"No, actually, everything was scripted, since it wasn't possible to shoot a 45-minute feature spontaneously," says Cyrus, who was more like a foot soldier, being told what to do, when.

Ashish Patil, GM, MTV and his team incubated the idea and script for the three spoofs Bechaare Zameen Par (based on Taare Zameen Par), Jadoo Ek Bar (Jodhaa Akbar) and Cheque De India (Chak De India) that are currently playing on the music channel.

Cyrus knew co-star Howard from back home in Delhi, where he watched him play Peter Pan, 10 years ago. "He was dressed in a green outfit and looked like a money plant!" he laughs.

Big kid's advice

But, for Cyrus observing regular people do their own thing, talk sincerely, watch kids be kids, all that cracked up him much more. Since they were shooting inside a school, Cyrus would sit with the kids and give them advice "It must have been strange for them to take me seriously, since I was wearing a school uniform with a water bottle hung around my neck. I would tell them how they should make the most of their time in school, and not start working early. See what happened to me!"

Gum on upper lip

In Cheque De India, Cyrus played Raghu (Ram) of MTV Roadies, which means he had to play a bald person. "I was pasteurised on that shoot. A "bald" wig was stuck to my head. The make-up was too sensitive, so, I couldn't stay out in the sun. After every shot, I ran inside an AC room," he grimaces.

"To top it, they didn't find a moustache, so, they stuck bit of hair to my upper lip with the most obnoxious smelling and feeling spirit gum," he cringes, adding that if the gum allowed more lip movement, he would have cribbed a lot more. Cyrus has made up his mind: No more spoofs till a better gum is invented!

A corporate guru

He has initiated a campaign to look for the Indian of the Year, on his show MTV Kickass Mornings. The audience can vote for any one of the 5 regular characters that Cyrus plays from a corporate guru, synchronised swimmer to a NGO worker. "I find it fascinating when corporate gurus say things like "awaken the giant within you," he laughs.

Next on the agenda is to pose as a rapper. "My family hates me rapping, so I want to do it to irritate them."