It's war! Prime-time comedy shows to battle it out

Comedy has always been a genre that has been loved by the masses. Over the years, it has emerged and diversified in terms of content and has gone beyond on just being slapstick or under the belly. And its growth received a certain boost with the launch of SAB TV, a channel dedicated to tickle the funny bones. But now it seems that the war of comedy is on in full swing. Shekhar Suman is back with Movers and Shakers (airing from 12 March 2012 and this time on SAB TV) and just before its return, the former producer of the above show Abhigyan (who created history by launching the first web-based stand-up show, Jay Hind) is bringing the net version to TV on Colors. It will be called The Late Night Show which will premier tonight at 11 pm (Sat –Sun slot). It is speculated that the makers have tried to make the TV version softer then the web version, which will also continue. Apparently, the Savita Bhabhi part has been dropped. Sumeet Raghavan, host of Jay Hind, will continue to host the TV version as well. Abhigyan, who had first planned this show for Imagine three years ago, refused to comment on the type of content. “Why don’t you watch it for yourself and I don’t think we need to make it softer,” he said. So has the show been deliberately slotted at 11 pm in order to allow more edgy content? “How can you expect The Late Night Show to air at 8 pm?”fired back Abhigyan. When asked about comparisons with Movers and Shakers, Abhigyan, who had recently co-produced Kaali- Ek Agnipariksha on Star Plus along with Fox TV India, said ,“I was the creative director and executive producer of the above show for 600 episodes, so who is copying whom? They are a celeb-based show while we don’t have celebs; we are a pure stand-up comedy.” Furthermore, it seems that relations between Shekhar and Abhigyan are not good for he made a personal comment about Shekhar stating, “This time Shekhar is going to kiss up to celebrities.” Finally, when asked about the virtual absence of promotion regarding, The Late Night Show, Abhigyan said,“ It will eventually happen, you need to understand that we are not a new show, so campaign will have to be different.” We get it, Abhigyan. Only time will tell which show will finally manage to impress the viewers. Till then, keep watching and enjoying television!!!