The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Good comedy still a far cry in TV serials

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 18, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Good comedy still a far cry in TV serials

Staff Reporter

Serials like `Alli Rajyam' and `Krishna Cottage' have a dedicated viewership Tearjerkers occupy prime time but a dose of laughter is yours if you switch on your television sets at the right time

LAUGH AND PLAY: Television plays or serials are yet to master the art of good comedy. But then there are exceptions such as plays of Crazy Mohan. — File Photo N. Sridharan

CHENNAI: According to doctors, "laughter is mental jogging". Laughter then can be one method of achieving longevity.

In such a situation, housewives and those sitting at home need to break monotony and the only form of entertainment is television. But unlike cinema, which has evolved a formula to integrate comedy and tragedy, television serial makers, at least in Tamil, are yet to master the art of cooking up an acceptable concoction of the two genres.

Tearjerkers occupy prime time but a dose of laughter is yours if you switch on your television sets at the right time.

The relatively young `Alli Rajyam', or the veteran `Krishna Cottage' or `Veettukku Veedu Looti', which is now doing a re-run, have a dedicated audience. All three of them share a common theme: viewers get a hint of what they can expect if only they peep into their neighbour's home.

"Veettukku... stereotypes the Palakkad Tamil Brahmin, Alli Rajyam is funny, down right silly too. I don't recollect what I saw yesterday," says V.G. Nandini, a college student. And that is what the producer wanted.

B. Srinivasan of Vikatan Televistas and producer of Alli Rajyam says: "[Alli Rajyam] is an antithesis to the so-called typical serial. Notwithstanding TRP ratings it is right on top on the weekly programme. When you see the programme you forget the world. It has no specific storyline, it is more character- and situation-based, a desi version of sitcom. The viewer response is excellent." Friends, a sitcom aired on Star Plus, inspired the 450-episode-old Krishna Cottage. Says producer Prabhu Nepal: "This [serial] focuses on values that all children should try to learn." His ancestors left India five generations ago and he grew up in Durban where "we were brought up to value Indian culture".

"In Krishna Cottage I bring in culture. It is very easy to emulate from a movie but we try to concentrate on storyline and the idea of what a person would find if he peeped into someone's house."

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