Colors launches Nautanki: The Comedy Theatre

Bringing explosive entertainment to our weekends and for the first time on Indian Television, Colors presents to its viewers an innovative format of comedy that is larger than life- the Broadway style in the form of Nautanki- The Comedy Theatre. Starting 2 February 2013, this bi-weekly produced by Endemol India will add a dose of humour, amusement and laughter leaving families in splits every Saturday & Sunday at 9.00 pm only on the channel. With a new theme in every episode audiences will witness a life like magical set made using a special four-turntable construction with changing props that helps the acts to move fluidly between locations while breaking into scenic transitions and settings. Bringing back this traditional concept, Indian audiences for the first time will witness a confluence of theatre, film and television on Nautanki - The Comedy Theatre. Neha Dhupia and Tusshar Kapoor are the team owners of a Nautanki company in search of the main lead along with their ensemble cast of four primary characters. These primary ‘nautankebaaz’ are Gurpreet Ghuggi - the funny man from Jalandhar as the Jaadugar padosi, the versatile Rashami Desai-Sandhu famous for role in Uttaran as the Natkhat Sali, vamp turned comedian - Kamya Punjabi as the Chulbuli Patni and child comedian Saloni Daini as the Bathaki Maa. The story line moves forward in every episode with these artists playing different characters trapped in various situations along with special cameos by different celebrity guests in every episode. The first episode will see father – son duo, Jeetendra and Tusshar Kapoor along with yesteryears villain Ranjit as a bar owner. The subsequent episodes will also have special cameos by Bigg Boss contestant Imam Siddique aka Mr. Manorajan, new heartthrob and Punjabi munda Ayushman Khurana and funny man Kunal Roy Kapur on Nautanki – The Comedy Theatre. Talking about the show, Manisha Sharma, Head Non-Fiction - Colors, said, “We are exploring an entirely new concept on Television with Nautanki using comedy-theatre format of live acts and a special four-turntable construction with changing props that helps the acts to move fluidly between locations. As the pandemonium unfolds, the show will bring to the fore amusing issues of daily life that viewers will find connect with, making it for an entertaining weekend. The uniqueness of the concept lies in the continuous story line that will move forward in every episode.” She further added, “With Nautanki we wanted to continue with the fun and craziness that Bigg Boss held in the slot. You will see a lot of comedy with drama along with some of television’s most popular faces and Bigg Boss housemates in Nautanki as well!” Talking about the format, Deepak Dhar, CEO, Endemol India shared, “As a constant endeavor to evolve and present something different to the viewers, we conceptualized Nautanki :The Comedy Theatre - a first of its kind Broadway-style comedy format for television. Comedy as a genre is widely accepted and we wanted to take it a step ahead by amalgamating films, television and theatre to create a light-hearted series that one looks forward to every weekend. We are certain that this weekend show will have the audiences in splits.”