"An Onion can make people cry but there’s never been a vegetable that can make people laugh" - Will Rogers.

For some of us, making someone laugh is simple; they have a natural power to some degree for what people find them entertaining. For some it’s how you know the personality or his sense of humor that stimulate them to smile in different activities. But for a rare group of guys, they always try to do funny ways to bring the smile in the face of people around him and that too in a simple way without using any vulgar words, something one can have even with their whole family.

You remember Mr. Bean- Don't you?

Apart from all the examples, you find Mr. Bean. I’m sure you remember this guy. If not, then you are not a member of this planet or you’d have to be under rocks not to address the funny human body. Through some crazy and idiotic actions (of course for fun) in every day’s work or in trying to help someone, he used to carry so many troubles in their life. “‘Mr. Bean’ is essentially a child in the body of a human… he has his bizarre global outreach.” Describes Rowan Atkinson, the renowned person behind all the funny steps of Bean.

In those initial days of 1990, the television screens in every drawing room of United Kingdom found a tall thin guy falling from the night sky within the beam of light on an empty screen of London while the background rang, “Ecce homo qui est fabo” (behold the man who is Bean). This is simply the road of meeting the man who had the knack of making us smile that too with only the physical activities and no dialogue. With a trademark dress that consisted of a Brown coat and a Red tie, with his Green BMC Mini MK II, Austin Citron with a black bonnet and a small teddy bear (his pet doll), he tried to face every day-in day-out troubles with ease.

Trust me or not, before writing on the unfamiliar comedian, I never thought that there would be a comedian who would do something funny for teenagers. “They are family comedy which is relatively a rare thing in teenage… you have (FC) but they are normally animation.” Explained Mr. Atkinson about the uncommon childish comedies. “Most comedies are more adult.” As I mentioned earlier, comedies of late have changed the route and making someone laugh has taken a dark path in most cases. 

Sanjay Manaktala, an Indian American stand-up comedian admits that he was one of the spectators who enjoyed Mr. Bean and grew up laughing to the person with his parents. He also shows surprise on the concept of the silent funny series. “That’s where I learnt that you need not to be vulgar to be funny… Act on your persona and human nature to evoke emotion.”

Rowan, who was preparing his master’s degree in Queen’s college, Oxford in Electrical Engineering, was getting into the character ‘Blackadder’. But, as soon as I heard the next incident, it travels me to a nightmare. The name that generally feeds an extra energy in us, wasn’t ready to be called in that way. Until after the release of its first episode, everyone was looking for the name called, “Mr. Cauliflower”. [Maybe they wanted to prove the first line of Rogers’ wrong. Just kidding.!!!]

The Animation world on the life on Mr. Bean: 

12yrs later, the funny series achieved transformation into an animated series of 26 half-hour episodes. The animated character was almost living the real world of Bean with Rowan providing all the vocal sounds. His landlady Mrs. Wicket and her evil one-eyed cat, Scapper was his universe. Among all the episodes, my favorite one was when we found Mr. Bean and his incredible wish of looking for a treasure, that ended up being a nice family picture. 

That animation perhaps was used to be the connector among different generation. I still remember besides me there was another person in my family who used to enjoy the cartoon and believe it or not, that was my 60-year old Grand Father, who used to spend his weekends spending hours on the show.  

Actually, it’s really tough to explain how easily Rowan had lived the life of this guy because some of his activities shows the uncanny roads of the life. In an episode, he went to a shopping-mall in the need of a frying-pan. Before selecting the final one, he was seen to measure the size of the dish by the fish he was supposed to cook in his kitchen!! Definitely this sounds funny; normally we guys will not do it or rather not think of it but there is something in it. You know if you know.!!

Indian stand-up comedian & director Sumukhi Suresh praised saying that these acts were her beginning of English comedy series. “He has this amazing dry sense of humor, which typically doesn’t exist in India yet.”

But has the real world addressed Rowan Atkinson, the character of Mr. Bean in his normal life?? In an English show for the promotion of “Johnny English”, he had expressed the surprise actions of how people fail to recognize him. “In a car parking area, there was a guy (staring at me) and he came up to me after a while… excuse me, I don’t know but hasn't you ever been told about the fact that you are absolute the spitting image of that Mr. Bean!!” Rowan quoted as said the unknown person.

The complexity of making someone laugh:  

Sometimes, it becomes too tough to make someone laugh, especially on-stage performances and it couldn’t be great enough to realize the whole scenario from the best in the business. “Sometimes trying to do performance funny is like trying to push a ball uphill and you are trying to get it as high as you can and sometimes in its extra-ordinary moment when it tips over the other side and runs away from you and actually you are no longer in charge of the performance.” Spelled out Rowan on the same promotion show. “It’s rather strange thing.”

One of the things I have literally found out is when comedians are put into the spotlight for being rectified as someone who through one of his jokes have literally tried to hurt someone's sentiments through his act and later, the person's hands are tied behind to apologize to the audience. Rowan has seen a different side of that nature. "Not all jokes suit all contexts; jokes on the restaurants with your friend never marry prime time TV ." 

"If people pay to see a comedian, then they got to accept whatever they provide and I am a great believer that 'Artists should never apologize for their art'. If people are offended that their problem, you have done your bit, if they don't want you to work for them again, then that may become your problem but you've done your best." 

Where is Atkinson at the moment? Is he coming back?

Last year in 2022, we saw the third part of the Johnny English and again how easily he used the word "Bob' a funny word to speak out. There is something really unique in the way he uses the different angles of the word. He also was seen in the series called 'Man & Bee' in Netflix where coming to mange a house in the absence of a family, Rowan in the character of a man has a blasting time with the bee that ends up catching fire in the house- A buzzing series one can enjoy with their family. 

But for someone who has so much followers on the social media, Rowan in possibly in his way tries to keep himself locked. "I am not on social media in any shape of form, I love to keep my activities personal, just because I find it much more relaxing." There was no doubt that because the character is totally silent, the global outreach will reach to a different level. 

Rowan Atkinson, as I have portrayed him as "The Secret of Mr. Bean' who had crossed 25years of the show in 2015. Although, the next few words from the man we all are waiting for to make a comeback with that old character, will make us depressed a bit. “I doubt that he will re-appear but you never know.” To be honest, yes it will disappoint us but 25yrs on television is not a matter of joke when others fade away in 2-3years.

We all will hope to get another bite of the cake for the very last time. I love him, you love him, we all do the same. 

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