Super Suppandi

Batman-you might be a beefcake...Superman-you might have one helluva costume...Archie-your freckles and charm might have made you a poster boy..But lets face it...No one has stolen as many hearts as SUPPANDI has...mothers,children and girls alike.Our very own desi Suppandi first featured in "Tinkle" in 1983 as a village simpleton constantly in search of a job..owing to his inability hold on to one for long.Through some random Wikipedia-ing I found out that the idea of Suppandi was conceptualized after a Writer from Trichy sent a few stories based on him!Now thats a feather in our south Indian cap!

Suppandi's inability to follow the simplest of instructions comes from the fact that he takes everything too literally.Sample this-when one of his many masters asks him to get something "Hot" from the market ...he gets a copy of the local newspaper with "Hot News" printed on it.Another master who asks him to keep everything clean with disinfectant finds his drinking water full of it thanks to his ever alert servant. Yet another master tells him that a little extra work never hurt anyone..only to find four cups of coffee waiting for him the next day.

Its this innocent charm thats made him so lovable.Almost ironically,Suppandi's elongated head is little of what lies beneath.Our boy- next- door has been in print for the past 28 years and still continues to be a rage.This has fuelled a spin off-"Junior Suppandi" which chronicles the life of a young Suppandi with most of his (mis)adventures at school and with his friends and family.Sample this:
Father: Suppandi  go and hang these clothes out in the sun
Suppandi: why father?
Father:because the sun will dry the water from the clothes
(Some time later)
Father: Suppandi why are you standing out in the sun?
Suppandi: I was trying to dry my sweat

"Suppandi is not dumb as people perceive him to be..its just that he takes instructions too literally rather than contextually and this backfires on him.His brain probably stopped growing after a bit.But his innocence and loyalty are what sets him apart" says Hari Venkata ,who plays Suppandi in "Lost in the jungle"


Throw Suppandi in a chaotic jungle with equally chaotic characters..What do you get?Well  be there at the Museum theatre on 5th and 6th Feb to find out!Catch Suppandi in action in "Lost in the Jungle book".We're sure you wouldn't want to miss out on your favourite character brought alive on stage and some rollicking fun thats sure to follow!
P.S.Excuse the lousy title.Couldn't come up with anything better. =)
Dont forget to RSVP !
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172624099443069

Dame Diaries

A dame cannot be done away with, in a Pantomime..Period.When was the last time you saw a pantomime and did not look forward to the dame's entry?She..I mean..He..No actually I think its a She...or He?(Too prolonged A debate I'm sure)is universal to all pantomimes.Be it exceedingly pretty or exceedingly grotesque she captures a million hearts(at least on stage). For  all you Amateur Panto-Watchers,A Dame is usually A guy dressed up as a girl...With exaggerated features mostly.(You know what I'm saying).
I remember this pantomime where the Dame was so beautiful and so convincing that a bunch of us took time to realize that The character was actually the dame and not a girl in some part.Yes it can get that scary..with beautiful eyes and Long fingers and the uncannily accurate imitations.
When quizzed about what made them so special the obvious "Comic Element" came into the forefront.Come on ,Being the Dame in a Pantomime can mean only two things..either you are a huge hit with the audience or you suck..Most of the times... it being the former.
The dame is also most often the binding factor among the characters.Be it giving the Girls beauty tips or relationship advice or enchanting the male characters..her presence is everywhere.
Sathish Shanmugam when quizzed about his upcoming role in "Lost in the jungle" says that he plays a "Young,cute and modest" Nanny to one of the principle characters and also has the "Special hots for someone"..Intriguing eh??Thats how our Dames are :)
So to catch Some pretty interesting Dames in action and more...Land up at "Lost in the jungle book" on Feb 5th and 6th at Museum theatre!After this very profound post get ready for a Whole lotta fun!
Dont forget to RSVP :http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172624099443069
Spread the word!

Tinkle:The best of it all.

Ask yourself..When was the last time you picked up a copy of "Tinkle"?It has been a while... at least for most of us.The guys have moved on to GQ and the Girls to cosmopolitan and Vogue and in some cases Vise-versa as well *cough*.When I heard the premise of ASAP'S pantomime,in an almost alarming wave of Deja-vu,all those endless hours of flipping through the comic book came rushing back.Whatever be Archie or any other comic series,Our very own Desi Tinkle certainly ousted them all at one age.Here are probably the 4 most popular series from the magazine.

4..Shikari Shambu:The most lucky hunter.This bird brained hunter took all of us on many of his exploits and mis-adventures mostly owing to his lack of hunting skills.But be it an encounter with a chimpanzee gone wild or a confused man eater,he emerged unscathed yet victorious.The highlight of his exploits:His wife Shanthi who was ready to chase him with her rolling pin when he avoided household chores,despite his inimitable hunting instincts.All we ever got to see of him was his long mustache and Hid brown khakhi uniform with a Hat that never revealed the other half of his face.

3.Kalia the crow and Kapish:Thanks to Chamataka ,the Jackal and Doob Doob, the addle brained crocodile who were out to make rabbit stew of Keechu and Meechu-Kalia the crow was kept busy.In an almost similar spin off Kapish the monkey with the looong tail kept trouble at bay and helped the creatures of the jungle.The point here being the animals of the "Tinkle" jungle had a more active love life than most of us out here(lets face hard facts).Kalia had an "American"(No kidding) crow girlfriend called Bhoori and Doob Doob's alligator girlfriend was the "Blonde" Lubdoobi.

2.Tantri the Mantri:The Mantri who would remain a Mantri for the rest of his life.His never ending schemes to Bump off Raja Hoodja and claim the throne to himself started from when they were going to Gurukul(Junior Tantri Awww:) ) and continue till date.The funniest story ever being Tantri hiring the services of a witch to kill Hoodja.Hoodja finds out that Tantri has been meeting a woman and decided to get them married.To tantri's shock he finds himself married to the witch(Wife Hokki) who then decides to use her powers for the good.From poisoned arrows meant for Hoodja that find thier mark on Tantri's backside to Hired Assassins and Bombs that lead to his bruising..The Mantri has a long way to go before disillusionment.

1.Suppandi:Admit it.He had you LMAOing and ROFLing even before you know those acronyms existed.The most popular Desi comic character till date..Suppandi's long head..heavily ironical for the lack of brains and his innocence owing to lack of basic comic sense had both adults and kids as well as the various masters he worked under, screaming(In different ways of course).


Suppandi’s new master was the owner of a departmental store.
Master: Suppandi, before giving the clothes to the customers always open it and check it for defects.
That evening- Customer: One film roll please.
Master: Suppandi, what do you think you are doing? Why have you opened the film roll?
Suppandi: I was checking it for defects, master.


Master: Go to the market and get a mirror so that i can see my face and shave!!
Suppandi: Yes master!!
Goes to the market and returns home without a mirror.
Master: Why didn’t you get a mirror?
Suppandi: Because in all the mirrors i could see only my face!!




Master:Where are the glasses i asked you to keep?
Suppandi:I dont remember master
Master:To remember where you have kept things..please keep a notepad and make note of it.You will not forget
(After 3 days master returns back home from a trip and finds the house burgled)
Master:What happened?The thieves have broken the cupboards using the keys!Didnt I ask you to keep them safely?
Suppandi:Yes master.I hid them.but made a note of the hiding place in the notepad and left it on the table.


Need I say more?
So come on and See ASAP's "LOST IN THE JUNGLE'" after this revival ..who knows you might just about get to see your favorite characters on stage :-)
Here's the event:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172624099443069

The Official Poster!

Hello Fellas!

What do you think of our poster??Very intriguing isn't it?

LOST IN THE JUNGLE

Well for all those who were wondering..The cat is finally out of the bag!ASAP PRODUCTIONS presents "LOST IN THE JUNGLE BOOK" , a pantomime that chronicles the trails and travails of an eclectic bunch of characters from "Tinkle" and "The jungle book" among many others in..where else?..the jungles!
Synopsis:
A big treasure chest with millions of scam ridden public money is said to be hidden in the jungles of Tamil Nadu. The most intelligent and honest man in India, Chacha Chaudhry, decides to find it and return it to whom it belongs – the public. He takes the help of India’s best known hunter, Shikari Shambhu and the duo along with their team start their expedition. In the jungle they bump into Mowgli who promises to help them if they help him get together with his dream girl – the jungle princess Shakira. How they go about finding the money and defeating the villain Gabbar Singh forms the rest of the plot! We have interesting characters like Tantri the Mantri, Suppandi and a narrator called “Public” who binds the whole play together!


Directed by Amit Singh.

Dates: February 5th and 6th, 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Time: Museum Theatre, Egmore

Tickets @ Rs.150/250/350/500 available at Oxford Bookstore.

Tickets can be blocked at www.asapproductions.in or book online at www.indianstage.in 

For further details or phone booking call 9884803668.


So get ready for some rollicking fun and laughter and be prepared to scream, dance and sing along!We only go by our motto, so come and experience something thats going to be "As Stupendous As Promised!"