Sunday, May 19, 2002		Television

Laugh your way through primetime

IF it’s comedy you are looking for, here’s a pleasant surprise. In fact there are plenty of pleasant surprises on Sabe TV which has been airing some quality comedies that are light-hearted and funny and not fatuous and asinine.

The channel has created a separate a new prime time slot called the Comedy Hour with hits like Shriman Shrimati, Yes Boss, Sajan Tum Jhooth Mat Bolo and of course Office Office which has the inimitable Mohan Kapoor in the lead.

The latest offering Doli Leke Aiyeee Hai Dulhaniya every Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. revolves around two brothers, Prabhakar and Pradeep who are reluctant to get married though for totally different reasons. Prabhakar is scared of girls, whereas Pradeep is a compulsive flirt and hence does not want to settle down.

To make matters worse, the meek Prabhakar gets a gorgeous beauty as a boss. She is so floored by his simplicity that she instantly falls in love with him. Then starts the cat and mouse chase which leads to hilarious situations, even as younger brother Pradeep continues to enjoy his flirtatious flings.

Ever since he played the lead in Tu Tu Main Main, Mahesh Thakur’s comic flair has been growing, as is evident on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. — the Sabe TV chuckle time.

They are being termed the prince and princess. Sumeet and Ritu who play daughter and son of Tulsi in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on Star Plus are in their field of dreams.

Though this may be their first appearance in front of the camera, the two have interesting backgrounds. Sumeet who plays Gautam is a qualified architect and has worked in a Delhi construction firm.

For over five years he has also been on-stage and has done a string of plays with Barry John and Aamir Raza Hussain. While foraging around for roles he sent his portfolio to Balaji Telefilms. He was called for an audition and selected instantly.

Ritu Chaudhury who plays Tulsi’s daughter, Shobha, was a marketing assistant at ZEE TV and a part-time model. She, too, sent in her portfolio to the production house and was selected for the soon-to-be released, Kuch Jhuki Palakein, but seeing her acting acumen Ekta Kapoor took her on to do the pivotal role in Kyunki....

Being in the company of people like Smriti Malhotra, Amar Upadhyaya and Apara Mehta — some of the top names of TV — was unnerving for the debutantes. But both are now well settled in their roles and have as big a fan following as their peers. Now, whether they can translate this big break into more assignments remains to be seen.

After a few episodes nobody would blame you if you remarked that the ‘K’ in Kool should be replaced with an ‘F’.

Kitne Kool Hain Hum on Zee Monday to Thursday at 8 p.m. shows the depths comedy has plumbed to on the small screen. There’s nothing ‘kool’ about this comedy though you see a lot of fools trying their hand at comedy and falling flat on their faces.

The plot revolves around an unlettered rural household that suddenly comes into wealth through an inheritance and shifts base to the city as a highly respected business family. The family member’s attempts at mingling with the rich society forms the basis of this comedy — or, at least what the producer and scriptwriter conceive as comedy.

There’s nothing funny around here. Just yawn-inducing buffoonery. So if you are a comedy fan and long for good, clean entertainment you are obviously on the wrong channel. Keep surfing.

It’s been an arduous and a long trek but Raja Bundela says he can look back with satisfaction. When he switched from acting to production with the hugely hit serial Mujhe Chaand Chahiye, little did he realise what awaited him was a blank.

After Rajpath on Sahara and Har Haal Mein on Doordarshan, Bundela simply disappeared. No one heard of the National School of Drama graduate who had done cameos in films like Ankush, Vijeta, Arjun and had a string of hits on TV.

Now, suddenly, the actor-producer is back in reckoning and debuts as a director with his new full length feature film, Pratha, a movie that lays bare the religious exploitations in a backward village bereft of any education.

Yes, he says, it may finally be curtains for television. Besides films, he has a theatre outfit called Natak Company which has done some very popular plays in Mumbai and elsewhere. He is making a regional film Kisne Bharmaya Mere Lakhan Ko in the Bundelkhandi dialect — which incidentally is his mother tongue.

Apart from such varied activity, Bundela is keenly awaiting the Bobby Deol-starrer Shaheed Bhagat Singh where he plays Lala Lajpat Rai. Those who have seen the rushes say that he is back with a bang in character roles. Television’s loss is Bollywood’s gain.

She’s back where she belongs — in the thick of things. Kamal Sidhu, the lady who left Star TV in 1995 because of her deviant lifestyle is right on top again.

Besides being a much-in-demand show hostess Sidhu is now a senior reporter on the National Geographic Channel where she is doing a series of eye-catching shows titled Earthpulse.

On May 29, 9 p.m. she travels to a remote Fijian island to meet locals who are desperately trying to save the habitat of the rare crested iguana. Sidhu also meets a South African scientists working to solve the mystery of vulture poisoning. See why he has dedicated his life to strudying these birds, possibly some of the world’s most misunderstood creatures.

On May 30, 9 p.m. Sidhu confronts some killer crocs in southern India. The mugger crocodiles have outgrown their home and have started to attack humans. She meets the people and finds out if they have thought of any solution.

A fascinating series involving earth scientists, wildlife experts, sociologists and environmentalists. And Sidhu, of course, provides the glamour in this dour and serious collection of people and events.

In the 16th century, South America was the destination for countless Spanish Conquistadors in search for the wealth of the New World.

Their quest was fuelled by a strange rumour that somewhere in the unexplored heart of the South American continent was a country abounding in gold. This was known as El Dorado. Although the search for it continued for over a hundred years, El Dorado was never discovered.

Many expeditions went out to discover it. Sir Walter Raliegh also went out to on this illusive quest. Such was the fame of this imaginary land of gold that the term El Dorado is still used in regard to any place of rich promise.

In The Lost World Of El Dorado Saturday at 2.40 p.m. on BBC World — that repeats at 5.40 p.m. on Sunday — viewers join archaeologist Dr Tony Spawforth on an investigation that will lead him to the true story behind the legendary gold region. A gripping tale of people who lived and perished in search of a dream country.

— Mukesh Khosla