When The Week That Wasn't (TWTW as they say) celebrated 300 episodes with Boman Irani as the host I had just started blogging. I have always loved the show and wanted to express it in the form of a blog. Well, what I couldn't do last year, I'm doing it now. As the show completes 350 episodes - Gopal, Kaneez and Kunal might be refuting by now - it has been a hilarious journey so far. Making people laugh is no easy job. And when tears come out in others because of your humor you deserve a great applause. That's what the team at TWTW deserves. Not only is the script good but also the characters assigned to all are played to perfection.
Each week Cyrus "Bharucha", Kaneez "Rani Pasand", Kunal "the Foodie" and Gopal the you-say-and-he-will portray guy and Mohit mimic the past week events greatly. Their presence itself makes you laugh and once they start acting its a laughter riot. Even though the disclaimer says that it is all fictitious, they bring out the facts known to people effectively. For example when the ministers in UPA were asked to declare their assets, Sharad Pawar declared ₹ 12 crore. To this Cyrus said that Pawar thought it was the amount in his wallet. There are a numerous other jokes on Pawar like he can buy all of Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on. But it is not limited to him alone. Politicians across parties are mocked and exposed through their strikingly similar associates mostly played by Kunal. This is what makes it even more special. There is no bias unlike some other channels or shows on the channel itself. Now coming to each person's role:
Cyrus Broacha:
The man who leads from the front. Apart from anchoring with panache, he is also the script writer as per the credits ( Guess he must have paid for that :P). Numerous jokes on his wife, singing as the Afghan guy after Osama was killed, mocking Kris Srikant or the dancer in the bar he plays each role to perfection ( I'm as serious as Cyrus is on the show :P). Other notable performances are the doctor treating Baba Ramdev or even the guy caught in sting operations. But the best part is the interview with the people involved themselves where their expressions and sentences are used for questions which make you laugh your guts out. He is a delight to be watched.
Kunal Vijaykar:
Easily the backbone of the show. He co-writes the script and he can portray any and every role to perfection. His physique resembles that to all politicians and he just uses it too well. Be it Mayavati's assistant Kalwati, Jayalalitha's accomplice, the Mumbai Pandu, Jitin Matkari ( my personal favourite ) and oh boy he sings so well. He also portrays almost all females like Usha Uthuppa, Pratibha Patil's assistant et al. He knows how to tickle the funny bones of the audience. Kudos to him!
Gopal:
Gopal is fantastic when it comes to acting. Be it the singer with Meira Kumar, the politician, the Maoist in the train looting it, the detective called Rahul Gandhi and you name it. But the best part is where he plays Manmohan Singh. Perfect portrayal of the learned Sardar. Another sardar is Cherry Paaji saying "Guru'. My favourite of Gopal. You cannot miss him and he makes sure that you don't stop laughing. One of the many performances I remember is where he played Anna Hazare shouting "Uposhan karunga". It was simply fabulous.
Kaneez:
The only female in the show (well second if we consider Kunal's female avatars) she plays the role assigned quite brilliantly. I love her as Sonia Gandhi and Meira Kumar where she shouts "Baith Jaiye" in her accent. She usually plays the reporter or the blonde or even the weather specialist. But each Friday when the film releases she plays film critic Rani Pasand with elan. That is my favorite character when it comes to Kaneez. All in all a great performer and love to watch her acting as the elite class of SoBo not aware of reality.
Mohit:
Though Mohit is not prominent in each show, his act as a subordinate neta or the hawaldar are humourous.
And he is the associate producer. So thank him for making this show possible even though as Cyrus claims they are not paid or paid in peanuts.
Had it not been for the Sunday morning or the repeat in evening it would have been quite a boring day given that family dramas and films rule most of Sunday on TV. I have missed a number of roles played by these guys because this space is just not enough to describe them. But I hope they complete 3500 episodes and even more. Though Cyrus will become old given he is already in his nineties (still considered to be young in BJP) I will always look forward to watch this show. It truly describes "The Week That Wasn't".
Each week Cyrus "Bharucha", Kaneez "Rani Pasand", Kunal "the Foodie" and Gopal the you-say-and-he-will portray guy and Mohit mimic the past week events greatly. Their presence itself makes you laugh and once they start acting its a laughter riot. Even though the disclaimer says that it is all fictitious, they bring out the facts known to people effectively. For example when the ministers in UPA were asked to declare their assets, Sharad Pawar declared ₹ 12 crore. To this Cyrus said that Pawar thought it was the amount in his wallet. There are a numerous other jokes on Pawar like he can buy all of Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on. But it is not limited to him alone. Politicians across parties are mocked and exposed through their strikingly similar associates mostly played by Kunal. This is what makes it even more special. There is no bias unlike some other channels or shows on the channel itself. Now coming to each person's role:
Cyrus Broacha:
The man who leads from the front. Apart from anchoring with panache, he is also the script writer as per the credits ( Guess he must have paid for that :P). Numerous jokes on his wife, singing as the Afghan guy after Osama was killed, mocking Kris Srikant or the dancer in the bar he plays each role to perfection ( I'm as serious as Cyrus is on the show :P). Other notable performances are the doctor treating Baba Ramdev or even the guy caught in sting operations. But the best part is the interview with the people involved themselves where their expressions and sentences are used for questions which make you laugh your guts out. He is a delight to be watched.
Kunal Vijaykar:
Easily the backbone of the show. He co-writes the script and he can portray any and every role to perfection. His physique resembles that to all politicians and he just uses it too well. Be it Mayavati's assistant Kalwati, Jayalalitha's accomplice, the Mumbai Pandu, Jitin Matkari ( my personal favourite ) and oh boy he sings so well. He also portrays almost all females like Usha Uthuppa, Pratibha Patil's assistant et al. He knows how to tickle the funny bones of the audience. Kudos to him!
Gopal:
Gopal is fantastic when it comes to acting. Be it the singer with Meira Kumar, the politician, the Maoist in the train looting it, the detective called Rahul Gandhi and you name it. But the best part is where he plays Manmohan Singh. Perfect portrayal of the learned Sardar. Another sardar is Cherry Paaji saying "Guru'. My favourite of Gopal. You cannot miss him and he makes sure that you don't stop laughing. One of the many performances I remember is where he played Anna Hazare shouting "Uposhan karunga". It was simply fabulous.
Kaneez:
The only female in the show (well second if we consider Kunal's female avatars) she plays the role assigned quite brilliantly. I love her as Sonia Gandhi and Meira Kumar where she shouts "Baith Jaiye" in her accent. She usually plays the reporter or the blonde or even the weather specialist. But each Friday when the film releases she plays film critic Rani Pasand with elan. That is my favorite character when it comes to Kaneez. All in all a great performer and love to watch her acting as the elite class of SoBo not aware of reality.
Mohit:
Though Mohit is not prominent in each show, his act as a subordinate neta or the hawaldar are humourous.
And he is the associate producer. So thank him for making this show possible even though as Cyrus claims they are not paid or paid in peanuts.
Had it not been for the Sunday morning or the repeat in evening it would have been quite a boring day given that family dramas and films rule most of Sunday on TV. I have missed a number of roles played by these guys because this space is just not enough to describe them. But I hope they complete 3500 episodes and even more. Though Cyrus will become old given he is already in his nineties (still considered to be young in BJP) I will always look forward to watch this show. It truly describes "The Week That Wasn't".
