(S.Ravi Seshu)
Erma Bombeck, an American humorist who was popular for her funny newspaper columns and books, once said: “There is a thin line that separates laughter & pain, humour & hurt and comedy & tragedy.”
One of the most popular entertainment programmes in Telugu television industry, Extra Jabardasth, crossed this lakshmana rekha (the Telugu version of thin line Erma mentioned) and made comedy a mockery. Comedy becomes tragedy/nonsense due to lack of new ideas or innovation. EJ is suffering from the dearth of creativity now-a-days but still catching the eyeballs thanks to the burning urge of budding actors to excel in the field.
EJ’s content is turning unbearably substandard if the latest episodes are any examples. Three distinctive features of the EJ are: 1) Highly objectionable comments against woman, especially wives, 2) Cheating the neighbour and eloping with his gullible wife 3) Nasty jokes on the anchor Reshmy Goutham, and 4) Judges’ comments sans decency and decorum in the name of appreciating comedy.
The latest trend of EJ is, introduction of kids and their vulgar comments! In the last night episode, a dance master, Sekhar’s son, aged between 9-10, who took to EJ in recent times, comes on to the stage shaking legs to a number. He dances while glaring at the anchor Reshmy, a take-it-easy character on the sets. The kid’s father in the skit seeks to know as to what he was doing. Then the kid in his school uniform says: “Daddy, I am studying Reshmy.” We take the liberties to suggest the soft-spoken Sekhar master to take care of his kid before he gets spoiled by the vulgarity of the EJ shows.
Another character that unfortunately looks like a kid apparently due to stunted growth makes all sorts of nasty comments in every episode. His dialogues are always laced with highly sarcastic comments with double meanings pointed at women in general and wives in particular.
In the latest episode, a bubbly boy enthralled audience by arguing that he is the son of Nagababu, one of the judges. The wonder kid somewhat better when it comes to the usage of decent dialogues.
Chammak Chandra, indeed a good actor, started a series of skits in which he being a married man tries to rope in the neighbouring women by playing all kinds of dirty tricks. Bedroom scenes on the stage have become common of late.
To round it off, in the latest episode, a newly married tells her mother-in-law: “You carried your three kilograms of kid (embryo) in the womb for nine months but I am carrying 90 kilograms of his weight every day.” One of the judges and brother of Mega Star Chiranjeevi, Nagababu, derives vicarious pleasure when any performer makes a dig at women. In the last night episode, reacting to a statement that what if the government allows the exchange of women on the lines of delegalised 500 and 1000 notes, Nagababu got animated to say: “Yes, that scheme will go well.”
EJ is a nice show but it needs some decency on urgent basis. It is true that we can’t infuse creativity in every skit but an attempt should be made to bring in decency and decorum. If the judges Nagababu and Roja believes that they should make the show civilised to cater to the entertainment needs of scores of Telugus, it is not impossible.