The Hindu Business Line : The laugh lines

The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC) made its debut on Star One last month, and has already cruised to the top 50 shows on Indian television. Star TV seems to have the knack for picking the right show for many of its channels. However, TGILC had not appeared promising in the initial days.

Despite the loud sets, noisy hosts and blaring music, the show catches one's attention and, the next thing you know, you are laughing with the hosts, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shekhar Suman.

Post-cricket, Sidhu has no doubt found an enjoyable innings on television, not necessarily anchoring sporting events. Suman has competition in the show's participants, who seem to draw the loudest guffaw from Sidhu. If Suman does a fine imitation of Lalu Prasad Yadav and his Bihari accent, the participants appear many steps ahead, imitating regional dialects with aplomb.

Some of the jokes are quite crass, yet you find yourself laughing. "Never mind that the programme is silly sometimes, but it is a Friday evening well spent," says Neeta Bhate, a viewer.

Honouring sportspersons

For those who have suffered an overdose of awards functions on television, the Laureus Awards aired on Star World was refreshingly different. Dubbed the Oscars of the sporting world, the Laureus Awards, held in Spain, allowed us a peek into the glamorous world of sporting.

The guest line-up was amazing — Britain's decathlete Daley Thompson, Martina Navratilova, Ian Botham, actor Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Cuba Gooding Jr and Sebastian Coe. While British track and field athlete Kelly Holmes won the Sportswoman of the Year award, Roger Federer won the Sportsman of the Year Award.

The other winners included Alessandro Zanardi (motor-racing) — Comeback of the Year Award; China's Liu Xiang — Newcomer Award for winning the 110-metre hurdles in the Athens Olympics; and the Greek men's football team — World Team of the Year for its stupendous performance at the Olympics.

The highlight of the show was the host — Morgan Freeman, one of Hollywood's best actors. The show was interspersed with news clips of Jackie Chan, Daley Thompson, Ian Botham and Edwin Moses travelling to various tsunami-affected countries. Clearly, an awards function worth watching though one could do with fewer ad breaks.

Tour de force

For those keenly following Lance Armstrong's career, there was enough and more on the champion biker on television recently. The Tour de France, on Ten Sports, is an interesting sporting event by itself. Although not many of us in India track the Tour de France, the fact that it was possibly Armstrong's last appearance at this event was reason enough to watch it.

Coinciding with the event's grand finale, Discovery Channel aired an hour-long documentary, The Science of Lance Armstrong, which chronicles his personal and professional evolution from cancer survivor to six-time winner of Tour de France (Armstrong won it for the seventh time this year).

Armstrong's heart can pump nine gallons of blood per minute at its maximum output, while the average heart can pump only five. He metabolises oxygen at high altitude better than most. The programme also talks about his bike, helmet, cycling shoes, cycling techniques and training.

Armstrong begins training eight months ahead of the racing event. He rides an average of 450 miles per week. It is not just determination that emerges from his story, but his scientific approach to the sport.

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