<p>When you watch a Charlie Chaplin movie, so strong is his performance, the script and the message that you never miss the dialogues and later realise that you are watching a silent film. In the recent past, ever since talkies came into existence, it is difficult to think of a movie apart from ‘Pushpak’ which made an attempt to re-explore the silent movie genre. And, when it comes to television one cannot think of any silent serial that was aired in India.<br /><br />SAB TV plans to venture into this territory with their unique show ‘Gutur Gu’, which claims to be the first silent comedy show on Indian television. Starring Sunil Grover and Sheetal Maulik as the main leads, ‘Gutur Gu’ will also have Nayan Bhatt, Bhawna Balsaver, Jaidutt Vyas and KK Goswami in other roles. The show is being produced for SAB TV by BP Singh of ‘CID’ and ‘Aahat’ fame and directed by Prabal Baruah.<br /><br />Anooj Kapoor, Business Head SAB says, “SAB TV is known for its innovative and fresh content. We hope to break new grounds with the launch of ‘Gutur Gu’ and provide our audience with yet another reason to sit back with family and enjoy light hearted entertainment. The idea is to provide a clutter breaking, first-of-its-kind entertainment programme, encapsulated in form of a silent comedy.”</p>.<p>‘Gutur Gu’ is the story of a boy called Balu who lives with his family. He somehow manages to get into unique situations in his otherwise dull life and succeeds in turning even mundane situations into incredible adventures. Every episode of the serial will deal with one incident in the life of Balu and his family.<br /><br />Director Prabal Baruah, who has had a long association with BP Singh explains the concept and execution of ‘Gutur Gu’. “I had the concept in mind since 10 years but worked on it more seriously for the last two years. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any takers for it. But, my meeting with Anooj Kapoor proved fruitful as he too was thinking about a show based on the similar format. We shot a pilot programme in June last year, which garnered appreciation and got the go ahead from the broadcaster within a day!”<br /><br />Says Sheetal Maulik, who plays the role of Mrs Smita Kumar (Balu’s wife) in the show, “I was the last one to be auditioned and selected for ‘Gutur Gu’. All other characters had been finalised by the time I entered the scene. I feel it is a great honour for me to work with talented actors like Bhawna Balsaver and Sunil Grover. I play the character of a dominating, stylish and modern wife who has a love-hate relationship with her mother-in-law.”<br /><br />Sunil Grover, the stand-up comedian who has created waves in the television industry, is playing the role of Balu in the serial. He adds, “When I heard the concept of a silent comedy, I immediately decided to go for it. The script is the hero in this serial. ‘Gutur Gu’ is completely Indian — the concept, the story, the values shown in the serial and I feel everyone will like watching it. It scores highly when it comes to being unique and fresh.”<br />As for the casting, Baruah explains, “In terms of casting, we did not hunt for big names. All we wanted were actors with a fantastic sense of comic timing. Sunil Grover, Sheetal Maulik and Bhavna Balsaver – all are extremely talented and choosy about their roles and they fitted the bill perfectly.”<br /><br />But, is the serial really going to be silent as it is being claimed? “Believe me there is not a single dialogue in the serial. The script, written by director Prabal Baruah himself, is so tightly knit that dialogues are not required!” explains Maulik. “ The word ‘Gutur Gu’ means communication without talking. We kept that in mind while making the serial. However, there will be background music to fill in for the dialogues,” points out Baruah. <br />“The presence of senior actors has really helped us. Before every scene, we rehearse for at least a couple of hours and then go in for the take. We also improvise during the rehearsals and have a very open culture of feedback. This helps all of us in enacting the scene better,” says Sheetal, who seems to be truly thrilled, as she is part of the show.<br />‘Gutur Gu’ will be aired on SAB TV from March 5, every Friday at 8.30 pm.</p>
<p>When you watch a Charlie Chaplin movie, so strong is his performance, the script and the message that you never miss the dialogues and later realise that you are watching a silent film. In the recent past, ever since talkies came into existence, it is difficult to think of a movie apart from ‘Pushpak’ which made an attempt to re-explore the silent movie genre. And, when it comes to television one cannot think of any silent serial that was aired in India.<br /><br />SAB TV plans to venture into this territory with their unique show ‘Gutur Gu’, which claims to be the first silent comedy show on Indian television. Starring Sunil Grover and Sheetal Maulik as the main leads, ‘Gutur Gu’ will also have Nayan Bhatt, Bhawna Balsaver, Jaidutt Vyas and KK Goswami in other roles. The show is being produced for SAB TV by BP Singh of ‘CID’ and ‘Aahat’ fame and directed by Prabal Baruah.<br /><br />Anooj Kapoor, Business Head SAB says, “SAB TV is known for its innovative and fresh content. We hope to break new grounds with the launch of ‘Gutur Gu’ and provide our audience with yet another reason to sit back with family and enjoy light hearted entertainment. The idea is to provide a clutter breaking, first-of-its-kind entertainment programme, encapsulated in form of a silent comedy.”</p>.<p>‘Gutur Gu’ is the story of a boy called Balu who lives with his family. He somehow manages to get into unique situations in his otherwise dull life and succeeds in turning even mundane situations into incredible adventures. Every episode of the serial will deal with one incident in the life of Balu and his family.<br /><br />Director Prabal Baruah, who has had a long association with BP Singh explains the concept and execution of ‘Gutur Gu’. “I had the concept in mind since 10 years but worked on it more seriously for the last two years. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any takers for it. But, my meeting with Anooj Kapoor proved fruitful as he too was thinking about a show based on the similar format. We shot a pilot programme in June last year, which garnered appreciation and got the go ahead from the broadcaster within a day!”<br /><br />Says Sheetal Maulik, who plays the role of Mrs Smita Kumar (Balu’s wife) in the show, “I was the last one to be auditioned and selected for ‘Gutur Gu’. All other characters had been finalised by the time I entered the scene. I feel it is a great honour for me to work with talented actors like Bhawna Balsaver and Sunil Grover. I play the character of a dominating, stylish and modern wife who has a love-hate relationship with her mother-in-law.”<br /><br />Sunil Grover, the stand-up comedian who has created waves in the television industry, is playing the role of Balu in the serial. He adds, “When I heard the concept of a silent comedy, I immediately decided to go for it. The script is the hero in this serial. ‘Gutur Gu’ is completely Indian — the concept, the story, the values shown in the serial and I feel everyone will like watching it. It scores highly when it comes to being unique and fresh.”<br />As for the casting, Baruah explains, “In terms of casting, we did not hunt for big names. All we wanted were actors with a fantastic sense of comic timing. Sunil Grover, Sheetal Maulik and Bhavna Balsaver – all are extremely talented and choosy about their roles and they fitted the bill perfectly.”<br /><br />But, is the serial really going to be silent as it is being claimed? “Believe me there is not a single dialogue in the serial. The script, written by director Prabal Baruah himself, is so tightly knit that dialogues are not required!” explains Maulik. “ The word ‘Gutur Gu’ means communication without talking. We kept that in mind while making the serial. However, there will be background music to fill in for the dialogues,” points out Baruah. <br />“The presence of senior actors has really helped us. Before every scene, we rehearse for at least a couple of hours and then go in for the take. We also improvise during the rehearsals and have a very open culture of feedback. This helps all of us in enacting the scene better,” says Sheetal, who seems to be truly thrilled, as she is part of the show.<br />‘Gutur Gu’ will be aired on SAB TV from March 5, every Friday at 8.30 pm.</p>
