Deepa finds the knot funny

Marriage fascinates Deepa Sahi. Well that's because ever since she was a kid, she found humour in the arguments between her parents and chacha chachi. And now that she's been married forever (in husband Ketan Mehta's words) she knows that it isn't always as funny. But the couple has learnt to respect each other. Gearing up to release her first directorial venture that is also a comic take on marriage, Deepa talks to CS about what gets a relationship going and comedy:


Who: Deepa Sahi
What: Talking about the importance of humour in life
Where: At a hotel in Andheri (W)u00a0
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Mens are from Mars, women are from Venus
I've always told Ketan that the day he starts treating me as a conventional wife and vice versa, will be the day when we say tata bye-bye. I don't know why two people would want to get married if they want to change each other. We need to accept and respect that men and women are built differently. We women think from the right side of our brains while they think from the left.u00a0 Just because I like the colour blue or enjoy eating dhokla doesn't mean that my partner also should. Women are so observant that they know exactly what their child is feeling even before he can say it. We have a tendency to pick up things that are unsaid. That is what men sometimes grudge saying the oh-so-familiar line, 'You are imagining things.' Well, let's face it, that's because we are different from them.u00a0
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Laughter is the best medicine
I think that humour should be an important part of all relationships because there is so much depression around. I would have committed suicide by now if I couldn't enjoy the absurdities of life. Every morning I wake up, there is something out there that can get me down and something that I just won't be able to comprehend. I don't know why people kill animals for no reason, I don't know why rapes happen, I don't know why people keep fighting all the time. So I think of the more positive things in life and that formula keeps me going.

Exploring humour
Given that we Indians are so good at comedy, it is unfortunate that there are only slapstick films doing the rounds. I think that's because we suffer from a sense ofu00a0 insecurity that keeps us from exploring other brands of humour. Some of the standup reality shows on TV are so hilarious that I can keep watching their reruns. And they are topical toou00a0- the Anna Hazare story will still be unfolding and there will already be an act on it. That's what Indian cinema needsu00a0- an ability to take risks with jokes and poke fun at stuff that's fresh from the oven.