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Laugh riot returns to small screen

HIT SHOW: `The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Dwitiya' begins today on Star One with Shekhar Suman, Navjot Singh Sidhu and host Perizaad.

They provided people with the perfect laughter dose for months, making sure small-town comedians from across the country never had to say "pehchan kaun?" again.

And having given sitcom lovers a reason to break away from the never-ending sob stories of everyday soaps, Star One's "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge" is now all set to launch the search for the next "hasi ka badshah".

Bigger and better it promises to be. Star is promising better wit and more humour this time, with the audiences getting the chance to not just watch but also vote for their favourite comedian. Renamed "The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Dwitiya", the show will come packed once again with the "original" one-liners of Sidhu, the witty comments of Shekhar Suman and, of course, the charm of its beautiful host Perizaad.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Star India CEO Sameer Nair said the new format would have 18 one-hour studio episodes and 17 special episodes of 30 minutes. "Sometimes you have to let the performance of a show speak for itself. When we started out, many questions were raised about the viability of such a show. But then, you have to begin somewhere. Performers from across the country, specially small towns, got the right platform through the programme which finally brought families together for a show that made them all laugh. And being able to do that has been our success," said Shekhar Suman.

"My 20 years of cricket and five years of commentary did not make me feel the way five months of this show did. It has taken everyday people from zero to hero. People who were ready to perform for a mere Rs.1,500 are now doing shows for Rs. 3 Lakhs. When the sequel was started, there were doubts in our minds on whether we will be able to come up to people's expectations. But after its first five episodes, I can tell you this will be even better," said cricketer-turned-commentator-turned-TV-host Navjot Singh.

The sequel will also bring the best of talent from across the border, with comedians from Pakistan also being part of the second innings. "I wouldn't like to break the suspense, but you will know what we mean when you see the Pakistani comedians at work," is how Sidhu summed it up. --Lakshmi B. Ghosh

--Lakshmi B. Ghosh

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