Indian comedy group All India Bakchod has just released the first episode of its much-awaited news comedy show On Air With AIB here. The first of a weekly ten-part series, it manages to balance humour with a sombre issue -- the vulnerable status of whistleblowers fighting corruption in India.
Pegged to a proposed amendment of the Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2011, it underlines the horrendous fate of Indian whistleblowers through recent cases such as the Vyapam scam, government officer Ashok Khemka’s numerous transfers, and engineer Satyendra Dubey’s murder. Towards the end though, there's rather abrupt shift to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanhu's recent controversial statements on Holocaust and Hitler.
The show’s research-meets-humour format is similar to American counterparts such as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. It has been shot separately in an English version starring Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya, and a Hindi one featuring Tanmay Bhatt and Gursimran Khamba. While the two focus on the same topics, there a clear emphasis on using a local idiom and humour for the Hindi version. For now though, AIB’s fans seemed pleased with the outcome.
"You remember corruption? The thing you used to care about before beef?" Epic line by @mojorojo on @AllIndiaBakchod's new online show.— Sachin Kalbag (@SachinKalbag) October 29, 2015
Yup, the Internet revolution has arrived for Indian TV. #TVF #TVFPitchers #MansWorld #OnAirWithAIB @Y_films @AllIndiaBakchod @TheQtiyapaGuy— comfortably dumb (@GrouchosWife) October 29, 2015
Watched English and Hindi versions of #AIBonHotstar . Tanmay and Khamba were far superior. Good beginning though. Long way to go!— Akshay Marathe (@AkshayMarathe) October 29, 2015
While its tone is similar to AIB’s videos for the net neutrality campaign a few months ago, the show marks a major shift for the group from YouTube sketches to mainstream Indian television.
There are a handful of news comedy shows on Indian TV, such as The Week That Wasn't with VJ-comedian Cyrus Broacha and The Great Indian Tamasha with puppets. But with its thematic focus on issues rather than recaps, and AIB’s fresh humour and youthful appeal, the show may just succeed in breaking new ground in this genre.