Versatile actor Archana Puran Singh, who would soon be seen judging a new comedy show on Sony Entertainment Television (SET), today noted that people enjoyed ''below the belt'' kind of jokes.

Asked if the current crop of comedy shows on TV sometimes crossed the fine line between comedy and smut, she noted that people seemed to enjoy ''below the belt'' and ''naughty'' jokes.

Addressing a news conference here this afternoon, Archana said there was already so much censorship on comedy.

''You cannot comment on religion, you cannot lampoon political figures...the scope of laughter in our comedy shows has been rather restricted,'' she rued However, the actor said the prime time shows, whether soaps or comedy, should conform to family and societal values.

Archana and Satish Shah will be seen judging a new hilarious show 'Comedy Circus' to be telecast on Sony Entertainment Television (SET) from June 16.

She quipped that comedy was a new ground for the Indian television, which had been a forte of only films so far.

''While comedy as a genre proliferated in films only, Indian TV focussed on soaps depicting family-oriented stories,'' Archana, who has carved a niche for herself both in the big and small screens, averred.

SET claimed the show to be a ''non-fiction'' and reality-based comedy format, that brings together celebrities to perform with professional comedian partners.

The show would feature seven popular known faces on TV pairing to train under well-known stand-up comedians. Exuberant VJ Shruti Sheth will host 'Comedy Circus'.

Noted actors Urvashi Dholakia, Ketaki Dave, Karishma Tanna, Ali (Kamal) Asgar, Kiran Karmarkar, Swapnil Joshi and Varun Badola will be seen on the show.

They will team up with stand-up comedians viz Shakeel Ahmed Siddiqui, Deepak Dutta, Pratap Faujdar, Khayali Saharan, Kashif Khan and Sunil Sanwra.

These pairs will vie for the top position over 13 weeks. Every week, the judges and the studio audiences will nominate two of the weakest pairs, who will be voted out by the participants themselves.