Gags to riches!

They are the funniest men on Indian television. They have made it their business to make us shed tears of laughter. Meet Sunil Pal, Raju Srivastav and Navin Prabhakar, the laughter brigade of Star One's The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Originally from Nagpur, Sunil has performed along with some of the biggest names in Indian film industry. Sunil has been an integral part of The Lagaan tour with Aamir Khan, the tour with Sonu Nigam across USA, UK and Canada. Sunil's TV shows include Dhamaal No.1 on DD Metro, where he played the lead. Despite being in the big leaugue, the man comes across as simple and down to earth -- perhaps, this is what make him so likeable. "It's a great platform that Star One has given us. My humour is derived from real life. People I meet everyday, situations that I encounter as an individual are my source of humour -- I just spice them up a bit! You know, it's a great feeling when people travelling in Mercs stop their cars and congratulate me on my achievements," says Sunil, who has been entertaining people right from his school days. Navin Prabhakar got interested in comedy as he believes that comedy itself and the concept of making people laugh, bringing a smile on their face is something of a challenge. "Performing in front of personalities like Shekhar Suman and Sidhu an exhilarating experience, the fact that both are amazing individuals, both have a great knack for comedy. They also happen to be my idols", quips this talented young man who has done a host of comedy shows abroad. Navin can imitate almost 125 voices and enjoys imitating Sanjay Dutt, Pran and Sanjeev Kumar the most. His most memorable experience has been the first world tour that he was part of, titled Heartthrob World Tour in the United States of America, where he performed in front of a packed stadium filled with a 35000 strong audience. After his performance, the crowd roared for an encore. Apparently, Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor were also part of the same tour. The third finalist Raju Srivastava is a stand up comedian and mimicry professional. He came to Mumbai from Kanpur in 1982. Raju has been part of films like Maine Pyaar Kiya and Baazigar. He has also recorded Haso Hasao, a collection of his mimicry jokes. Raju, a veteran of 3000 shows, feels that for newcomers, this a great platform to prove their mettle, but for him this is just another challenge. "My friends tell me that I should have been judging the show, rather than participating in it," laughs Raju, who is happy to be just part of the show. One thing that doesn't surprise us is the fact that these three have high regard for each other's capabilities -- they are each other's greatest fans! Perhaps this is what humour is all about -- an unadulterated heart and lots of blah! May the best gag win!