Comedy Circus returns on Sony Entertainment Television Starting 15th September, the audience can look forward to Laughter Ka ORIGINAL Dose every Sat-Sun at 9:30 PM only on Sony Entertainment Television

PRESS RELEASE

September 15, 2018 National:

Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is all set to redefine weekends with a power packed line-up of music and comedy starting 15th September. After the musical extravaganza of , SET will showcase Comedy Circus and this time around the audience will witness a refreshing, revamped and a lot more entertaining season of the show. Comedy Circus, a show that started in 2007, not only made India laugh, but also proved to be the platform where excellent comedians originate from. This season with the comic trios going all out to prove their might when it comes to making people laugh, one can only expect fun and laughter unlimited.

Gear up for rib tickling weekends in an amalgamation of madness and drama with four trios – a combination of The Comedy Circus TRIOS comedians and celebrated artists from the television industry, competing against each other in a bid to earn maximum Trio 1 – Balraj, Aditi Bhatia and laughs ringing in maximum moolah! Divyansh Dwivedi These trios will be performing different genres of comedy - Trio 2 – Siddharth Sagar, Mubeen stand up, sketches, skits, mimes etc to woo the judges and Saudagar and Karishma Sharma the audience alike, and their choice of themes will be something to watch out for! However, this season will see Trio 3 – Paritosh Tripathi, Anita brand-new parameters for scoring the acts which will be Hasnandani and Ojaswi Oberoi linked to the monies that the trios can earn. The scoring parameters this time around are – Mand Mand Hasi (A gentle Trio 4 – Sana Saeed, Gaurav smile); Haa Haa Kaar Hasi (A big laugh) and Phefda Faad Dubey and RJ Abhilash Hasi (Rolling over with laughter). The zordaar laughter from the judges and audience will set the cash register ringing for the contesting trios and will help them secure a top spot on the leader board week on week. Known for her inimitable style of laughter across the length and breadth of the country, Archana Puran Singh takes her rightful place on the judging panel alongside Sohail Khan.

Tune in to Comedy Circus starting 15th September, every Sat-Sun right after Indian Idol only on Sony Entertainment Television.

COMMENTS

Archana Puran Singh “People identify me with my laughter all thanks to Comedy Circus! It feels great to be back with the show that helps people forget the daily drudgery of life and lets them sit back, relax and laugh with all their heart and soul. I wish all the luck to the contestants on the show this season, and all I can say to them is, let’s see who can make me laugh the loudest!”

Sohail Khan “Comedy Circus redefined the comedy genre with not just exceptional talent but good content as well. This season I am looking forward to the unusual mix of contestants and the acts that have been conceptualised. Between myself and Archana, I am the tougher one to crack when it comes to laughter… let’s see who ends up getting a Phefa Faad Hasi from me!”

Ashish Golwalkar, Senior Creative Director - Programming, SET “Comedy Circus has been one of our most celebrated properties and we are confident it will further strengthen our weekend proposition. While comedy always resonates well with the audience, there is a dearth of such content currently on television, and Comedy Circus will bridge this gap. Vipul along with the team of Optimystix has come up with interesting elements this season making this show something to watch out for.”

About Sony Entertainment Television: Sony Entertainment Television (SET), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels is a part of Sony Picture Networks India Pvt. Ltd., which is India’s leading television network. Since its launch in October 1995, SET has created a unique space for itself in the Indian Television industry. Pioneering new waves in television programming, big format non-fiction shows and an impressive array of fiction shows like , , , Indian Idol, Dus Ka Dum, Comedy Circus, Cross Roads, CID, Crime Patrol, Mere Sai – Shraddha Aur Shaburi, Vignaharta Ganesha, Yeh Un Dino Ki Baat Hai, Yeh Pyaar Nahi to Kya Hai, Porus amongst others. SET is known for its innovative concepts and exciting formats and is the most preferred family entertainment channel which has been providing strong platforms for more than 700 brands to reach over 93 million households in India. In addition, Sony Entertainment Television is also available in the US, UK, Africa, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji Islands and Seychelles. In total, SET influences over 332 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent, and the South Asian Diaspora worldwide.

About Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN)

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation which owns and operates the Sony Entertainment network of television channels.

SPN comprises 32 channels including Sony Entertainment Television (SET and SET HD), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels; MAX, India's premium Hindi movies and special events channel; MAX 2, another Hindi movie channel showcasing great India Cinema; MAX HD, a high definition Hindi movie channel airing premium quality films; WAH, the FTA channel for Hindi movies; SAB and SAB HD the family-oriented Hindi comedy entertainment channels; PAL, a genre leader in rural Hindi speaking markets (HSM) showcasing the best of Hindi general entertainment and Hindi movies from SPN’s content library; PIX and PIX HD, the English movie channels; LePlex HD showing critically-acclaimed Hollywood films; AXN and AXN HD, the channels showcasing the best in Reality, Entertainment and Drama; Sony BBC Earth and Sony BBC Earth HD, the premium factual entertainment channels, Sony AATH, the Bangla entertainment channel; MIX a refreshing Hindi music channel; ROX HD, a channel for contemporary Hindi music; YAY!, the kids entertainment channel; Sports Network comprising 11 sports entertainment channels – SONY SIX, SONY SIX HD, SONY ESPN, SONY ESPN HD, SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 1 HD, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3, SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN GOLF HD; Sony मराठ, the Marathi general entertainment channel; SonyLIV - the digital entertainment VOD platform, SPN Productions, the networks’ film production arm and Sony Pictures Networks Distribution Pvt Ltd. (SPND) that distributes the networks television channels across different genres and languages through multiple content delivery platforms. SPN reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in 167 countries.

The network is recognized as an employer of choice within and outside the media industry. SPN is a recipient of several awards, including the ‘Aon Best Employers India’ Award in the 2017 edition in recognition of SPN’s unique workplace culture and exceptional people practices, consistently ranking amongst India’s Top 10 Companies with Best Health & Wellness Practices by SHRM & CGP Partners, listed by Working Mother & AVTAR as one of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India in 2017 and adjudged one of India’s Great Mid-Size Workplaces for its distribution business by the Great Place To Work® Institute in the 2017 edition.

Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited is in its 23rd year of operations in India. Its subsidiaries include Sony Pictures Networks Distribution India Private Limited, MSM-Worldwide Factual Media Private Limited, MSM Discovery Private Limited, Taj Television (India) Private Limited, Aqua Holding Investments [Pvt.] Ltd., and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited.

For more details, please contact:

Sony Entertainment Television Kripa Nayak Pai | 98198 26335 | [email protected] Swati Sharma | 9930423055 | [email protected]

H+K Strategies Prasanna Ratanjankar – 98196 58616 | [email protected] Pavitra Tupurani – 9773583536 | [email protected]