Public demand

Laughter Challenge

Despite there being a fair number of ‘family comedies’ on the small screen,India’s thirst for laughs is far from quenched. It’s quite understandable. After a hard day at work,all we really want to do is laugh our worries away in front of the telly. Television personality Kunal Vijaykar says,“We have enough saas-bahu drama on TV. It’s about time we had some decent comedy shows which actually make us laugh with clever jokes.” He,however,has his doubts about how far Indian comedy can go. “I’ve seen some of these shows and I’ve seen Indian stand-up comics perform,and they’re only average. We need something better. I know it’s a horrible thing to say,but I wish we had more foreign comedy shows.”

Play Time

We’are glad Kaun Banega Crorepati did so well in 2010. It just might bring game shows back to the small screen in a big way. Of course,there are always hits and misses in this regard — two major misses last year were National Bingo Night and Big Money. However,viewers still seem keen on the genre. Actress Sara Khan,for one,wishes to watch more such shows on television. “They’re great for the whole family to watch together. Quiz shows especially are also educational and informative.” Varun Badola agrees,and adds,“It is exciting to sit in front of the television and anticipate the fate of the player.”

Thrills and chills

It’s a well-known fact that Indians love crime shows,which is why the English language general entertainment channels have regularly shown us a variety of such shows like Monk,Law and Order,Castle and Lie to Me. As far as Indian crime/detective shows are concerned,ever since shows,such as Byomkesh Bakshi,Tehkikat and Karamchand went off air,the only one to have successfully retained viewers is CID on Sony. Vijaykar says,“For the moment,I’m happy to watch American crime shows,but I wish Indian producers would also try their hand at it more often.”

Toon Twist

Shows such as The Simpsons,South Park and Family Guy have become cult shows all over the world,including India,not just for the quirky animation they use,but also for their humorous and zany plots. Which makes us wonder why more Indian producers don’t attempt this wonderful genre. Singer and TV personality Anusha Dandekar says,“I think animated shows are very funny and also very intelligent. Indian producers definitely need to let go of their reservations and come up with some funny shows of this sort.”

Natural Choice

We;have all seen Sir David Attenborough film bird in South America,and we’ve enjoyed watching Bear Grylls fight for survival in the wild. Actor Vivian D’Sena says he enjoys unwinding before nature documentaries on channels,such as Discovery and Animal Planet. “It’s intelligent,educational programming. I love watching these shows,but I would also be very happy to see more Indian content of this sort.” Considering the wealth of wildlife and breathtakingly beautiful natural sights that India has,it’s only fair for viewers to demand more Indian content exploring these subjects.