Prelude

Lunchtime is something memorable out here at C-DAC. Usually my boss Dr Sandeep Joshi, my seniors, Swaroop Sir, Ajit Mote, Rishi Pathak and myself, lunch together, either at the C-DAC staff canteen which bears the exotic name ‘C-DAC Rooftop Pavilion’  or at Aniket, a restaurant that is right across the main building. Conversation at times is related to technical topics, but is mostly non-technical. We discuss books, movies, jokes and the like and have a really nice time over lunch. Today’s discussion started out with King Khan getting on the wrong side of BCCI and from there, the topic veered to Om Shanti Om. Sandeep sir who has watched the movie seemed to have liked it and was entertaining us by narrating snippets of the story, the kind that goes unnoticed by many, like the case of a spotboy who hurriedly jots down a line about love spouted by Shahrukh Khan. That spotboy, the movie implies, went on to become the director of a hit romantic movie, using that same line as the punchline of the movie. I leave it to the readers to guess the identity of the director and the movie! That definitely seemed like a nice, original joke, not overtly offensive to anybody, the kind that is a rarity these days.

That movie snippet reminded me of a couple of scenes in the movie Forrest Gump. In one scene, when Gump is running and is being followed by his fans, one fan steps into a pile of dog-poop. Gump consoles him by saying that it happens. The man gets inspired by the situation and supposedly goes on to print the now famous ‘Shit Happens’ bumper sticker! In another scene, Gump tells one of the people who are listening to his story that his accountant invested some of his money in a fruit company. And the name of the company? Apple Inc!!! Jokes like these are really so mild, yet so filled with humor. Such a contrast from the over-the-top and crass humor from the likes of Jim Carrey and Rowan Atkinson.

Being funny is a very serious business said someone (I think it was the famous stand-up comedian Bob Hope) and it is absolutely so. Movies and books these days seem to more and more frequently employ over the top histrionics in the name of comedy. If Johnny Lever was over the top, I have no words for Rajpal Yadav’s attempt at humor.

Laughter and the challenge of laughing at jokes that are not funny!
 
What about the thousand and odd laughter shows that are perennially on air and the comedy gurus like Shekhar Suman? I think they have lost their judgement and senses thanks to all the money pouring in, thanks to the laughter mania on television. I have seen several so called entertainers resorting to cheap double-meaning lines and downright vulgarity in the name of humor, and it is downright irritating to see Navjot Siddhu laughing like his life depended on it, even if the joke which supposedly caused it was not even remotely funny! I miss the days when Shekhar Suman was in his prime and delivered oodles of humor in his serial Dekh Bhai Dekh. Even ‘The Great Indian Comedy Show’ (the precursor of this utterly unfunny Laughter Challenge) was far better. Probably the challenge is in spotting what is funny about all the jokes that do the round. And what about originality? What is that? We see these so called entertainers ripping off jokes from famous joke-books or forwarded mails that do the round on the internet, remix them with new names and/or change the genders and spout the so called ‘original comedy’. Bah!

Is there still hope for comedy lovers?

Fortunately for lovers of good comedy, new need not always be a bad thing. Sendhil and Goundmani were renowned comedians in Tamil movies, but over the years, they had lost all originality and had degenerated to the extent of only using expletives and physical slapping/kicking/punching in the name of comedy. With their unceremonious and inglorious exit, in came Vivek, a superb entertainer. He uses smart wordplay and tongue-in-cheek puns which are in good taste to create laugh riots. Paresh Rawal too is a class apart in Bollywood, indicating that all is not hopeless in Bollywood. However, a comedian can only be as good as the director, as a director with a poor sense of humor can only bring out weak jabs and stabs at humor, even by employing the best of comedians in business.

Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local, one of the lesser known releases of last year was bang on target with its humor sequences despite having a relatively unknown director and supporting cast. Gives hope to people like me who appreciate refined humor and abhor histrionics and gimmickery in the name of humor.