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NEW
DELHI: Television hosts Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shekhar Suman
today admitted that some of the jokes reeled out on 'The Great
Indian Laughter Challenge' on Star One were somewhat vulgar
and violated decent standards, but said this was sometimes
unavoidable.
Speaking
at a press meet here to announce the third edition of the
series, Shekhar and Pankaj Saraswat of Endemol India, who
has conceived the show, said that the participants underwent
some training since many were not used to the television medium
and were also generally told not to relate jokes not fit for
family audiences, but checking this became difficult if the
participants related such jokes impromptu.
Unlike
the first two editions which had weekly shows, there will
be five participants every Friday of whom three will be eliminated
and the two winners will then be featured on Saturday with
some winners of the first and second series of the programme.
A Wild Card will also bring back two of those eliminated in
earlier rounds. Ten winners will go into the finals.
Answering
a question, Joshi said the title sponsor was 'Brittania 50-50
Chutkule'. Justifying the entry of only Hindi jokes, he said
that Star Vijay in Tamil was doing a similar show in South
India.
He
added that as in the previous phase, there would be participants
from Pakistan as well. He also said in reply to a question
that there were two women participants as well.
In answer to a question on why he tended to laugh at even
insipid jokes, Sidhu sought to justify by pointing out that
this was an edited programme and therefore the editor often
inserted shots of him laughing at these places.
Shekhar said that all the winners were given a chance in the
Great Indian Comedy Show which was also a Star TV presentation.
Asked why he had chosen to stay away from the show for several
weeks, he denied stories of any disagreement with Sidhu or
anyone else and said it was merely to fulfill some commitments
including those in acting, setting up his production house,
and completing an album.
Sidhu added that Star One had deliberately done some episodes
with just him and an outside guest, and some with just Shekhar
and an outside guest, to test the waters.
Sidhu said in answer to a question that politics was a mission
and not a profession for him, and that was why he was spending
the funds given under the MPLADS Scheme on providing sporting
kits in all the villages surrounding Amritsar district.
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