Entertainment Television

Originally published in The Tribune dated 03 October, 2010

Standing up for laughter

By

Randeep Wadehra & Amar Nath Wadehra

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone,
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.

--- Solitude by the late US poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919).

And, for generating laughter nothing beats a good comedy. The tradition of comedy in theatre goes back to several millennia. In India, Hasya Rasa, an integral part of the hoary Natyashastra, is of two kinds, Atmastha or focused on the self, Parastha or focused on others. In the Greek and Roman traditions comedies by Aristophanes are the oldest existing ones dating back to circa 4th century BC. However, stand-up comedy is of more recent origins. In the United Kingdom it began in the music halls during 18th and 19th centuries. In the United States vaudeville spawned a more robust and popular form of stand-up comedy that, eventually, led to shows featuring stand-up comics alone – a trend that gathered strength with the introduction of television.

In India, too, television ushered in the “comic revolution” when Doordarshan came up with memorable comedies like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Nukkad, Wagle Ki Duniya, Malgudi Days, Tenaliraman, Kakkaji Kahen, Idhar-udhar etc. With the coming in of private channels there was a quantitative as well as qualitative upsurge in comedy shows. Hum Paanch, Office Office, Shriman Shrimati, Dekh Bhai Dekh and many others kept the eyeballs glued to the small screen even as one was caught up in spasms of mirth. As a matter of course stand-up comedy followed.

Although there were straws in the wind when Jaspal Bhatti’s Ulta Pulta lit up the idiot box, courtesy Doordarshan, it was Shekhar Suman who became the first star stand-up comedian having considerable national following with his Movers & Shakers as well as Poll Khol. The manner in which he lampooned the politicians and other rich and famous persons in various walks of life became a template for those who took up the profession later. It is pertinent to point out that while there have been celebrity part-time stand-up comedians around – Bomman Irani, Cyrus Broacha and Sajid Khan, to name the most obvious ones – one must give credit to Star One’s The Great Indian Laughter Challenge series for providing a platform to the nation’s fulltime stand-up comedians; many of them, like Raju Shrivastav, Sunil Pal, Rajiv Nigam, Srikant Maski etc, became household names. But, a remarkable feature of this particular series is the large presence of Punjabis. Bhagwant Mann led the “Charge of the Punjab Brigade” when he came up with some thought-provoking messages through his comic content. When contacted, Bhagwant expressed his satisfaction at the success of Punjabis at the national level but was quick to point out that although double entendre may appeal to the baser instincts of viewers it is always the more elevated form of comedy that would endure. Greatest comedies may have sex as an ingredient but dirty jokes are absent. Bhagwant’s ‘humour with message’ policy has helped his comedy show Jugnu Hazir Hai complete 350 episodes on MH1. Currently he is busy with a satirical series on the CWG for a news channel while waiting for the release of Babbu Mann’s Punjabi movie Ekam.

Gurpreet Ghuggi, a quintessential stand-up comic, instead of merely targeting politicians and the rich drew his characters from ordinary folks. His TV shows Ghuggi Express and Ghuggi Online thrived on caricaturing the mundane. Presently in Canada, Ghuggi has acted in several Hindi and Punjabi movies. Another comedian, Sudesh Lehri gained popularity through Alpha Gaddi – a comic countdown show. Today, he is in great demand on various mainstream channels. He dishes out pure fun laced with some good singing and acting.

1 2 3 >>