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Funny, in parts
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Laughathon had its moments of brilliance, but there were also times when the audience had to just grin and bear it, writes Pankaja Srinivasan
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Photos: M. Periasamy & S. Siva Saravanan
Mixed fare (Clockwise) Scenes from Carry on Heaven, Python Hyssteria, Gokul’s mime, and Dr. Lakshmipathi at work
It was an ambitious effort. But ambition should be made of sterner stuff. A more efficient audio system would have been nice to begin with; better co-ordination, and some way of muzzling speakers who just didn’t know when to stop.
Having said that, Laughathon was a great ‘first’ for Coimbatore. To garner funny people, famous ones at that, and get them all to assemble at one place is no laughing matter. And, the organisers, The Humour Society, Coimbatore, managed to do just that.
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Had there been neon lights, Bharat Dabholkar would have been right up there. And, anyone who is fond of a funny line and has seen his wisecracks on Amul Butter hoardings, must have loved meeting him and hearing him speak. He kept it brief, and let the ad clippings he brought along do the talking. Chosen from across the world, the ads conveyed simple ideas that were brilliantly adapted and displayed. All were executed with humour — tongue-in-cheek, in-your-face and out-of-the-box. Best of all, one got to revisit some Amul Butter ads too, and Dabholkar narrated anecdotes and the history of how they came about. One could have happily watched those all day. It gave one a chance to see how humour could be used ‘differently’.
Dabholkar also mentioned how there was great humour in India, (didn’t someone famous say that Indians had no sense of humour?), and some of the best were in the vernacular.
Which brings us to the point of how the Laughathon could have had more Tamil programmes.
What could have been incredibly funny in Tamil were reduced to mangled remains when translated into English. However, Coimbatore’s favourite, Evam, was still there, and while they did not sparkle, they were quite funny in parts.
And, when Karthik Srinivasan mimicked the singing styles of some old timers such as Chandrababu, M.K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and Ghantasala, he had the audience laughing.
Freddy Koikaran’s Stagefright brought FourPlay, which after being reduced to three plays, did not end with the desired effect.
The inaugural evening saw a talk by renowned cardiologist and funny guy K.P. Misra, who spoke about ‘Life is a Joke’. It was peppered with anecdotes from his long, and apparently, hilarious practice. This was followed by the launch of Dr. G. Lakshmipathi’s ‘The dictionary of cynical medicine’.
Then, it was the turn of ‘Carry on Heaven’, a comedy directed by Bharat Dabholkar. What happens when a politician lands in Indralok?
There were some truly humourous moments, some below-the-belt jokes, and lots of music and dance. There was also an ad campaign up there to promote death as fashionable and hep. Sadly, bad acoustics spoilt the mood somewhat, and the play began a full two hours late. Talking of the play, Sai Vivek, one among the audience, had this to say: “They mixed it up, used current topics, had songs and the Mumbai masala to give it local colour. Quite unlike Python Hyssteria which is too ‘English, English’.” However, Jayashree, another guest, said perhaps the use of Hindi words and jargon might not have gone down too well with an audience unfamiliar with either Mumbai or Hindi. “But, on the whole, I enjoyed it. Especially the bit where public speaking expert T. Chendil Kumar from Bangalore spoke on effective communication, the needlessness of off-colour jokes and making women the butt of humour.”
Gokul from Chennai revived the audience somewhat with his mimicry on day two.
Another nice touch was a book stall at the entrance where one could treat themselves to P.G Wodehouse, Richard Gordon, joke books and so on. In fact, when the going got a bit tough inside, many people went there for comic relief.
Of course, on several occasions Lakshmipathi pulled the whole show back from the brink of utter disaster. Such as the time he held forth on ‘Merry Medical Memorabilia’, hilarious stories connected with common equipment used by doctors.
But, to be fair to the organisers, it is difficult to cater to an audience so varied in its tastes and preferences.
Also, one needs to have extraordinary talent to keep people engrossed for one-and-a-half days. Some felt that two evenings might have been a better idea. Still, said Sai Vivek, “In a city where entertainment is hard to come by, this was a different experience.”
Indeed it was. And, with great weather, food, and a chance to dress up and hobnob with some big names, Laughathon was most certainly good for at least a few laughs.
(With inputs by Subha J Rao)
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