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Host Manish Paul quits Mad In India
Sunil Grover’s comedy show, Mad In India, seems to be in trouble. Launched amidst much hype, it hasn’t lived up to the expectations — neither in terms of ratings nor audience response. And now, host Manish Paul, who had a 26-episode contract with the show, has quit.
’s comedy show, Mad In India, seems to be in trouble. Launched amidst much hype, it hasn’t lived up to the expectations — neither in terms of ratings nor audience response. And now, host Manish Paul, who had a 26-episode contract with the show, has quit.
A source says, "Manish wasn’t happy with the way the scripts were working out and that’s why he has planned to move out. The makers and him have been having a lot of issues. The channel intervened and it has now been decided that March 31 will be his last day on the show. The makers want more of Sunil’s comic character (
) to elevate ratings. On the other hand, Manish has also signed a new film and is going to be busy with that."
Incidentally, reports of Manish quitting
were doing the rounds in early March. However, the actor had denied it at the time. He had told us, "I have got fabulous reviews for playing the host. Even the show is getting great response. Our set is also different — it has the feel of Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show. It’ll take some time for the viewers to get used to it."
In the early episodes,
dominated the first half while Sunil and the other actors would feature in the second. After mixed reactions to the format, the makers and Sunil added more of Chutki to the show. But there were no marked improvement in the ratings.
"The makers are mulling over replacing Manish or completely revamping the show. There is a strong buzz that it might see an early end," the source adds.
The channel spokesperson was unavailable for comment. On being contacted, Manish only says, "I can’t comment on this right now."
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