Comedy reality show coming up on Aug 27

‘LOL - Enga Siri Paappom’ is hosted by actor Shiva and comedy legend Vivek

Legendary comedian late Vivek’s first-ever unscripted comedy reality series ‘LOL- Enga Siri Paappom’ will be posthumously launched on Amazon Prime Video on August 27.

Actor Shiva, who co-hosted the show, says he misses the warmth and vibe he shared with the Padma Shri actor on and off the screen.

“We spent so much time talking about a host of things that we would never have got down to talking had we been acting in a movie together. From comedy, books, music to spirituality... the list goes on. It was not until we started shooting for the show did I realise that Vivek sir was a deeply spiritual person,” Shiva tells Showtime, ahead of the release of the show.

The show is similar to the one hosted by Boman Irani and Arshad Warsi, the Hindi reality comedy series ‘LOL: Hasse toh Phasse’ that premiered in April this year.

However, the content of the Tamil version has been tweaked to suit the taste of the local audience. Among the contestants are 10 well-known actors and comedians such as Maya S Krishnan, Abhishek Kumar, Premgi Amaren, Harathi Ganesh, RJ Vignesh Kanth, Sathish, Pugazh, Powerstar Srinivasan, Bhargav Ramakrishnan, and Syama Harini. The last man standing walks away victorious, says Shiva.

The show, says Shiva, was shot during the peak of the pandemic, “Had there been no pandemic, hosting the show would have been like being on a holiday. Vivek sir and I were the only ones who could laugh (since we were the judges) and our laughter was non-stop. The entire show was unscripted and every contestant was brilliant when it came to churning out their own comedy just to make the other laugh," he recollects.

He confesses that had he been a contestant he would have been voted out in the first slot itself. “I can’t control laughter,” he says.

So what was Vivek's style of presenting comedy? “Vivek sir always spoke about the importance of timing in comedy. I am more used to presenting comedy without any prior preparation. There’s a lot of spontaneity in my style. Vivek sir never ceased to surprise us with his refined style and original content. And that’s also because he is a scriptwriter,” says Shiva.

Will Shiva host more such shows in the future? “Well, yes if I am paid good money,” he says.

“Also, I feel the pandemic has put a lot of people in distress and what we all need is lots of laughter and hope in our lives in these dark times. This is one of the reasons that I decided to host the show because if I can bring some love and laughter into people’s lives then I would be more than happy to do so,” Shiva signs off.