It’s no doubt that Bharti Singh has made a huge name for herself in the comedy world. Even before the standup comedy scene popped up in the country, Bharti Singh made us laugh with her sketches on television in shows like The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Comedy Circus.
It was in 2008 that Bharti Singh made her debut with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. However, not many people know that her mother was hospitalised and was undergoing treatment in the ICU during that time. And Bharti had to appear for the semi-finals and make people laugh while her mother was in the hospital.
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According to Hindustan Times, Bharti opened up about the incident and how difficult it was for her.
“When I did my first show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, we got a hotel stay sponsored by the show. I and my mother had this habit of eating only home-cooked meals and by consuming hotel food for several days my mother got a stomach ulcer, she was in the ICU and I had to go to my shoot and make people laugh for the semifinals of the show on that day.”
She went on to explain the kind of futility she felt about doing the show – one which didn’t pay her at the time because she was just a contestant. However, a realization later dawned upon her that for an artist, it is important to keep their professional and personal lives seggregated.
“When I was at the backstage, I was thinking about my mother, who was in the ICU and I kept on thinking that I am not even sure if I will win the show and I am not getting any money from here because I am a contestant and still I have to stay here and leave my mother in this condition. I felt what kind of a life is this, at that point, I realised that if you have to become an artist you have to keep these personal things aside, you have to work for the audience, you have to make them laugh.”
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It’s heartbreaking how once on the stage, an artist is obligated to perform despite the whirlwind of problems they might be experiencing.
“Aap stage pe nahi keh sakte ki aaj thoda kam hasaungi meri mummy hospital mein hain please taaliyan bajaiyega (You can’t go on the stage and say that my mother is in the hospital so I will not be very funny but still clap for me).”
This incident has probably made Bharti Singh stronger and given her the never-looking-back attitude that she has!