Fiction
‘Friends’ bid adieus on ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ on Star World
While the tenth and the final season of much appreciated sitcom Friends hasn't yet reached the Indian shores, the fan's can still tune into the teary good-byes on Oprah Winfrey Show on 8 April at 2:00 pm on Star World.
Fans can tune in to watch Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer in their first farewell interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
During the interview, the reel friend turned real friends will talk about who is the funny one? The most sensitive? Will Rachel end up with Joey or Ross? The cast opens up and shows Oprah one of TV's most famous sets. What's it really like behind-the-scenes of the Friends set? Oprah, along with the cast and crew, spent time at Central Perk and the apartments that have been home to Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross for ten years.
This is a special set down to the details filled with little touches: the artwork in Central Perk changing every three episodes, the names of the shops across the street have special meaning to the cast and crew and Monica and Joey's refrigerators actually work (a rarity on television). Along with the tour, Oprah's has an exclusive tete-e-tete with the entire cast, says a company release.
Every actor in this ensemble cast has a flair for comedy, but when Oprah asked who would be considered "class clown", the verdict was unanimous: Matthew Perry. On his own, without writers or anything, Matthew is the funniest person from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. If Matthew is the funniest, Jennifer Aniston is by far the most emotional member of this ensemble cast, which makes "saying goodbye" especially hard for her. The cast admitted they would all have a very emotional, difficult time leaving the show behind, and the last week of filming the finale will be particularly sad, adds the release.
MUMBAI: On Christmas morning, whilst most of Mumbai slept off festive cheer, Satyam Tripathi’s heart gave out. 25 December proved cruelly ironic for a man who’d spent his career crafting drama—this time, there would be no second take. He was only 57.
Tripathi was a scriptwriter’s scriptwriter. Within India’s chaotic television industry, where writers are treated rather like spare parts, he’d carved out something rare: respect. For years, he sat on the executive committee of the Screen Writers Association, helping transform along with other leaders, what was once a talking shop into an organisation with teeth. When writers’ rights were little more than punchlines, Tripathi helped pen a different ending.
His credits read like a greatest hits of Indian telly: Hitler Didi, 12/24 Karol Bagh, Ek Mutthi Aasman, Parvarrish Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi. Millions laughed, cried and switched channels to his work. He also championed the association’s Screen Writing Awards, ensuring that good writing didn’t go unnoticed in an industry obsessed with ratings and revenue.
Those who knew him speak of an affable soul, generous with time and advice. In a cut-throat business, Tripathi was that rarest of creatures: genuinely helpful.
His remains were cremated the same evening in the presence of industry associates and friends. The credits rolled quickly. But his final script—a better deal for India’s writers—continues to play out. That’s the sort of ending he’d have appreciated.
(Scriptwriters, producers and friends will be getting together to honour Satyam Kumud Tripathi’s memory and to hold a prayer meeting on 29 December. The location: Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara, 4 Bungalows, Andheri West, Mumbai. The time: between 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM.)
