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Well-timed!
AN UNREHEARSED show on camera can unnerve even the most confident and capable among us — especially if the format is a phone-in conversation with strangers. There are many young and beautiful girls trying it out on the various satellite channels everyday but the end product is invariably the same kind of insipid exchanges — tiresome even at its best. Mayilsamy's "Timekku Comedy" on weekdays on Jaya TV is different, marked as it is by buoyancy and camaraderie.
"That's exactly why our show is quite a success," says T. R. Venkatramani, producer of "Timekku ... " "Mayilsamy is completely at ease with the caller. And it is such spontaneity that we want," he says. The show's 200th segment is round the corner. "The letters we get from Dubai, London and Germany are proof of its popularity," Vekatramani smiles.
Viewers interested in a casual chat with the comedy actor-anchor write to Jaya, which checks the caller out prior to the recording. Then, Mayilsamy takes over. "I can talk to any one at any time. Our only request is that their queries and comments should not hurt or offend anybody," says the garrulous artiste. He is piqued when asked why he's not seen more often in cinema. His comic strains in "Varushamellam Vasantham" and the more recent "Dhool" were enjoyable ... "Of course, I get a lot of offers. But when I hear that even top comedians feel insecure about sharing screen space with me, it upsets me.
The screen being big or small hardly matters. What you do and how you reach out does ... " he says.
The actor was earlier doing a similar show on Sun. But there he would tease the person at the other end for a while before disclosing his identity... "We felt this could irritate the viewer unnecessarily and decided that Mayilsamy would introduce himself straightaway," Venkatramani explains. "That is again a challenge though I enjoy it," continues Mayilsamy. "
If I have to devote three minutes for each call, I could fritter away a minute or more in this kind of guessing game with the stranger. The actual interaction would probably be for just another minute. But in "Timekku ... " the person knows who I am at the outset itself. So I have to engage him in a humorous conversation during the entire time ... " "Yes ... " agrees Venkatramani.
"And the best part is Mayilsamy is not bogged down by any image. He interacts casually with viewers and if they throw light on things he doesn't know, he is willing to listen. He has no hang-ups at all." Apart from the telephonic exchanges, the show is interspersed with comedy scenes from films. Why does the show, like so many others, have to depend on films? "Only for relief," assures Venkatramani.
"The idea was to have light-hearted conversation juxtaposed with comedy clippings, and it has caught on. Our market study tells us that at the end of the day viewers prefer watching such light stuff ... " That probably explains the sustaining capacity of "Timekku Comedy."
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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