If you don't believe it, just watch the TV where this seems to be true. Emotionally driven family dramas rule our telly screens, while comedy is no where to be seen. Why aren't the audiences getting a proper dose of laughter through a good comedy series? Has comedy taken a back seat because of the success quotient of family dramas?

"I don't think so. Some channels are working hard to retain its pride. I have been associated with Sab TV for a long time now. They have produced some nice comedy shows. Even Yes Boss' TRPs are going up," says veteran comedian Rakesh Bedi.

On the other hand, another veteran actor-director-producer Sachin Pilgaonkar feels it's the other way round.

"Comedy has taken a back seat for a long time now. It is usually taken lightly, that's the problem. Very rarely you would see a comedy show at the no.1 position on the TRP charts. Making a comedy is a difficult and a tough job. Some people take it lightly. That's where everything goes wrong," opines Sachin.

Ashok Saraf is another veteran actor-producer who has made a mark in comedy shows for almost two decades. Be it films, theatre or serials, Ashok has been equally successful. "I agree that this thing has happened. People think comedy is easy.

But the fact is that it's very hard to hold the audiences' interest in a comedy. It's an art which everybody can't do. Besides that female audiences are the ones who decide the TRPs. It's obvious that they prefer saas-bahu kind of the serials," says Ashok Saraf.

It's a proven fact that good writers and visionary directors are the back-bones of every good and successful comedy series. Who would be better to comment on the subject than producer-writer Ashwini Dheer, who has scripted hit comedy shows like, Gharwali Uparwaali, Shriman Shrimati, Office Office, Shifarishilal etc?

"Comedy has always been taking the back seat. Today dailies work and comedy can't be dailies. Besides, channels don't promote comedies the way they promote soaps. The TRPs decide the marketing strategy of a channel. That's when the money comes pouring in," feels Ashwini Dheer.

Shriman Shrimati, Office Office and Hum Paanch were hit shows in their first season. But what went wrong with their second instalments? Why weren't their remakes able to leave the same impact the second time around?

"Now-a-days channels don't give the freedom required to make a good comedy. There's a lot of interference from the channels. The channels give a lot of their inputs, which sometimes work and sometimes doesn't.

When I was writing Office Office or any other show during those days, other than the director no one had the right to interfere with the script. But now it's not so," shoots back a disappointed Ashwini Dheer who has produced shows like Shrifarishilal and currently has on air Jee Behenji.

Rakesh Bedi had acted in Shriman Shrimati's first season, but didn't feature in the second. Was this one of the reasons for its failure? "Yes, I had done Shriman Shrimati. Even for me, it would have been hard to salvage it the second time around. It's hard for people to accept the same characters again after a break," says Rakesh Bedi.

Ashok Saraf had acted in both the seasons of Hum Paanch. The first instalment was a hit while the second a big flop. "The interest of the audiences doesn't remain the same once the series takes a break. Even the producers under the influence of channels are forced to change the presentation and the main content of the script," says Ashok Saraf.

On the contrary, making a comedy has turned out to be a safe bet as far as films are concerned. Then why isn't the same formula working when it comes to serials, when the audiences are almost the same? "It's not because audience doesn't like comedy. The truth is that making a good and pure comedy shows is a very hard business. There are very few artists, writers and professional who can make a good comedy. What all shows you see on Star like The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and the ilk can't be considered comedy. They are mere spoofs," replies Rakesh Bedi. Sachin Pilgaonkar feels that a good show can never be sidelined. "Good comedies have always worked. Office Office got a lot of awards. Even Tu Tu Main and Haadh Kar Di both had good TRPs. It's very important what you are offering to your audiences," says Sachin Pilgaonkar.

Whereas Ashok Saraf feels that even movies nowadays doesn't have pure comedy as content. "Even in films pure comedy doesn't exist. The comedy track is forced into a film just to relieve the audiences from the main dramatic story. It acts as a bridge. It is given second or third standard in the film. The same is happening with television" says Ashok Saraf.

Ashwini Dheer kind of takes the blame on himself for the second instalment of Office Office being a failure. "Maybe there would have been a problem in the writing or the programme mustn't have been good enough. Any show which is good has to work," he says modestly.

Until and unless the trend changes nothing can be done much about it. Only young guns can help by using their creativity in making good comedy shows as our veterans have done in their past. But till then, it's one long wait!