No laughing matter

NEED FOR REVIVAL

Not long ago, stand-up comedy shows ruled the small screen. Be it The Great Indian Laughter Challenge or Comedy Circus, their popularity cut across all sections of society, making them mass entertainers. And why wouldn’t they? Burdened with stressful lives, such shows will always be well-received, instead of tearjerkers that channels bombard us with. Although there were occasional noises about a few jokes being vulgar, these shows had an unabated run on television, as they made us laugh.

Sadly enough, today, barely five years after that trend of laughter reality shows started, they seem to have just evaporated into thin air. Where have they gone? Did the once roaring trend suddenly become unviable for producers? If so, what are the reasons? Explains Pankaj Saraswat, the brain behind the hugely successful The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, “A stand-up comedy show encompasses the bare minimum — a stage, a comedian and a microphone — to entertain audiences. Sadly, this definition has been morphed and today what you see in many laughter reality shows is pure mimicry. These programmes have reduced to being mere mimicry and skit shows. They have ceased to be stand-up comedy shows. I feel this is the reason why programmes in this genre have slowly become less popular and have been taken over by shows in other formats.”

Saraswat adds that all the four seasons of his show were successful because he stuck to the basic definition of a stand-up comedy show — to entertain audiences with genuine humour. He does have a point. Unadulterated comedy is definitely not what you get from many other comedy shows on television. “Today, everything has become a talent-hunt contest. Devoid of any humour, they end up generating only a few laughs,” adds Saraswat.

Whatever the case may be, comedy shows have presented the nation with talented comics who have shot to fame in the last five years. They include, Sunil Pal, Raju Srivastava, Rajiv Thakur, Kapil Sharma and Bharti Singh, courtesy The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. And they are still around and performing in Comedy Ka Jadoo on Sony.

But then comes the obvious question — if such shows are popular, why don’t we have stand-up comedy shows on Indian television any more? Sudesh Lehri, who shot to fame for his knack of combining music with comedy, feels that since these shows are extremely creative in nature, they cannot be churned out in large numbers. He adds that they cannot be treated as assembly line products as that will kill the essence of such shows.
Saraswat agrees with Lehri and says, “After completing four seasons of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, I felt the need to do something different, which is why I am working on a film now. Change is necessary. The same applies to any show from any genre on television.” Adds Lehri, “Irrespective of whether it is a comedy show or a saas-bahu saga, a good creative team is of prime importance. If that is not in place, then a show can tank within a few weeks or vice versa.”

Lehri may have a point. This is one of the many reasons why the makers of Sarabhai versus Sarabhai did not extend the serial beyond a few seasons.

But, is there a dearth of talent in the industry today? Are we facing a shortage of creative people who can make these shows successful? Vijay Ishwarlal Pawar, popularly known as VIP, has been in the business and performed as a stand-up comedian for more than two decades. He says, “I have been doing stage shows for 22 years now. But I have got my fame only in the last three years after I performed in Comedy Circus. Dearth of talent is definitely not the reason. In villages, there are many people who will make you laugh with just their acting skills and if television comes up with a talent-hunt, we can definitely discover talented comedians across the country, who can carry forward these shows.”

Saraswat points out, “But you need to come up with the right kind of shows for hunting the right talent. Mimicry and skit shows will not serve the purpose. Talent-hunts for comedians need to move much beyond that,” he concludes.

Point taken. But one feels it is just a matter of time before comedy shows are back in business. We have the talent and the ingredients for success. All we need is more creative concepts that break new ground and restore comedy shows back on television, in all their glory.