Operation Salvage: Sunil Grover's Mad In India goes for a revamp

Following the disappointing inaugural episode of Sunil Grover’s comedy show Mad In India, the channel Star Plus and the show’s creators have gone into a frantic huddle to do some serious damage control. The show, designed as Sunil Grover’s autonomous comedy show after his break with Comedy Nights With Kapil (Colors), seems to have hit all the false shrill notes from the word go. Taking serious note of the adverse reactions to the opening episode the makers of Mad In India have decided to make serious changes in the format. Says a source close to the project, “The format is being changed. In trying to create a product removed from Comedy Nights With Kapil , Mad In India ended up without a proper identity.” Apparently there were heated discussion within the Mad In India team regarding how strong and pervasive Sunil Grover’s presence should be in the show. This is where the show’s creators erred in their judgement. Says a source, “The show was marketed and promoted as Sunil Grover’s vehicle. In fact Sunil shot a lot more footage for the first episode. Close to 150 minutes of unedited content was filmed for Episode 1. When it was pruned down to 45 minutes of edited aired material a lot of Sunil Grover’s ‘Chutki’ material was gone.” Seeing viewers’ under-whelmed response to the first episode the creators are busy revamping the show’s format to tilt the imbalance. Says the source, “Grover ki bhi galti hai. He didn’t want to be the protagonist of the show. He wanted it to be an ensemble comedy show so he could share the platform with his colleagues. The show was split into two halves, a celebrity chat and the comic skits.” Apparently the skits would now be increased to spotlight Grover’s presence on the show. Sunil Grover concedes there is a sense of disappointment about his show. “But that also has to do with the heightened expectancy level. People expected too much from us. And yes I deliberately decided to downplay my presence on the show. That was a mistake. Because we advertised the show as my show. We’ve already shot Episode 2 with Govinda and Karisma. The changes will be apparent from the third episode.” Apparently the third episode featuring Shilpa Shetty would have the svelte actress sharing makeup, beauty and cricket tips with Chutki.