Shekhar, Sidhu, satire...

Shekhar, Sidhu, satire... SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY

The successful talent hunt, "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge" is back on Star One from this Friday.

SECOND COMING The Great Indian Laughter Challenge hosts Shekhar Suman and Navjot Singh Sidhu in New Delhi PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA This is an expected comeback. Purely because, who would be so thoughtless to let go a format that clicked so very well with the viewers? And so, "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge" revisits Star One from this Friday at 10.p.m. And this time, the reality hunt for stand-up comedians will have an important suffix to it - Dwitiya. With the Big B no more on our TV sets to declare so dramatically, "Welcome to Kaun Banega Crorepati Dwiteeya", Star One has imported the vital suffix from its sister channel Star Plus to grab instant viewer attention. Also, it will have that 'lifeline' 50/50 made famous by "KBC" again. From Pakistan too In New Delhi this week to talk about the second season of the successful show, Star India Chief Operating Officer Sameer Nair elaborates on what is new this time. "The show has a few new features now. We will have more interactive viewers this time. The viewers will have the lifeline to bring an ousted contestant back to the contest through the interactive element of SMS. Also, it will have the 50/50 deciding system by the judges and the viewers," he says. But the most vital of the new concepts introduced this time is that the programme will have participants from Pakistan too. What would remain the same as before is the line-up of judges - Shekhar Suman and Navjot Singh Sidhu, and the show host, Parizaad Kolah. Produced by Endemol India, this season will see 18 of its episodes on air where 60 finalists have been short-listed from both India and Pakistan to show their wit and humour to finally claim the title of 'Hasi Ka Badshah'. Says Shekhar Suman, "This time, we will have participants from even more remote places than before. The show has generated such a response this time simply because it became so successful last year." He talks of an incident too where he decided to bring a little rag-picker named Rafiq from a Mumbai street into the show because "he had that spontaneous comic streak in him." Also, when contestants were invited from Pakistan, he relates, "Their first reaction was, will they let us win? They already have good comedians. The initial fears were set aside when they realised there is fair play here and only the best talent will win, no matter which nationality," adds Shekhar. Citing examples of the first season's contestants, Sidhu says, "Each of them are pure instances of someone who has gone from zero to turn into a hero. Earlier, they were keen to do a show even for Rs.1500 and yet very few were willing to invite them to a programme but now, they demand Rs.3 lakhs for each show simply because of this platform." This time too, he says, he will hunt for "ada" in each of them for he feels, "ada se chalo to Khuda milega." And since "you need an orchestra to play", (meaning team effort), the finalists of the first season too would make an appearance in "Dwitiya", he reveals.

Yet another reality show that added wings to Star One last year, "Nach Baliye" is also likely to return soon. Adds Nair, "Both are home-grown reality show ideas and both have reaped very good ratings for Star One. They alone have helped Star one to become the second entertainment channel in the country after Star Plus. Since viewers loved them so much, it makes sense in their homecoming."

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/02/24/stories/2006022401720400. htm