Cyrus Broacha is an Indian anchor, theatre personality, comedian, political satirist, columnist, podcaster and author. He is best known for his show ''Bakra'' on

MTV India MTV is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of the original American network and is owned by JioStar, under a license agreement with Par ...

and ''

The Week That Wasn't ''The Week That Wasn't'' was an Indian News satire, satirical late night television programme hosted by Cyrus Broacha and shown on the ''CNN-IBN'' (now CNN News18) channel. Started in 2006, the cast included Kaneez Surka, Gopal Datt, Mohit Maha ...

'' on

CNN-News18 CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the ...

Early years

Broacha was born on 7 August 1971, to a

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

father and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mother. He started acting at the age of five in a school play, ''

The Emperor's New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( ) is a literary folktale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.Andersen 2005a 4 "Th ...

''. Every year he performed and wrote for the school magazine, winning prizes for English and drama. Cyrus's family originally hails from Bharuch in Gujarat.

Career

He did his first professional play, ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' in 1985, directed by

Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 23 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted in a few Hindi and English language films, including ' ...

. When Broacha was 15, he acted in his first Hindi film, ''

Jalwa ''Jalwa'' is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Pankuj Parashar and produced by Gul Anand. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah and Archana Puran Singh. The film is set in Goa, where it was mostly shot. It is an unofficial remake of ...

'' which was released in 1987. He also worked as a radio jockey and did shows like ''Dial-In Show'' in 1993. After graduation, Broacha went to the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by the actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Str ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where he studied acting for theatre.

Television

He hosted many shows for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. His candid-camera show ''MTV Bakra'' ran for 8 years. He played the role of ''Cyrus'', a character based on

Chandler Bing Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas drag ...

in the Indian adaptation of American sitcom ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', titled Hello Friends. He led India's "Rock the Vote" campaign and represented MTV at the UNAIDS conference in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He moderated the Indian segment of ''Be Heard - A Global Discussion With Colin Powell'' in February 2002. He appeared in ''

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality television show and the Indian version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. The first four seasons of ...

'', India's version of ''Dancing with the Stars'', and ''

Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi Level 3 ''Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi'' () simply known as ''Khatron Ke Khiladi'' is an Indian Hindi-language stunt-based reality television series based on the American series ''Fear Factor''. First launched as ''Fear Factor India'' on Sony TV, th ...

'' on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...

. He was the editor and host of a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

analysis series called ''

ESPNcricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

Runorder'', a bi-weekly show featuring former cricketers. He took part in the second season of

Bigg Boss OTT ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally available ...

in June 2023.

Actor

Broacha acted in films like ''

'', '' 99'', ''

Little Zizou ''Little Zizou'' is a 2008 Indian drama film written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala. ''Little Zizou'' is a comedy about how two battling Mumbai families finally come to terms. ''Little Zizou'' won the "Rajat Kamal" of 'National Film Award ...

'', '' Fruit and Nut'', ''Mumbai Chakachak'', ''

The Shaukeens ''The Shaukeens'' () is a 2014 Indian comedy film directed by Abhishek Sharma. A remake of the 1982 film '' Shaukeen'' directed by Basu Chatterjee and starring Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, A. K. Hangal, Rati Agnihotri, and Mithun Chakraborty, the fi ...

'', and ''

Roy Roy or Roi is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origins. France In France, this family name originated from the Normans, the descendants of Norse Vikings who migrated to Amigny, a commune in Manche, Normandy.. The deriva ...

''.

Author

In January 2010, he released his book ''Karl, Aaj aur Kal'', a semi-autobiographical comedy about celebrities,

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

and politics. In 2011, he released another book, ''The Average Indian Male'', an account of the Indian male commonly referred to as the "aam aadmi".

Podcaster

In 2015, he started hosting a podcast called ''Cyrus Says'' or ''C& Bull'', produced by IVM network. This is a show about life in urban India, politics, sports, civic sense and current affairs. Cyrus Broacha is currently hosting a podcast series titled A Century of Stories: Cricket on the YouTube channel "A Century of Stories." In this series, he reminisces about memorable moments from the history of cricket, blending humor with insightful commentary. The podcast features discussions with notable guests, and explores significant events, legendary players, and cultural shifts that have shaped Indian cricket over the decades.

Personal life

Cyrus Broacha is married to Ayesha, a photographer. The couple has two children.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

*
''Cyrus Says'' podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broacha, Cyrus Indian video jockeys Indian television presenters Indian male comedians 1971 births Living people St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors from Mumbai Parsi people Parsi people from Mumbai Contestants on Indian game shows Participants in Indian reality television series