Sunny side up

Media man-of-all-parts Sunny Francis tells KS about the secret of his success.

Sunny Francis taps his brow and after much contemplation he answers my question, "I can't count the number of times I've been on television in Japan". Francis (who has a strong preference to be referred to as Sunny where ever possible) is an entertainer. He's on television, has appeared in movies, works on radio and is an emcee. He likes to make people laugh and this is obvious by the number of stop-starts during our interview (his tetê-a-tetê, my constant mirth).

Sunny was nineteen when he made the move to Japan. April of this year marks his nineteenth year here. Of Indian decent, Francis was born in Kerala which is in the south of India. His first language is Malaya-lam, the dialect of the region. He also speaks Hindi and learnt to speak English at school. His desire to leave home and live in a foreign country doesn't differ a lot from mine and probably yours too, the urge to "get out and see and do something different".

Studying Japanese was the priority for Sunny when he first arrived in Japan. He enrolled at the YMCA full-time course, and exited it a few years later as a fluent speaker. It was during his YMCA years that he and some classmates put together a drama/comedy group where all the dialogue was in Japanese. They toured around Japan and performed comedies. Sunny describes this as a "turning point in his life", it made him realise two things. First, making people laugh was something he really enjoyed, "People are at their best when they are happy and laughing" making people laugh is a good thing to do". Second was the realisation that entertaining people in a language that wasn't his first took "a lot of courage". He liked the challenge this offered. He saw the marriage of both ideas as an avenue to doing work he could really enjoy.

If you've been in Japan a few years, recognise Sunny from the photos and are trying to place him, it may be that you've seen him on a television show which aired a couple of years ago called "Strange Japanese Habits". It was a panel discussion-based show where a number of non Japanese spoke about contemporary and often controversial topics.

He has also appeared on NHK news. Sun TV, Kansai TV and has done numerous other television appearances which he again has lost count of. Francis was in a movie last year called Realism no Yado. He has emceed radio-related events, sports festivals, food fairs, and advertising campaigns, to name a few.

Sunny's voice has been gracing the airwaves for 10 years, he's one of the stalwarts at 76.5 FM COCOLO. He speaks about FM COCOLO's commitment 10 years ago to serve non-Japanese residents as "a good concept". He enjoyed then, and still now, the thrill of radio, of speaking to a live audience and doing it in both Hindi and Japanese. Sunny is currently on air every week on Friday mornings and evenings. He co-hosts a show with DJ Jun called Bharat Ki Dharkan from 10:00-11:00 which is a show about news, events and happenings in India. His evening show, which he co-hosts with DJ Mic, is called 1800 and airs from 6:00-7:00 PM.1800 is a show about new movies so it requires Sunny to go along to movie premiers (between 15-17 a month) What a tough job!

When asked about the pitfalls of working in the entertainment industry Sunny replies the "inconsistency of it all", of "never knowing if/what work is available". This is a valid concern for anyone, especially if you have a young family to support. Sunny has his fingers in many pies; quite literally, he sometimes helps out with the cooking at his wife's restaurant in Nada-ku, Kobe. The restaurant serves up Indian and Taiwanese delights and if the food's not enough to leave a lasting impression on you, then perhaps the name of the restaurant will, "Wife is Boss".

Chances are if you meet Sunny Francis he'll find some way to make you smile and laugh. He does so whether he's working or not, this is who he is.

Wife is Boss Tel: 078-856-7810

Text & photos: Renee Karena