Sumeet Raghavan’s Jai Hind!, India’s first web show, has clocked in 50 million viewers
I wanted to let go of my goody-goody image,” Sumeet Raghavan tells me of his new baby, Jai Hind! And he’s managed to do just that. Watch any episode of the series and you’ll be surprised to find that it’s filled with innuendo, expletives and hand gestures that could sufficiently scandalise your grandma. It’s the kind of comedy that banks on its distinctiveness. The content of the show is very topical and Raghavan doesn’t stray from making fun of issues, politicians, the media and anything that deserves to be made fun of. “I make fun of myself as well; the point is that no one’s spared,” he asserts.
Raghavan comes from a theatre background. He’s done Marathi theatre for about 15 years and along the way, he has also dabbled in TV commercials and serials. Prior to Jai Hind!, he was, perhaps, best known for his role in the hugely successful comedy soap, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.
Jai Hind! has completed 88 episodes so far. Barely a year into production, it has clocked in excess of 50 million viewers. Not to forget, the show caters exclusively to the internet audience. “I never imagined that an internet show would do so well. I had my reservations about doing it but I must say that I was proved entirely wrong.”
Veteran television producer Abhigyan Jha, who was also the creator of the show Movers and Shakers, came up with the idea of Jai Hind! According to Jha, Raghavan was the first choice for the host. “He is brilliant. This kind of show required the host to be intelligent, dynamic and funny. He personifies all of these qualities. The show demanded someone who was aware of what was going on in the country, someone who was fluent in both languages, Hindi and English.”
The show was modelled along the lines of actor-host Shekhar Suman's celebrity show, Movers and Shakers. Raghavan says “Celebrities would yearn for a spot on that show. It was a grand success back then. Abhigyan Jha approached me with the idea of Jai Hind! And initially, it was meant to be for TV. We pitched the idea to a TV channel. However, they couldn’t see me in the light of a comedy show host. They couldn’t associate me with the kind of sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek humour that went with the show. But Jha believed in my talent.”
What’s most notable about the show is the kind of irreverence with which Raghavan addresses various issues. It could be hailed as India’s answer to Saturday Night Live. There is parody, there is humour and above all, a no-bull sh** attitude that shuns any ass-kissing that many television shows are attuned to. “Normally television shows are very cautious when it comes to talking about politicians. They wouldn’t make fun or criticise a certain politician for fear of them taking offence. In Jai Hind!, it’s just the opposite.”
I’m still intrigued by the no-holes-barred content of the show and so I probe the issue further. I can’t help but ask how long before a politician gets miffed and sends his goons over? “We don’t fear a backlash. What’s so wrong in holding a mirror to society and having a good laugh? It’s essential to talk about things that matter. Why can’t I talk about Mayawati and the narcissism with which she had her statues built. I think that if there’s any backlash, it’s good for the show because it means that we are being noticed. Recently, I joked about a Nepalese actor on the show. Of course, this didn’t go down so well with our Nepali demographic. We found comments like, “We’re going to cut you to pieces, we’re going to kill you” on Youtube. We apologised, good- humouredly, in the next episode. This seemed to pacify them. But then..” He breaks into a laugh. “But then…we made fun of someone else and asked them to be a good sport and not take it the way the Nepalese did. More importantly, there is always a disclaimer at the beginning of the programme that explains the content of the show.”
Jha says, “When I was doing Movers and Shakers, there wasn’t a single political backlash. There were so many of our jokes, which were directed at Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was then prime minister. But he, himself loved the show. Our jokes poke fun at politicians’ actions, their beliefs and weaknesses; we never make fun of their physicality.”
In August, the show celebrates a year. Raghavan says, “I’m really happy with the way the show has progressed so far. I think there’s something big going to happen. I feel it.”
There’s no doubting that; not long into production, the press went crazy over the show and its host, Raghavan. They were covered in a host of newspapers, both Indian and international. In this environment, could they perhaps, think of moving to television, a medium with a much wider reach and a chance to dazzle the rest of the country? “The answer is a strong 'No'. We started with the internet; it’s the internet viewers who have accorded us such recognition. We don’t want to let them down by selling out to television. Both Jha and I feel very strongly about this. But more importantly, we would never be able to do this on TV. The kind of things we do, we’d have to filter all of our content and toe the line, much like the rest.”
With a background of acting and an experience that was mostly to do with soap operas, it’s surprising how naturally he took to this new avatar. “You know I really look forward to the Jai Hind! shoots. As an artist, you feel stagnant after a while and Jai Hind!, with its distinctiveness, re-vitalises me. I’ve never trained as a comedian. Comedy isn’t something that can be learnt. It’s supposed to flow naturally, you can’t send someone to a comedy school and expect them to come out funny.”
In the nature of its language, Jai Hind! is different from the popular comedy shows. It’s an amalgamation of both Hindi and English. “There are certain things that are best expressed in Hindi. You can’t impersonate a Haryanwi accent in English, can you? So we use both Hindi and English. I think that this mixed language, Hinglish, as it’s called, might well be the future of Indian comedy.”
Ask him about his comedic inspirations and he says, “Chris Tucker and Robin Williams but Eddie Murphy over everyone else."
We're glad Indian comedy has finally found a new voice.
