Simpu Channel V
Many urban youngsters in the 1990s grew up on the music videos and, later, the comic anchors, on Channel [V]. As their many promos (example above) established, the channel was the nearest things to a unique, irreverent, generational voice that teenagers and youngsters had at the time.
Simpu Channel V Online
Which is why, when news broke of Star India’s plan to close down the channel, there was widespread mourning on social media. As comedy artist Azeem Banatwalla put it:
It wasn’t just the music videos, but the VJs – among them Purab Kohli, Anuradha Menon as the hilarious Lola Kutty (above), Munish Makhija as the Jat Udham Singh, the spunky VJ Andy, and the irrepressible Javed Jaffrey – who had their own dedicated following. Not to forget other “characters” on the shows, like “Brought to you Bai” or Simpu Singh.
The channel had successful shows like On the Run, Lola Kutty (video above), Dare 2 Date or Get Gorgeous, and no one can deny its role in launching the careers of artistes like Anushka Manchanda (remember VIVA, the all-girl band?), Sophia Haque, and Anusha Dandekar.
V is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network.The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air in some bordering markets in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick.It can also be received in some other parts of Canada on cable television or direct broadcast satellite. Dec 23, 2007 An Enterprise’s Journey to Discovery (1). I don’t know about the next Scott Adams as I got these characatures from Channel V’s Simpu Singh cartoon 🙂 but thanks for your appreciation. Actually, my main tactic with this theme is to highlight the human interactions and dynamics, which all play a very important role in the eSOA.
Lola Kutty, the eccentric Malayali woman in a sari, was certainly one of the channel’s favourite characters:
There was Munish Mukhija as the Haryanvi-speaking Jat Udham Singh.
In case you forgot Simpu Singh, or “Brought to you Bai”, here’s a refresher.
Purab Kohli was involved with a number of projects. One of them, called Freedom Express, was aired in 2001 on Channel [V]. He was also part of On the Run (below), a travel show where he, along with Anushka Manchanda and Sarah-Jane Dias, travelled across India:
VJ Andy, in recent times, was one of the most recognisable faces on the channel, with shows like Get Gorgeous, Beauty Meets Geek, and the infamous Dare 2 Date.
And last (for now), but certainly, definitely not the least, there was VIVA, the all-girl band featuring Anushka Manchanda besides others. Channel [V] had a pivotal role in launching the band, as well as Manchanda’s career.