For them laughter is the best medicine. And they are successfully using this medicine to achieve the desired result. For them laughter is a serious business and they are very passionate about it. They have set new standards for comedy and their popularity graph is constantly on the upswing.

They are not slapstick comedians nor are they loud. In a subtle way they use comedy as a medium to lampoon the misplaced values of the society, the political leaders, and the black sheep which are now calling the shots in every profession besides other burning social issues.

For the foursome quartet, popularly known as Khisiri, to make people laugh is the driving force which keeps them going. They got together as a group in 2005 and since then there has been no looking back.

An interesting mix of a medical student, a veterinarian, a service holder and an actor with perfect stage chemistry has catapulted Khisiri into a leading comedy group of the state. Rajib Kro, Bijit Dev Choudhury, Kamal Singh and Manmath Baruah with their comic performances have taken comedy to a new height.

The interesting aspect being all of them are self taught actors without having any professional training. Rajib Kro and Bijit Dev Choudhury instead of pursuing their medical and veterinary careers respectively opted to became actors and administer laughter as a medicine instead.

Rajib Kro, who has carved a niche for himself as a scriptwriter, lyricist, actor and director, disclosed that it was by chance that they all got together. “The common binding thread being all of us had a passion to act on the stage. In annual college meets we used to act and as our classmates and teachers appreciated our performances it boosted up our confidence. Soon we ventured to act on amateur plays and dramas,” he says.

“Bijit, Manmath and I first came together in a play directed by Niranjan Bhuyan. We, the trio, became regular in the plays directed by him like Bhao, Helaranga, Ghasiram Kotowal,…” he continues. “However, my mentor in comedy was Dhrubajit Kishore Choudhury who was better known as Bhayamama. I picked the nuances of comedy from him. He taught me how to compose parody songs and make spoof of the pompous political leaders. I regard Bhayamama as my guru of comedy... I did a drama entitled Profession along with him. The drama became a huge hit. The drama also gave the much needed boost to my confidence.”

As the trio — Manmath, Bijit and Rajib — got to know each other well they decided to form an amateur drama group called Natyam and it performed a number of plays. But till then it was their passion and not a career option.

Disclosing about the Khisiri, Rajib revealed that they became a full time comedy group by chance, not by choice. “It was September 2005, we were approached by the NE Television satellite channel to do a half-an-hour programme. We, the trio, talked about the offer and decided to work together as a group. As there was no clear cut direction on the content of the programme, we named it Khisiri which means a mixture. I wrote the lyrics of the signature tune for which the music was composed by Bikash Barua and sung by Naba Niresh. The signature song soon became quite popular.”

The first episode of Khisiri was telecast on October 7, 2005. “Garima Majumdar and Sewali Neog acted along with us in the first episode. It was from the fifth episode that a very talented actor Kamal Singh joined us and we became foursome. Kamal Singh infused a new life in Khisiri. He has the unique ability to speak in the correct intonation of almost all the languages — Assamese, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali... And his sense of timing in delivering the punch line is great. We have gelled into a good team with each one complementing and supplementing each other.

“Initially we used to work on a written script but now we say the dialogues spontaneously in front of the camera without any script. To frame our themes every week we keep track on what is happening around us. We diligently read the newspapers and monitor the news channels. From there we pick up a plot and go for the shoot,” he says.

Some of the popular items of the group include a panel discussion portraying the political leaders of the state, corruption in providing employment, price rise et al. “We try to make the people laugh and provide a social message as well. We try our best to condemn the senseless violence in the state in our own humorous way,” says Rajib.

The comedy show of the group is laced with hard hitting parody songs. The parody songs of the group are very popular. Though they make others laugh they themselves are burdened with a host of problems. Kamal Singh injured his leg in an accident and does not have the necessary funds to get it treated while recently Rajib Kro had to undergo an open heart surgery.

In this tension filled world where people have forgotten to smile, let alone laugh, Khisiri has taken it up as a mission to make people laugh away their worries. And the love of the people and the positive feedback which they get keep them going.

Manish Goswami