Shekhar Suman

Introduction

Shekhar Suman is an Indian singer, actor, presenter, film producer, and director. He has served as a judge on various comedy shows, including The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Comedy Circus, and Comedy Superstar.

He was also a member of the Indian National Congress for a short time.

Childhood and Education

He was born on December 7, 1962, in Kadamkuan, Patna, Bihar. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He was the favorite kid of a well-to-do Bihari family in Patna. He is the youngest of four children. As a child, he went to Jai Prakash Narayan's charkha samiti. He received his education at St. Xavier's in Patna and Vikas Vidyalaya in Ranchi.

In school, he used to like playing with marbles and flying kites. Shekhar excelled in debate and theater while attending Ranchi's Vikas Vidyalaya. He also joined the NCC. He became so immersed in NCC that when he grew up, he planned to join the Indian Navy. After finishing his education, he earned a bachelor's degree in arts with a specialty in history from Ramjas College, Delhi University. Shekhar got a job as a theater actor at Shri Ram Centre soon after graduating. Shekhar worked briefly at Oberoi. He returned to Shri Ram Centre, where he was paid Rs. 625 per month.

Physical Attributes

He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Family

Parents and Siblings

Shekhar Suman's father, Phani Bhushan Prasad, was a well-known surgeon and the director-general of the Bihar government's health services. Prasad died in 2010. Shekhar's mother, Usha Prasad, died in 2021 from kidney disease. He has 3 elder sisters. His younger sisters are named Kshamata and Namrata. The name of the third is not known.

Wife and children

He married his lover, Alka Kaur, on May 4, 1983. Alka is the designer of the fashion label Alkaline. They have a son named Adhyayan Suman, who is an actor. The couple's second son, Aayush Suman, died in 1994 of myco-cardiac-fibroelastosis, a heart condition. Shekhar and Alka suffered from depression for several years after Aayush died.

Career

• Hindi Film Career
  Suman made his film debut with Rekha in 1984's Utsav, produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Girish Karnad. He played the character Charudutt in it. He has appeared in movies such as Manav Hatya, Naache Mayuri, Sansar, Anubhav, Tridev, Pati Parmeshwar, and Ranbhoomi.
  He also signed a few projects, including Yeh Kaisa Insaaf, Neeli Aankhen, Shudre, and Prem Mandir, all of which were eventually canceled. In 2006, he directed the Bollywood film Moonlight: An Unfortunate Love Story. In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the Hindi film Heartless, in which he starred as Dr. Sameer Saxena. The film, starring his younger son, Adhyayan Suman, was dedicated to his elder son, Aayush Suman. Despite a box office disappointment, the film earned mostly positive reviews.
• Television Career
  In 1993, he made his television debut as Sameer Diwan in Dekh Bhai Dekh. The story was shown on DD Metro. He later appeared in other TV series, including Ek Raja Ek Rani, Dam Dama Dam, Vilayati Babu, Hera Pheri, and Saat Pheron ki Hera Pherie.
• Hosting Career
  In 1997, Shekhar hosted the late-night talk show Movers and Shakers. The show was originally supposed to air once a week on Sony Entertainment television. Still, due to its success, the producers decided to expand it to a five-night-a-week schedule. Suman's talks with celebrity guests in between comic performances became a cult show, and he signed a three-year contract with the channel for Rs. 35 crore. Celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Zakir Hussain, Allah Rakha, Yashwant Sinha, Kiran Bedi, and Vilas Rao Deshmukh appeared on the show. He has also hosted television shows such as Made in India (2000), Nilaam Ghar on Zee TV (2002), He-Man (2004), and Poll Khol (2004) on STAR News. He began hosting Abki Bari on Aaj Tak in 2015.
• Judging Career
  He was a judge on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge alongside Navjot Singh Sidhu but left after three seasons due to disagreements with his co-host. He has also served as a judge on various comedy shows, including Sony TV's Comedy Circus and SAB TV's Comedy Superstar. He presented the SAB TV show Jab Khelo SAB Khelo and appeared in the fourth season of Sony TV's iconic dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
• Singing Career
  He made his singing debut with the album Kuch Khwaab Aise, which was a collection of eight love ballads composed by Aadesh Shrivastava and lyrics written by Shyam Raj. Suman made his directorial debut with Heartless in 2014.
• Career as a Participant
  Shekhar debuted as a participant in the reality television show Raaz pichhle janam ka in December 2009. He appeared on season 4 of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa in 2010. Sony Entertainment Television aired the show.
• Political Career
  He began his political career in 2009 when he joined the Indian National Congress (INC).

Suman ran for Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib on a Congress ticket in May 2009 but lost to BJP's Shatrughan Sinha and finished third. He resigned from Congress in 2012.

Awards

• He won the Best Anchor for Movers and Shakers award at the 1st ITA Awards.
• He won the Best Anchor for Carry on Shekhar at the 3rd Indian Telly Awards.
• He won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Comedian for the movie Chor Machaaye Shor.

Controversies

• "Heartless" Music Controversy
  Shekhar Suman made his directorial debut in 2014 with the Hindi film Heartless. According to sources, the film's vocalists Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Nikhil D'souza, and Neeti Mohan refused to sign a contract with the music label T series, claiming that it would deprive them of their proper pay. T-Series encouraged Shekhar to have the tracks re-dubbed because the soundtrack could not be published till the contracts were finalized. Shekhar Suman commented in an interview, in response to the vocalists' refusal to sign the contract, "Why should the producer be punished?" When the tracks were recorded a year ago, he was not provided with such information. Sonu and Sunidhi sang for free a year ago, and now they refuse to sign a contract with the music firm due to royalty issues. Why should you ask for royalties if you haven't accepted any money?
• Suing for Invoking Religious Emotions
  Shekhar Suman was charged in the Narwana Sadar police station in 2015 for provoking religious emotions with his remarks regarding Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh during a live event in Haryana. The complaint was filed by Satish Kumar, a resident of Khararwal village near Narwana.
• Accused of Exploiting The Murder of Sushant Singh Rajput For Political Gain
  Shekhar Suman and many other celebrities joined a social media movement to seek justice for the terrible death (reported murder) of Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020. Suman met the Indian politician Tejashwi Yadav through this link. This did not sit well with some netizens, who accused Shekhar of using the actor's death to further his political career in Bihar. Shekhar went on Twitter to fire back at those who criticized him for falsely accusing him of benefiting from Sushant's death.
• Adhyayan's Alleged Suicide Controversy
  A news outlet mistakenly announced in 2021 that Shekhar's son Adhyayan had committed suicide. Shekhar Suman later published a video clip of his son's apparent suicide on Twitter, writing that his family was 'devasted' after receiving the news because Adhyayan was in Delhi and unavailable at the time. Suman said in a series of tweets that the episode was 'unpardonably reckless' and that he would sue the channel for providing false information.

Automobile Collection

Shekhar owned a fleet of expensive vehicles in 2009, including a BMW, Honda Accord, Camry, Toyota van, and Mercedes Benz.

Some Less-Known Facts

• Shekhar spends his free time performing power yoga, exercising, listening to music, reading books, swimming, playing squash, and singing.
• He is a classically trained singer.
• Shekhar said in an interview that cooking works as a stress reliever for him. He also stated that his passion for cooking developed from observing his mother and grandmother cook when he was a child.
• Shekhar was a chain smoker who quit smoking on his birthday in 2007. He had previously quit smoking in 2000 but returned to it as a stress reliever.
• He eats non-vegetarian food.
• Shekhar Suman is a fitness enthusiast who adheres to a rigid workout schedule.
• He has a Ducati motorcycle, which was given to him by his son, Adhyayan Suman.
• He has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Mayapuri and Tycoon Global (together with his son Adhyayan Suman).
• He is the first Indian television performer to be paid a lakh rupees for a single program.