Talking about his first ever performance in this show as a stand-up comedian, Chetan Bhagat said:

My books have inspired many Bollywood films, but after doing One Mic Stand 2 I realized the vast difference between writing and performing. Writing comes easy to me, however the performing arts especially stand-up comedy was an uncharted territory for me. I had no inhibitions going into it knowing that Abish Mathew was guiding me through the process. I have seen his work and I think it’s brilliant. He made a complete amateur like me sound like a pro comedian, and for that I think he deserves an award. Bollywood movies 3 Idiots and Hello, inspired by my books have been very successful on Amazon Prime Video and I hope that my first ever stand-up act enjoys similar success on the same platform.

Chetan further adds

Through the process I also learnt that a lot of jokes will stem from me. Making jokes on yourself and people laughing at it I believe is better than them making jokes on you. Whenever I get a chance to create magic with words I take it, as a writer I’m always on the hunt for exploring and learning about different human perspectives and psyches, One Mic Stand 2 was the perfect show for that. This has been an interesting journey of books to OTT for me, one filled with lots of learning and laughter.

One Mic Stand Season 2 is going to premiere on October 22, 2021, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

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The younger generation is sceptical about the news they receive from mainstream media, which is apparently straitjacketed, but prefer to be presented with all facts. And comics are doing exactly that, presenting condensed news without bias. The tongue-in-cheek way of narrating news sure makes you laugh but leaves you pondering too.

Some of the comics who are taking on the political comedy are:

Kunal Kamra

In a secret affair with Modi government, Kunal Kamra is habitual of taking on them with his political humour and accepts backlash in stride. A politician once told him, ‘’Go ahead, do comedy but leave politics for us.’’ To which Kamra says, “Sir, aap pe hi chhoda tha. Par aap log comedy kar rahe ho.”

Shridhar Venkatramana

Known for his ‘Prime Time Jokes’ – a series of Stand-Up Comedy videos based on the Prime Time news events that happened around us. He presents intellectually stimulating ideas which are hilarious at the same time.

Vipul Goyal

Apart from talking about Bollywood, relationships, advertisements, Vipul also enjoys talking politics in his acts. However, he ensures that he doesn’t offend anybody’s political sentiments.

Varun Grover

People these days are more aware now and are fed news at all times through all channels. This makes for a fertile ground for stand-up comics. His tour ‘Aisi Taisi Democracy’ is all about giving satirical twist to news, and audience fell in love with it.

Vir Das

Politics occupies Das in a big way! His gig, The Secret Set includes subjects related to politics, religion, racism and the Indian accent. He is often seen taking a dig at politics.

The post Appetite for political comedy growing in India appeared first on Humour Sapiens.

In this video, Jaspreet Singh talks about how Sikhs are badly portrayed in most Bollywood movies. This rant video is to urge the writers, directors and viewers of these movies to look for their normal.

He keeps on raising this question – #HamaraNormalKahanHai?

It was all triggered at the time of the release of movie, Kesari, wherein Akshay Kumar plays the lead. His concern is that he looks nothing like a Sikh, which deflated the balloon of his excitement towards the movie.

Jassi further talks about how surds are misinterpreted in the movies, as they are given mean and cliched dialogues, weird dance steps and made to talk in an unnatural accent.

He even mentions the movies which are made on and about Sikhs and still have some basic flaws. He points out to how badly researched they were, despite Google being Free for all.

Mentioning Bathinda as Bhatinda in ‘Jab We Met’.

He rightly says, someone from Bathinda won’t misspell the name of their hometown.

His anger is justified. A comedian too can and must express things which he doesn’t find funny. And this one is pure logic.

Don’t believe us.

Check out why Jassi Doesn’t Like It.

The post Jassi Doesn’t Like it appeared first on Humour Sapiens.

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH COMEDY

Vir Das studied in Knox College, Illinois with his major subject being Economics and Theatre with a concentration in performance. After graduating from Knox, he was accepted into the Stanislavsky Program of the Moscow Arts Theatre. It was when he was at Knox that Vir first explored stand-up comedy with his first special, ‘Brown Men Can’t Hump’, which debuted in Knox’s Harbach Theatre.
This, in itself was funny, as Vir has mentioned in many of his interviews that they were expected to submit serious works and he was the only one who ended up doing a comedy!

Nevertheless, he received a Richter Scholarship for Theatre and later went on to win the Colton Performance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting from Knox. He was also a teaching assistant for Beginning Acting at Knox and he also trained as a method actor at Harvard.

After Vir returned to India…

…he has performed several shows, acted in movies and also hosted comedy shows on various channels. His style of comedy is unique, where he plays around with words and uses it well to bring out the jokes. The topics too are not silly, but though-provoking like racism and homosexuality; topics that usually stays under the covers for ‘obvious’ reasons in India.

THE MAN OF FIRSTS

Vir Das is also a man of many firsts – first Indian to make it big in the world of stand-up comedy, first stand-up comedian to get his special with Netflix (Abroad Understanding) and now, he has also become the first Indian comedian to receive a doctorate for his achievements in the world of performing arts. And the one to confer this honour on him is none other than his alma mater, Knox College!

With this honour, he has also become the first alumnus since 1971 to serve as a commencement speaker for their annual commencement ceremony. The list of past speakers includes stalwarts like Barrack Obama and Eva Longoria.

Phew…with some many achievements under his belt, we cannot fathom what award or recognition Vir Das might end up with next.

The post VIR DAS BECOMES THE FIRST INDIAN COMEDIAN TO RECEIVE A DOCTORATE appeared first on Humour Sapiens.

Apart from this, Biswa Kalyan Rath, yet again from the Pretentious Movie Reviews’ fame was seen is Brahman Naman, AIB’s Tanmay Bhat in Mr. X, Varun Thakur in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, to count a few.

No amount of recent examples can hide the contribution that the exemplary comic Vir Das had in the B-town. Recognised for his roles in movies like Badmaash Company, Go Goa Gone, Delhi Belly and Mastizaade, he is one level above the rest.

There are no two thoughts about it that Indian stand-up comedy fraternity has grown manifold over a couple of years, and has come to a point where it’s booming across the country. It has established itself as a mainstream entertainment medium and we can see comedy clubs, events and tours happening all over India.

Comedy stars have become a household name and stand-up comedy is slowly becoming an acceptable career option.

New Age Indian Comedians

Given the rise in the comedy landscape, the comedy stars are now seeking a career in the B-town that allows them an expanded reach. This is a tough move if decision makers are not open to new ideas or perspectives.

However, the increase in number of comics in films these days hint towards its recognition and direction in the industry.

Past Perfect

Hindi cinema has been known to churn out its widely celebrated comedians such as Mehmood, Kishore Kumar and Johnny Lever. It is better to term them as comic actors and not stand-up comedians, for stand-up is fairly new field.

Conclusion

Indian stand-up comics are indeed a melting pot of talent that’s waiting to be tapped. They have capacity to make great writers, directors and actors. It is high time to realise it and change the face of B-town for good.

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