LOL: Enga Siri Paapom, the unscripted Tamil comedy show hosted by actor Shiva and late comedian Vivekh, is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on August 27. The show’s trailer was released on Tuesday.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Shiva said that it was an “unforgettable experience” working with Vivekh.
The show, which is releasing posthumously after the demise of the actor-comedian in April, marks Shiva’s only collaboration with Vivekh.
“We were shooting amid Covid-19 protocols and since we could not venture out much, we got to spend a lot of time indoors and chat. He would narrate his experiences and talk about his career,” the actor told us.
“I found that he had an opposite style of working compared to mine. He was very organised with pen and paper, while I am more casual. It is because of his style that he is celebrated. I feel blessed to have worked with him,” Shiva added.
The six-part show features 10 comedians, who will compete against each other for six consecutive hours with two objectives – to make others in the house laugh and ensure that they do not laugh themselves. The last contestant standing wins the title along with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh.
The 10 contestants, a mixed bag of big and small-screen personalities, are Maya S Krishnan, Abhisek Kumar, Premgi, Harathi Ganesh, RJ Vignesh, Sathish, Pugazh, Powerstar Srinivasan, Baggy (Bhargav Ramakrishnan), and Syama Harini.
The format has used by the streaming giant to create shows across various continents. In India, it has previously been made in Hindi as LOL: Hasse toh Phasse.
“When Amazon Prime came up with the concept, it was novel. They sent us the Australian and South American versions as references. Each version is tailored to the local culture. We were considering how to adapt it to our style, and that’s when director Madhumita came on board and we began the show,” said Shiva.
The main idea of the show is to provide entertainment and make people laugh, the actor added. “It isn’t a quiz programme, but a comedy show, so it was an easy task. Moreover, as the contestants were our friends, it was all very spontaneous.”
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On how Vivekh and he chose to host LOL: Enga Siri Paapom, Shiva said, “We decided to just go with the flow. Since it is sort of like a cricket commentary, we chose to go the unscripted way. Also, humor is something that cannot be developed or written; it has to come naturally. Otherwise, it will just feel like one is reading from a paper. Comedy is an in-built quality and one has to go with the flow.”
The show marks Shiva’s debut in the OTT space. The actor said that more than the platform, it was the concept of the programme that drew him. “The show is an original and proven concept of Amazon. It is the first of its kind in Tamil and I hope that the audience will enjoy the novel concept as much as we did.”