STAR One to launch hunt for comic talent

It may not be intentional but STAR One is slowly asserting itself as a comedy channel. Inspired by the success of comedy shows, the channel is all set to launch a hunt for a comedy talent.

The show titled 'The Great Indian Comedy Challenge' will look for a stand-up comedian, who will be a part of the original programmes team.

Ravi Menon, vice-president, content, STAR One, “Our requirement has led us to launch this talent hunt. We were desperately looking for a stand-up comedian for our show 'The Great Indian Comedy'. In the process, we decided why not convert it into talent hunt when this genre of shows has already proven its success.”

The show will debut by May-end and the promos inviting entries will be launched next week. Contestants will be required to call up a number and record their performance online for the initial screening.

To add glamour, the channel has invited stand-up comedian Shekhar Suman and cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu as judges for the hunt.

Basabdutta Chowdhry, general manager, Madison Delhi says, “The idea sounds rather interesting. There is a dearth of stand-up comedy shows and performers in the industry. This show will not only discover new talent but also promote the genre on the whole. And regarding viewership, the show may not have the mass appeal of an Indian Idol, or ZEE’s India's Best, but will certainly have its own niche audience.”

Apart from this, STAR One has also lined up 22 episodes of 'Instant Khichdi' in an 11-hour telethon on April 1. Menon says, “We wanted to create a novel package for April Fool's Day that not only stands out but is also a complete entertainer. And, we found Instant Khichdi to be a great idea. In addition, some of our viewers had missed the initial episodes of the series, after it was relaunched on STAR One from STAR Plus. We thought, this special programming will help our viewers to catch up with the episodes they had missed.” “This is also a great idea to create a stunt around one of our best performing shows,” he adds.

On April 1, the Parekh family of the ‘Instant Khichdi’ team will also participate in the game show ‘Bluff Master’. Adding to the excitement, televiewers can participate in the contest by sending in funny slogans and win a prize of Rs one lakh.

This popular show on STAR One is also getting ready for a new stint as the characters will now move to a new locale with some additional elements and characters inserted in the storyline. Menon explains, “This is how you can retain the interest level among the viewers because after a series of episodes, comedy shows tends to become monotonous.”

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