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Tag: Krushna Abhishek

  • Another comic roast raises a storm

    Another comic roast raises a storm

    MUMBAI: Comic Roasts can backfire. Ask the AIB guys. And now you can ask the cast of Comedy Nights Bachao. In an episode that is yet to be telecast, the cast of the Krushna Abhishek-Bharati Singh-led show on Colors resorted to some leg-pulling of an actress during a film promotion on it. The leg-pulling was around the tanned actress’ skin colour. And, it got her goose. So much so, that it has become an issue with women’s organisations getting behind the actress and the channel and the artistes having to issue an apology.

    ‘Parched’ actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was the butt of the skin tone joke during a show to be aired on Colors. “She had no clue about ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’, says the show’s host Krushna Abhishek who has now apologised for the ‘racist’ comments. Both, Krushna and Colors have since apologised to Tannishtha after she expressed disappointment with how her skin tone was made fun of on “Comedy Nights Bachao.” Comedian Krushna defended the programme that he co-hosts, after Tannishtha rued its “blatant and regressive racist” ways of finding humour in her “dark skin tone”.

    Issues with colorism and race are not new in India. The degradation of dark color and the privileges of whiteness in a post-colonial era is endless. And, jokes on a popular show only help to reinforce the stereotype that dark skin is a subject of ridicule.

    Krushna was not present on the sets of the show when Tannishtha was “roasted” on the show. She was accompanied there by her ‘Parched’ team members — director Leena Yadav and actress Radhika Apte. Soon after shooting for the show,Tannishtha took to social media to criticise the format for its racist attack.

    The creative professionals on the Colors shows believed that calling someone ‘kaali kalooti’ or asking if eating jamuns (blackberries) as a kid is the reason why she is dark-skinned is amusing.

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) has slammed the comedy show for allegedly making fun of the skin tone of the actress, and said it is exploring avenues to initiate action on the “unfortunate episode”.

    After sitting through two segments of the show, the National Award-winning actress walked out of the shoot when jokes like ‘kaali kalooti, baingan looti’ didn’t stop. In the post, Tannishtha wrote, “…in a country where we still sell Fair and Lovely/Handsome and show adverts where people don’t get jobs because of their complexion, where every matrimonial advert demands a fair bride or groom and the colour bias is so strong, in a society which has a deep-seated problem with dark skin, which also has deep roots in our caste system, in a country where dark skin is marginalised — making fun of it is not a roast. Even considering that dark skin is a joke comes from that very deep prejudice”.

    An apologetic Krushna later reacted: “If she (Tannishtha) feels offended by something, I apologise from our side. We never want to hurt anyone deliberately. “Comedy Nights Bachao” is of a roast format. Roast doesn’t mean that we say just anything to anyone… I had asked Tannishtha, if she has seen the show, she said she doesn’t watch TV as such. So, she has no clue about the show. So, I took another example and asked her if she had seen AIB Roast? And she hadn’t seen that either. I told her that since it’s a roast, there will be some leg-pulling, but we don’t insult. Had we been insulting, the show won’t have come so far.”

    The actress has said that she had some idea of a roast through “Saturday Night Live” show, and that with “Comedy Nights Bachao”, she was anticipating to be ‘roasted’ as her perception was that a roast is “a celebratory humour at someone’s expense” and “a mock counter to a toast”.

    Pointing out that the only thing they could roast about a dark-skinned actress was “of course her dark skin”, she said in a Facebook post: “This was an entirely novel understanding of roast that equates itself with bullying. And to my utmost horror, I soon realised that the only quality they found worth roasting about in me was my skin tone. It began with, ‘Aap ko jamun bahut pasand hoga zaroor…?’”

    Krushna said there are actors who take roasts sportingly. “When Varun Dhawan came for ‘Dilwale’, Varun himself came up to me and said that he is very excited and looking forward to the roast. Even Shah Rukh Khan chose to come to our show for ‘Fan’. “I don’t know what hurt Tannishtha, because I wasn’t performing then. But I apologise if it has hurt her, though it wasn’t a deliberate attempt,” he added.

    A PTI report quoted NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam as saying it was “deplorable” and “pathetic” that the TV show “stooped to such a low level to garner TRPs”.

    “This was wrong on so many levels, in gender construct and social construct and it sets a very bad precedent. It is in bad taste and condemnable. In the name of freedom of expression, one should not and cannot allow perpetuation of social prejudice,” Kumaramangalam told PTI, adding NCW has taken cognisance of the incident and is “consulting lawyers” to determine a “course of action.”

    The NCW proposes to issue a letter to the apex authority on monitoring of the broadcast media content to bring to their notice the episode, according to the wire news service report.

    This is not the first time comedians and TV shows have come under scrutiny for content that has been described as objectionable by some.

    Meanwhile, a media report from Karnataka said that a High Court judge made some critical comments on film, TV and print media content.

    Justice Gowda, who has given time to the Central government till 4 October 2016 to respond to a petition, was reported as observing on a case regarding a film content, “In the midst of news, some objectionable contents are introduced on television. Even newspapers carry advertisements about jewellery and lingerie, which are sometimes indecent.”

  • Another comic roast raises a storm

    Another comic roast raises a storm

    MUMBAI: Comic Roasts can backfire. Ask the AIB guys. And now you can ask the cast of Comedy Nights Bachao. In an episode that is yet to be telecast, the cast of the Krushna Abhishek-Bharati Singh-led show on Colors resorted to some leg-pulling of an actress during a film promotion on it. The leg-pulling was around the tanned actress’ skin colour. And, it got her goose. So much so, that it has become an issue with women’s organisations getting behind the actress and the channel and the artistes having to issue an apology.

    ‘Parched’ actress Tannishtha Chatterjee was the butt of the skin tone joke during a show to be aired on Colors. “She had no clue about ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’, says the show’s host Krushna Abhishek who has now apologised for the ‘racist’ comments. Both, Krushna and Colors have since apologised to Tannishtha after she expressed disappointment with how her skin tone was made fun of on “Comedy Nights Bachao.” Comedian Krushna defended the programme that he co-hosts, after Tannishtha rued its “blatant and regressive racist” ways of finding humour in her “dark skin tone”.

    Issues with colorism and race are not new in India. The degradation of dark color and the privileges of whiteness in a post-colonial era is endless. And, jokes on a popular show only help to reinforce the stereotype that dark skin is a subject of ridicule.

    Krushna was not present on the sets of the show when Tannishtha was “roasted” on the show. She was accompanied there by her ‘Parched’ team members — director Leena Yadav and actress Radhika Apte. Soon after shooting for the show,Tannishtha took to social media to criticise the format for its racist attack.

    The creative professionals on the Colors shows believed that calling someone ‘kaali kalooti’ or asking if eating jamuns (blackberries) as a kid is the reason why she is dark-skinned is amusing.

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) has slammed the comedy show for allegedly making fun of the skin tone of the actress, and said it is exploring avenues to initiate action on the “unfortunate episode”.

    After sitting through two segments of the show, the National Award-winning actress walked out of the shoot when jokes like ‘kaali kalooti, baingan looti’ didn’t stop. In the post, Tannishtha wrote, “…in a country where we still sell Fair and Lovely/Handsome and show adverts where people don’t get jobs because of their complexion, where every matrimonial advert demands a fair bride or groom and the colour bias is so strong, in a society which has a deep-seated problem with dark skin, which also has deep roots in our caste system, in a country where dark skin is marginalised — making fun of it is not a roast. Even considering that dark skin is a joke comes from that very deep prejudice”.

    An apologetic Krushna later reacted: “If she (Tannishtha) feels offended by something, I apologise from our side. We never want to hurt anyone deliberately. “Comedy Nights Bachao” is of a roast format. Roast doesn’t mean that we say just anything to anyone… I had asked Tannishtha, if she has seen the show, she said she doesn’t watch TV as such. So, she has no clue about the show. So, I took another example and asked her if she had seen AIB Roast? And she hadn’t seen that either. I told her that since it’s a roast, there will be some leg-pulling, but we don’t insult. Had we been insulting, the show won’t have come so far.”

    The actress has said that she had some idea of a roast through “Saturday Night Live” show, and that with “Comedy Nights Bachao”, she was anticipating to be ‘roasted’ as her perception was that a roast is “a celebratory humour at someone’s expense” and “a mock counter to a toast”.

    Pointing out that the only thing they could roast about a dark-skinned actress was “of course her dark skin”, she said in a Facebook post: “This was an entirely novel understanding of roast that equates itself with bullying. And to my utmost horror, I soon realised that the only quality they found worth roasting about in me was my skin tone. It began with, ‘Aap ko jamun bahut pasand hoga zaroor…?’”

    Krushna said there are actors who take roasts sportingly. “When Varun Dhawan came for ‘Dilwale’, Varun himself came up to me and said that he is very excited and looking forward to the roast. Even Shah Rukh Khan chose to come to our show for ‘Fan’. “I don’t know what hurt Tannishtha, because I wasn’t performing then. But I apologise if it has hurt her, though it wasn’t a deliberate attempt,” he added.

    A PTI report quoted NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam as saying it was “deplorable” and “pathetic” that the TV show “stooped to such a low level to garner TRPs”.

    “This was wrong on so many levels, in gender construct and social construct and it sets a very bad precedent. It is in bad taste and condemnable. In the name of freedom of expression, one should not and cannot allow perpetuation of social prejudice,” Kumaramangalam told PTI, adding NCW has taken cognisance of the incident and is “consulting lawyers” to determine a “course of action.”

    The NCW proposes to issue a letter to the apex authority on monitoring of the broadcast media content to bring to their notice the episode, according to the wire news service report.

    This is not the first time comedians and TV shows have come under scrutiny for content that has been described as objectionable by some.

    Meanwhile, a media report from Karnataka said that a High Court judge made some critical comments on film, TV and print media content.

    Justice Gowda, who has given time to the Central government till 4 October 2016 to respond to a petition, was reported as observing on a case regarding a film content, “In the midst of news, some objectionable contents are introduced on television. Even newspapers carry advertisements about jewellery and lingerie, which are sometimes indecent.”

  • ‘Comedy Nights Live’ to replace Kapil’s show on Colors from 31 January

    ‘Comedy Nights Live’ to replace Kapil’s show on Colors from 31 January

    MUMBAI: After grabbing headlines for weeks now and being the talk of the town – amongst viewers and the industry alike – Colors’ flagship comedy show Comedy Nights With Kapil is all set to come alive in a new avatar but sans Kapil Sharma.

     

    Re-christened as Comedy Nights Live, the show will be hosted by actor – comedian Krushna Abhishek and will go on air from 31 January. The show will aired on Sundays at 10 pm.

     

    It may be recalled that Colors’ other comedy show, Comedy Nights Bachao, which is based on the format of roast comedy, also has Abhishek along with other comedians like Bharti Singh etc. The show airs on Saturdays at 10 pm.

     

    While Comedy Nights With Kapil was jointly produced by SOL Production and Kapil Sharma’s K9 Productions, Comedy Nights Live will be produced by Vipul D Shah’s Optimystix Entertainment India.

     

    Colors will air the final episode of Comedy Nights With Kapil on 24 January, which also happens to be the day when the Bigg Boss 9 finale will take place.

     

    “It’s good for Comedy Nights Live as the time band is already established, therefore it will do well. Initially for the first two – three weeks, ad rates for the 10 second slot will be slightly lower by Rs 20,000- 25,000 but if the show performs well, then it might go up,” a senior media planner tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    While there have been questions raised about how the show will perform without Kapil Sharma, another media observer opines, “It’s a format that the channel has to follow. Let’s give Krushna a chance as he has performed well in his others shows including Comedy Circus. Even Comedy Nights Bachao is performing well.”

     

    Launched on 22 June, 2013, Comedy Nights with Kapil will complete 192 episodes on 24 January. How successfully Krushna fits into Sharma’s big shoes and does justice to the show, only time tell.

  • ‘Comedy Nights Live’ to replace Kapil’s show on Colors from 31 January

    ‘Comedy Nights Live’ to replace Kapil’s show on Colors from 31 January

    MUMBAI: After grabbing headlines for weeks now and being the talk of the town – amongst viewers and the industry alike – Colors’ flagship comedy show Comedy Nights With Kapil is all set to come alive in a new avatar but sans Kapil Sharma.

     

    Re-christened as Comedy Nights Live, the show will be hosted by actor – comedian Krushna Abhishek and will go on air from 31 January. The show will aired on Sundays at 10 pm.

     

    It may be recalled that Colors’ other comedy show, Comedy Nights Bachao, which is based on the format of roast comedy, also has Abhishek along with other comedians like Bharti Singh etc. The show airs on Saturdays at 10 pm.

     

    While Comedy Nights With Kapil was jointly produced by SOL Production and Kapil Sharma’s K9 Productions, Comedy Nights Live will be produced by Vipul D Shah’s Optimystix Entertainment India.

     

    Colors will air the final episode of Comedy Nights With Kapil on 24 January, which also happens to be the day when the Bigg Boss 9 finale will take place.

     

    “It’s good for Comedy Nights Live as the time band is already established, therefore it will do well. Initially for the first two – three weeks, ad rates for the 10 second slot will be slightly lower by Rs 20,000- 25,000 but if the show performs well, then it might go up,” a senior media planner tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    While there have been questions raised about how the show will perform without Kapil Sharma, another media observer opines, “It’s a format that the channel has to follow. Let’s give Krushna a chance as he has performed well in his others shows including Comedy Circus. Even Comedy Nights Bachao is performing well.”

     

    Launched on 22 June, 2013, Comedy Nights with Kapil will complete 192 episodes on 24 January. How successfully Krushna fits into Sharma’s big shoes and does justice to the show, only time tell.

  • Sony Max brings back comedy fillers

    Sony Max brings back comedy fillers

    MUMBAI: Here’s some good news for Sony Max viewers. Short format comedy fillers namely ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ and ‘Max Fully Deewana’ are back by popular demand on the channel from August interspersed through the day. India’s premier Hindi Movies channel, Sony Max which believes in going beyond movies to entertain its viewers has brought back the comic relief fillers intending to leave viewers in splits. Formulated as spoofs on iconic scenes from Bollywood, the fillers will see known faces namely Krushna Abhishek and Bharti Singh share screen space with new additions comprising of comedians Vikalp Mehta and Sugandha Mishra guaranteed to double the comedy quotient.

     

    This year audiences will be in for a treat with 60 rib tickling filmy gags which will see a few changes. For instance, ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ the quintessential classroom setup will now have comedian Krushna Abhishek don the role of a lady teacher – Rosy Ma’am. Mischievous and incorrigible student ‘Bittu’ played by Bharti Singh develops a crush on the new teacher. ‘Max Fully Deewana’, on the other hand, encapsulates the essence of the channel- ‘Deewana Bana De’ by showcasing hilarious spoofs on some of the most iconic scenes of Bollywood. The filmy gags will feature comedians Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh, Vikalp Mehta and Sugandha Mishra play out memorable scenes from Bollywood in a comic manner.

     

    Commenting on the new series of ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ is different from last year, comedian Krushna Abhishek says, “The new series of ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ features a new character – a lady teacher. Earlier Bittu was taught by a male teacher with whom he shared a ‘tom and jerry’ kind of a relationship. However, Bittu has developed a crush on the female teacher and shares a better rapport with her. Similarly with ‘Fully Deewana’, we have done a lot of new spoofs on recent movies like ‘Kick’ and ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’.”

     

    Talking about entertaining people through the two- minute comedy fillers, comedian Bharti Singh says, “We do not want viewers to go anywhere between movies and thus, this concept of the comedy fillers helps keep them glued to their TV sets.  It just makes their television watching experience a lot more entertaining.”

     

    Commenting on the challenges of filming for these comedy fillers, she added, “This is very different from the usual comedy that I do where I have more time but over here I have to explain everything in 2 minutes. It includes a lot of impromptu performance. It’s very challenging for me because we are stand-up comedians and at times even one hour is not enough for us. However, having said that performing on these two minute fillers is a lot of fun.”

     

    Stressing on the importance of comedy fillers in between movies, Neeraj Vyas, Sr. EVP Business Head, MAX and MAX2, stated, “For a channel which provides its viewers with a wide assortment of movies, Sony MAX has always aimed at going beyond movies to entertain its viewers and give them that little extra to keep them coming back to the channel. Comedy fillers are a novel concept and outright funny which also acts as a stress buster for the viewers.”

  • Colors to strengthen weekend programming with ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’

    Colors to strengthen weekend programming with ‘Comedy Nights Bachao’

    MUMBAI: All India Bakchod’s (AIB) roasting session might have raised many controversies earlier this year, but it did introduce India to a new kind of comic genre – ‘insult comedy.’ And now popular Hindi GEC is ready to take up the challenge of bringing this genre to national television through a new show called Comedy Nights Bachao, which is an extension of the Comedy Nights franchise.

     

    Produced by Optimystix, the show will take jibes at famous and infamous celebrity guests at the hands of actor-comedian jodis through acid-tongued humour. The funny panel of comic assassins will descend on television screens from 5 September, every Saturday at 10 pm on Colors.

     

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, “They say comedy is a serious business and we have realised it is indeed a serious one. As a progressive channel we keep a tab on the evolving taste of our viewers and thus have identified the various elements of hilarity that makes them tick. Through Comedy Nights Bachao, we are foraying into a new genre of comedy, which is getting extremely popular. With this new brand of humor, we hope to redefine the comedy genre altogether.”

     

    Every week Comedy Nights Bachao will bring together celebrity guests whose feelings, personality traits will be ripped apart through tongue-in-cheek punch-lines, poking fun at their personal lives and public image. The roasting burns will be served by comic crusaders teamed together as five jodis – Krushna Abhishek, Sudesh Lahiri and Sara Khan; Bharti Singh, Karan Wahi and Pritam Singh; Anita Hassanandani and Mubeen; Shruti Seth and Shakeel Siddiqui; and Pooja Bose and Naseem Vicky.

     

    Elaborating on the show’s format, Colors programming head Manisha Sharma said, “There is a whole new rapidly-developing genre of insult comedy, which has been grabbing eyeballs lately. Through Comedy Nights Bachao, we are looking forward to curate a daring enterprise adding a new dimension of wit. We will be putting an eclectic mix of celebrity guests in the spotlight as actor-comedian jodis target them with carefully put together comic gags while raising the laughter quotient on a weekly basis.”

     

    Optimystix Entertainment India producer Vipul D Shah added, “Distinctive and sustained comedy is our strength at Optimystix. Comedy Nights Bachao is a unique show and will prove to be an extremely entertaining one.”

  • Johnny Lever to make his debut on Twitter

    Johnny Lever to make his debut on Twitter

    MUMBAI: There are all kinds of genres in cinema like thrillers, action, romance, horror and more but the one that never goes out of fashion is comedy and the name that is synonymous with this genre is Johnny Lever. With the premiere of the super-hit comedy movie – Entertainment starring Akshay Kumar, Tamannah Bhatia, Johnny Lever and Krushna Abhishek airing on Zee Cinema on Sunday, 12 October at 8:00 PM, the channel gives an opportunity to all Johnny Lever fans on Twitter to interact with the evergreen comic icon of Bollywood as he engages with them on the Twitter handle of Zee Cinema on 10 October between 11 30 AM and 1 PM.

     

    Johnny Lever is one of the most cherished comedians of Indian Cinema and while many look up to him for his famous comic timing, many others just love him for his heart-warming screen presence. The King of Comedy who has tickled the funny bone of every Indian household will now be gauging the antics of his ardent fans as they put their ‘comic’ foot forward to impress the man himself on Twitter. Zee Cinema has challenged ace entertainer Johnny Lever’s fans to make him laugh with their tweets using the handle #MakeJohnnyLaugh. All Johnny Lever fans can also tune-in to interact with Johnny Lever on Twitter and showcase their comic talent to him LIVE on Twitter! All those who manage to make him laugh will receive a retweet and a favourite from the actor himself as a token of appreciation.

     

    Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL said, “We wanted to create a unique experience for our followers on social media and what better than getting one of the most admired comic icons of India, Johnny Lever, to engage with them on Twitter. Since Johnny has no official Twitter account, this will be a great opportunity for his fans to interact with him and in a role-reversal, they will have to entertain him this time! ”

     

    Catch the super-hit comedy movie – Entertainment starring Akshay Kumar, Tamannah Bhatia, Johnny Lever and Krushna Abhishek on Sunday, October 12th as the 8:00 PM, only on Zee Cinema.

     

  • Sony MAX gives its viewers a reason to laugh

    Sony MAX gives its viewers a reason to laugh

    MUMBAI: Ever thought of watching a Bollywood style comic filler or a short movie spoof between movie breaks instead of a regular soap or a toothpaste advertisement?  India’s premier Hindi Movies channel, Sony MAX makes your wishes come true.  With its tagline of ‘Deewana Bana De’, the channel takes an initiative to provide its viewers with entertainment beyond movies. Focusing on generating excitement around films, MAX presents two short format comedy fillers namely ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ and ‘Fully Deewana’ to its viewers. The fillers are formulated to leave viewers in splits with interesting Bollywood facts presented in a comic manner.  The channel has roped in famous comedians Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh and Paresh Ganatra for the making of these fillers.

     

    In a classroom setup, ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ showcases the plight of a desperate teacher (Krushna Abhishek) who pulls out all stops to ensure his student Bittu (Bharti Singh) makes an improvement in class and succeeds in life. However, Bittu who seems to be bitten by the Bollywood bug, infuriates his teacher with hilarious responses that have a Bollywood connect. The filler is guaranteed to keep viewers thoroughly entertained with interesting Bollywood trivia. ‘Max Fully Deewana,’on the other hand, showcases hilarious comedy gags of some of the most iconic Bollywood scenes thus capturing the essence of the channel – ‘Deewana Bana De’. The gags will be performed by comedians Krushna Abhishek, Bharti Singh and Paresh Ganatra and will capture memorable Bollywood scenes in a comic fashion.

     

    On his association with the channel comedian Krushna Abhishek, says, “I have a long standing relationship with Sony and genuinely speaking, I feel it is my extended family. There is a certain comfort level that I feel whilst working for the channel. We have played many popular and downright hilarious characters from Bollywood that we could think of. I thoroughly enjoyed showcasing my filmi deewana side and am hoping the viewers will enjoy it too.”

     

    Talking about entertaining people in between movie screenings on the channel is comedian Bharati Singh, who says, “I have heard people complaining about ads on TV, especially during movies. But now, the audience will get to see comedy snippets in which Krushna Abhishek, Paresh Ganatra and I will ensure that they don’t have a reason to surf channels even during a commercial break.”

     

    Emphasizing the importance of making the movie watching experience more entertaining is Vice-President  & Head, Programming- Sony Max, Udayan Pradeep Shukla, who says, “For a library channel like us, it becomes a little difficult. On a general entertainment channel, the audience is conditioned to come back, but on a movie channel that’s not the case. So it was thus imperative for us to think of an idea that was unique and holds the viewers’ attention. The films are outright funny and will give the audience an opportunity to laugh in between the films.”

     

    Sony MAX’s comedy fillers – ‘Bittu Bak Bak’ & ‘Fully Deewana’ are guaranteed to leave you rolling on the floor laughing

  • Sony’s weekday bet with ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’

    Sony’s weekday bet with ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) seems to be focusing strongly on its strength, which is in the non-fiction space. After a victorious innings of four entertaining seasons that packaged non-stop entertainment, the channel is back with Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega with its fifth edition. Starting from 12 May, the channel is betting big by airing the show for five days a week at 9pm.

     

    With its maverick judges, Anu Malik and Farah Khan spicing up this season, the show will also have the gorgeous Mona Singh hosting the show with her impeccable style and grace. Joining Mona will be her hilarious co-host, Krushna Abhishek, who with his funny antics will ratchet up the humour quotient and take the madness to a whole new level.

     

    Produced by Wizcraft Entertainment, it will see acts ranging from heart-stopping bike gymnastics to an international illusion act straight from France. Handpicked contestants from all over the country will display their extraordinary skills and talents at the auditions, and the best among them voted by the audience and the judges, will win Rs 11,111 on the spot in cash. Additionally, the best performer of each week will receive a cash prize of Rs 1, 00,000.

     

    Speaking about the launch, Sony SVP and head marketing Gaurav Seth explains: “Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega is a show that celebrates extraordinary talents in ordinary people and the uniqueness and the sheer variety of entertainment in India. This season has lots more entertainment and breathtaking acts that will leave the viewers amazed. We are thrilled to yet again have the unbeatable team of Anu Malik and Farah Khan who will be judging the show for its fifth year. We are offering a differentiated and entertaining option in primetime viewing and we hope our viewers enjoy watching it.”

     

    “Wizcraft is proud to be back with the fifth season of Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, a show that showcases unique entertainers where performers get a chance to win some money at every step unlike other shows where only one wins in the finale. Along with the baap of entertainers Anu Malik and Farah Khan, adding a freshness to show will be the new host Krushna along with Mona, whose chemistry is infectious. We are sure this season of Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega will take the entertainment quotient to another level”, opines Wizcraft International Entertainment creative head Kailash Gandhi.

     

    The show is going to face hard hitting competition with shows like Diya Aur Baati Hum on Star Plus, Beintehaa on Colors, Chidiya Ghar on Sab, Nadaan Parinde on Life OK and Kumkum Bhagya on Zee TV.

  • Sony brings back ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’

    Sony brings back ‘Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’

    MUMBAI: For four fun-filled seasons, the show continued to dish out non-stop entertainment apart from serving as a platform for ordinary Indians with extraordinary talent.

     

     Two years after it went off air, Sony Entertainment is bringing back its talent hunt, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega by popular demand. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment, the show is based on American reality series, 30 seconds to Fame, where contestants continue to strut their stuff for a minute without the judges interrupting them.

     

    In its fifth season, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega will be aired from 9pm to 10 pm Monday to Friday, replacing Jee Le Zara and Nandini in the bargain from 12 May. It is slated to run for two months.

     

    This time, like all the previous seasons, will be judged by Farah Khan and Anu Malik while Mona Singh and Krushna Abhishek will be the hosts. Two promos of the show have already hit the television screens. Auditions are on since January, taking audiences through thrills and chills even as contestants show off their special skills in an emotionally charged environment.

     

    With so many talent shows crowding the small screen, how will the new season net eyeballs?

     

    “The format of the show is going to remain the same. But we are making this season more interesting for the viewers. I think the quality of talent that you are going to see, the kind of interaction you are going to see with the judges and the talent, the attitude and the approach of the judges to the talent… will be different,” says Wizcraft International Entertainment director Sabbas Joseph. “I think as the standards across India have grown, you will see those standards getting reflected in the show and especially the quality of entertainment. Our aim is to make this season more exciting and sharper.”

     

    While Sony is the only channel which has experimented with all genres, it continues to struggle at number six position of TAM TV ratings. Months ago when NP Singh was elevated to the position of CEO from COO, he made a promise to make changes in the channel’s programming and work on bringing the channel back to its now lost top position.

     

    Accordingly, Singh changed focus from fiction to tried and tested non-fiction properties to buoy Sony’s image. A case in point is Boogie Woogie, which was dragged out of its closet and re-launched and which did pretty well for itself and the channel.

     

    However, a highly placed media planner expressed the view that Sony should tag itself as a ‘non-reality’ based channel. “I think its fiction shows need some rest. The fifth season is going to air at a time when other channels are buzzing with fiction properties. Though, the plan to air a daily reality show is okay, but how are you going to sell it to viewers, who have already booked their tickets for dramas. To get viewers on-board, firstly, they have to produce good content and secondly, promote that good content in a strong way.”

     

    Whether or not Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega will ratchet up some much needed numbers for Sony, only time will tell…