MUMBAI: Veejay turned actors, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey, who were recently seen in Sagar Ballary’s hit comedy Bheja Fry on the big screen, will now be seen on a new comedy show on Star One.
The weekday show called Ranvir, Vinay… Aur Kaun? will be aired from 6 August and is being touted as a situational comedy, which is produced by Lemon Tea Productions and directed by Shashant Shah (Great Indian Comedy Show). It will be aired from Monday to Thusrday at 10 pm.
Pathak says, “This show, apart from working with a team that I’ve been associated with since my Channel [V] days and Ranvir, is unique in its format.”
The show is an amalgamation of interviews but has been given the sitcom treatment. Ranvir, Vinay… Aur Kaun? will have celebrity interviews, comic performances and extraordinary stories. It will show the actors living in a bachelor apartment, which is visited by a new celebrity everyday. However, the guest list is being kept under wraps for the time being but the celebrities will be from different fields and not just from entertainment.
Expressing his views on the current overflow of comedy shows across channels, Pathak says, “There is a mass mentality to comedy shows on TV and the quality is suffering. Comedy is selling and all channels want to profit from it. So sadly, the content is suffering. But I feel comedy is more evolved in cinema now given the many platforms it gets to be shown nowadays.”
Pathak asserts that he’d never be comfortable in shows that mimic others. “I’m the worst mimic.. I’m better at playing characters rather than impersonating people,” he says.
Speaking of Bheja Fry’s success, which came as a surprise to him, he says, “I’ve done eight films in 11 years and now after Bheja Fry, I have six films in hand, all to be released hopefully by December. Except for a comedy guest appearance in Rahul Rawail’s film, I’m doing very different roles in the other films.”
Some of the films that Pathak will be seen in are Navdeep Singh’s Manorama Six Feet Under and Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chand.
On the other hand, it was the opportunity to work with Vinay and the team of Great Indian Comedy Show that made Shorey accept the offer of the new show. “The format is a unique combination of a realistic interview with celebrities, making it a lighthearted viewing experience,” he says.
On his relationship with Pathak, he says, “We have grown as friends and matured as actors in the 10 years we have worked together. It’s been a very healthy working combination.”
On the films’ front, Shorey will be seen in Rajat Kapoor’s Mithya and Yash Raj Films’ Aaja Nach Le, which marks the comeback of actress Madhuri Dixit. “I play the role of a man who is in love with Madhuri. Working with her and Yash Raj Productions was fabulous,” he says.
