Sanjeev Kumar (Sanjeev Bhaskar) is a talented TV host, a gifted comedian, a leader in the British Indian community and one of the country's most eligible bachelors – just ask him! In order to host his own chat show, his father Ashwin (Vincent Ebrahim) has converted part of the family home in Wembley into a TV studio, big enough to house an audience. Guests are invited to the family home and are then interviewed in the studio, not only by Sanjeev but more so by his family. Along with his father Ashwin, there is his mother Mdhuri (Indira Joshi) and the rather personal and intruding grandmother Sushila (Meera Sval).
Guests to appear in this first series are Stephen Fry, Richard E Grant, Minnie Driver, Michael Parkinson, Fay Ripley, Gary Lineker, Mel B, Claire Sweeney, Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, Ray Winstone. Richard & Judy, Lorraine Kelly and Lesley Garrett. Most are not household names to those outside of England, but they all still provide humorous entertainment. Big stars some of them may be, but it is the endless and at times ridiculous questions from the Kumar family that provides the laughs. Sanjeev does his best to maintain the flow of a chat show, but is continually interrupted by family members.
Father Ashwin’s obsession with money and mother Mdhuri’s interest in domestic matters are overshadowed by grandmother Sushila’s probing questions and innuendo. The laughs are aplenty should she take a liking to one of the male guests, Michael Parkinson being a prime example. She is like a dog on heat with football star Gary Lineker and other guests, but they all seem to enjoy the attention.
The show seems to have a very amateurish appearance and this is purely intentional. It attempts to show a family with all their indifferences and criticisms of each other along with an entertaining chat show format. Guests are treated as guests not only on the chat show, but also into the Kumar home. This is a very unique series that has recently been copied here in Australia with Greeks on the Roof. The fact that the format has been copied is a true indication of its originality.
That not only this first series, but also those that have followed have attracted such big name stars of television, music and film is another indication of its worth. Stars that are prepared to have themselves ridiculed demonstrate the intention of this series – pure fun.
Being a television series, the expectation was for a full frame presentation. The pleasant surprise came with the revelation of a 16:9 enhanced 1.78:1 aspect ratio transfer. Picture is sharp throughout with few problems. Colours are true, detail is very good and aliasing is non-existent. There are no signs of over saturation or grain. Subtitles are supplied in English for the Hearing Impaired and these are accurate and well paced. The layer change occurs at 100:42 and causes no disruption.
Audio is supplied in English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo and offers a good mix. Being a dialogue-driven series, the spoken word is clear at all times. There are no audio synch problems and although the Indian accents are a little hard to understand at times, most will find themselves getting to grips with them as the series progresses. Although a surround mix is always a nice addition to any DVD, there really is no need here as this stereo track does a fine job.
If you have seen this show on television and enjoyed it then this is a worthy purchase indeed. It looks wonderful visually, much better than when aired on the small screen, and the audio is also well suited. The extras are not plentiful, but they are entertaining. After all, it is better to have a few decent extras than a lot of useless ones. If you have never seen this series then this is at least worth a rental. There is a chance you will see a more recent series airing on the ABC, but many of us tend to forget it is on and never see the entire series, this DVD and future ones alleviate that risk!
