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Mani wins challenge

Katherine Vine
4/ 1/2008

A COMEDIAN from Stretford has had the last laugh after being crowned the winner of an international comedy competition.

Mani Liaqat was one of four finalists in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge on Asian satellite channel STAR One, beating thousands of entrants from across the UK.

On Saturday, December 23 he was declared the winner of the TV talent contest.

The show is an institution in India, and as part of his prize, 23-year-old Mani will be able to realise his lifelong dream of visiting the country.

There he will join the professionals on the set of STAR TV’s most popular shows. Mani, who is originally from Sialkot in Pakistan, said: “It is fantastic – I am over the moon.

“I just went there to perform and do my best. I am very excited and happy.

“My family is very happy too – they were all there supporting me – and my manager is over the moon. Now I get to go to India – what more could I want?

“The nerves were there, but sometimes nerves can help you perform better, I think, because of all the adrenaline.

“I went last, which was good because I could see what I was up against, but bad at the same time because of the reactions of the crowd to the other contestants.”

Mani’s story began when his agent sent a clip of him performing stand-up comedy in Birmingham into the competition.

He didn’t find out about this until he was told he had been shortlisted for the final.

Mani has been performing consistently for the past few years, and says comedy is all he has ever wanted to do.

He said: “I want to say thank you to my family and friends who have supported me along the way – this would have been impossible without them.”