If the first episode of Ramkhilawaan C.M. 'n' Family is anything to go by, SABe TV has a winner on its hands. A satirical depiction of weird political strategies enacted with a conviction that makes it all believable, coupled with some real witty dialogues and superlative performances make the sitcom a standout.

The show opens with the entire family of the CM paying obeisance to Goddess Kali, in anticipation of his electoral victory. Of course, the "bhajan" they sing is not a normal hymn but the immensely popular Lift Kara De of Adnan Sami.

From here on, it's the antics of the CM's street smart brother-in-law, Puttan Yadav that really hook the viewer. At a time when the entire family of the CM is nervously watching the election results on TV, Puttan is busy quietly betting on the election results, that too putting his money on the CM's defeat. When the CM gets after him for this, he actually convinces the CM to do the same with the result that the CM, too now wants to lose. Puttan's logic is simple - if the CM wins, nobody can dare extract a penny out of him. But if the CM loses, he still stands to gain financially. Convinced, Ramkhilawaan himself puts Rs 10 lakhs (Rs 1 million) on his losing. But wait - there's a catch. If the CM and his brother-in-law want to make money on losing a seat, it's because the CM is contesting from two seats and is certain to win from the other seat!

Ramkhilawaan CM n Family, is without doubt inspired by former Bihar CM Laloo Prasad Yadav and his family, however much the producer, Aswani Dheer, may try and have us believe otherwise.

Even the children - four daughters - Rajneeti, Party, Ghotali and Sarkar and his son, Bahumat remind one of Laloo's huge family. The wheelerdealer brother-in-law is "modeled" on Laloo's wife Rabri Devi's high-handed brother Sadhu Yadav. In fact, the striking resemblance the characters bear with Laloo's family only enhances its prospects because the audience relates that much better with what is shown in the sitcom.

The humour too, is handled intelligently and does not go overboard. Simple confusion resulting out of Ramkhilawaan's children's names evokes laughter. For instance, at a press conference after winning the elections when Ramkhilawaan is asked where he will get his bahumat (majority support in the State Assembly) from, the CM very matter of factly says that he already had Bahumat with him and calls for his son standing nearby.

One place the show could do better though is in the costumes department. One, the costumes are way too gaudy - shiny yellow and red. Two, all characters barring Ramkhilawaan sport the same colour. A show like this has sufficient comic content in it so resorting to these additional props to raise a laugh is jarring more than anything else.

But the best thing about the show is the performances from its main characters - all of them give top rate performances. The pick of the lot though is Puttan Yadav, played by Sanjay Mishra. As the energetic, irrepressible brother-in-law who is always trying to work up new tricks to help the CM's as well as his own cause, he is simply brilliant. Imarti Devi appropriately equates him with Hanumaan in Ramkhilawaan's scheme of things. (Obviously Ramkhilawaan is implied to be 'Ram').

Vineet Kumar, who plays Ramkhilawaan, is quite a revelation as well and plays his part with effortless ease. The fact that both Vineet and Sanjay have Bihari roots only helps them as far as their accent and diction is concerned. Sushmita Mukherji, who plays Imarti Devi, is dependable as ever and complements their parts well.

Overall, the show is a refreshing change from the mundane sitcoms one has got used to in recent years. Moreover, an intelligent political satire was the need of the hour, given the fact that Ji Mantriji that used to air on Star Plus did not quite strike a chord with audiences.

And a good thing is that SABe TV has been more aggressive this time round in marketing and promoting the show, although one is left with the feeling that more could have been done.

Verdict: Ramkhilwaan CM n Family is a programme definitely worth a look-see.