Punjabi women steal Great Indian Laughter Challenge
Friday - Jul 04, 2008
Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Chandigarh
For many, it's still hard to picture a woman as a stand-up comedian. But three ladies on Star One's The Great Indian Laughter Challenge 4 reaslity show are breaking the mould, that only men have a sense of humour. And, what makes them special is that they are all from Punjab, one contestant from Jalandhar and the other two from Amritsar.


For Amritsar's Rajbir Kaur, doing comedy is nothing new. She's used to showcasing skills in monoacting and histrionics at youth fests. "The offer came my way via a friend who recommended me to Gurpreet Ghuggi; Ghuggi put in a word to the show's producers. I auditioned and got a call. I was hesitant but my husband convinced me to prove my talent to a larger audience."

How does it feel competing with so many men? "Women do not lag behind in any way in India. President too is a woman. And, I fared well in the first episode." Kaur says.

Kaur's favourite comedian is Raju Srivastav. Like him, her spoofs are on real-life situations. "My jokes are on relationships."


Bharti Singh, the youngest woman participant on the show, is also from Amritsar. She describes herself as 'chhoti aur moti'. This student of Bachelors in Multimedia had to forego her final exams to be in Mumbai for the shoot. "I'm also a stage actress and a national-level gold medallist shooter," Singh says.

Jalandhar's Sugandha Mishra, a postgraduate in vocal music, used to be an FM radio jockey before she cleared the Laughter Challenge audition. She got selected at the auditions in Jalandhar. "It's a big platform to show talent. It's a new world. The ambience at the show is good; we women vibe well."

Mishra too's one of the semi-finalists. "To prepare the content is tough. My jokes centre around current topics; I make bits of it musical."