The comfort of comedy: shows that are revisiting the slice-of-life genre

Reacting to crime drama fatigue, makers of shows like 'Gullak', 'Panchayat' and 'Kota Factory' continue to revisit the slice-of-life genre

Most OTT successes last year stuck to the script and doled out the standard concoction of crime, drama and suspense. But some surprised viewers by taking a route less travelled — slice-of-life comedy. Take the recent hit Gullak for example — a web series (the second season released earlier this year) that revolves around a caricature of the middle-class Indian family that you very well might bump into on the streets. Simple in treatment and layered in commentary, not only are these shows resurrecting a genre of comedy favoured in the eras gone by, but they are tweaking it to suit modern-day sensibilities. So what is the winning formula? Most shows draw from reruns of old Bollywood and regional cinema hits and place the spotlight on India’s rural heartland. Also, these shows dabble in commentary on topics like masculinity, aspiration and loneliness as well (writer Chandan Kumar sought inspiration from phases of his own stay in Mumbai, for Panchayat). “If you’re exploring a segment of life, it will be affected by social and political factors; it's very hard to see it in a vacuum,” explains Ankur Pathak, former entertainment editor at HuffPost India, who sees such comedies on OTT as a welcome trend. “Panchayat is like going to rehab after watching Paatal Lok!” . Makers have banked on the crime drama fatigue that has now set in after a year in lockdown. In a 2020 piece for Financial Express, Prathyusha Agarwal, chief consumer officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, highlighted how the return of comedy was the biggest trend as opposed to predominantly action genre-led performances over the past few years. Rather promising for makers heading towards the same path.