SAB TV’s ‘JJ’ reminds of ‘Karamchand’, ‘Pink Panther’

NEW DELHI - A look at SAB TV’s upcoming detective show “Jaankhilavan Jasoos” may remind you of Inspector Clouseau of “Pink Panther” or the carrot munching detective of “Karamchand”, but it has nothing in common with them, says channel spokesperson Anooj Kapoor.

“When it comes to comedy detective series in India, ‘Karamchand’ is the first name that comes to mind. But let me clarify that ‘Jaankhilavan Jasoos’ is very different from it. While ‘Karamchand’ was an intelligent detective who pretended to be dumb, our character JJ (Jaankhilavan Jasoos) is very dumb, and tries to show that he is very smart,” Kapoor, business head of SAB TV, told reporters at a press conference here Tuesday.

As much as the channel officials may like to deny, the look of the lead character, essayed by actor Nitesh Pandey, has a striking resemblance with Hollywood actor Steve Martin’s look as French Inspector Clouseau in the film “Pink Panther”.

Pandey too sports a hat, a coat and short moustache a la Martin’s character. Besides, both characters have other things in common as well, including clumsy efforts at solving cases, quirky one-liners, and being flanked by assistants.

But Kapoor denies any resemblance.

“There is no resemblance whatsoever. Our characterisation is very different. JJ’s look is a lot to do with the taste of children. JJ wears bright colours like blue, yellow and red, which children really like, and we hope the family audience takes a liking to this show,” he said.

“Jaankhilavan Jasoos” will deal with cases of robbery, kidnapping and mundane frauds every week. It will go on air Friday.