The post TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH THE ROCKING COMIC KARUNESH TALWAR appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Karunesh’s usual style of delivering punches, his body language and expressions are so good that even if there is nothing funny in what he is saying, the way he says it makes you go ROFL.
Humour Sapiens got into a Tête-à-Tête with the rocking stand-up comic Karunesh Talwar. Get to know him with us.
How was your first stage experience?
10 years ago on 13 June 2011 was the first time I stepped on stage. To my surprise, people laughed at my set. I was stupefied because I was screaming, and people were laughing and wondering as to who’s this angry kid.
Over time, I gained confidence and tried the same jokes, but no one laughed. That’s when I realised, it was because of my nervous energy that people laughed back then.
But yes, first time on stage was a great experience. When I got off stage, I had so much adrenalin and so much energy. I remember, this show was in Bandra, I just got out started walking on the road for kilometres at a stretch. With an excitement of something unexpected happening!
You’ve also been a part of Weird Ass Comedy. How has the journey been?
I started with them in 2012, it’s Vir Das’s company. So, Vir, obviously, Rohan Joshi, Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya and I were a part of it. Then they started at AIB, and I began collaborating with them.
Do you remember any of your bombing experiences?
Oh yes, I remember many. The most painful bombing experience was the one at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2018. And it is embarrassing to relive it that at this time. So basically what happened was, I was doing 28 shows in the festival, along with 4 other Asian comics. The first 15 shows went really well, we even got a five-star rating, and we all were really excited.
On the 16th day, I decided to perform some new material, which was a terrible decision because I had just written it. I get on stage, and man, you could hear the silence. I’m not sure how to describe it, but sannata sunayi de raha tha! I could see the tears of disappointment in the eyes of audience. One person even heckled me and I didn’t have an answer to that. I got off stage, after somehow managing to get a few laughs – and I get to know that there’s a reviewer in the audience. It was a bad bad day.
I woke up the next day, and things hadn’t gotten any better. As I opened the newspaper, it was a disaster. The whole Melbourne was duly informed that the man named Karunesh Talwar is no go for stand-up comedy. The review was titled – 4 out of 5 comics make the cut. Clearly, I was the fifth comedian who couldn’t please the audience.
But, let me tell you, something good came out of it!
Of course, I was having a row of bad days, but worked really hard on those new jokes and a lot of them made it to my future comedy sets, some of which I have done in India as well.
So, I worked overnight on those jokes and performed them the next day and managed to get a good response. Rest of the festival went very well because of that, and I bagged the opportunity to perform on Australian television too.
I was a real rollercoaster that one month – full of highlights and lowlights back to back.
When you got into comedy, the scene wasn’t developed so much. What challenges did you face back then?
I didn’t get into comedy to earn money. There was no expectation of doing this for a living. I just started doing it because I was very passionate about it – so I thought I am gonna do it, but eventually, I will have to get a job. That was my perspective on it.
I was never looking at it as a source of income, but today I feel very grateful that it’s my livelihood and I have not taken it for granted.
The challenges have not changed. My challenges are what they were when I started off. Things like – this line isn’t as funny, what should be the next line, people laughed at this joke but the other one didn’t get as many laughs, I should find another angle to this story, new material was looking good enough yesterday but crappy today – these don’t change. At any level, these challenges are always the same.
Have you struggled for spots in your early days?
When I started doing comedy, there were hardly 15-20 comics, so getting spots wasn’t that much of a problem. Guess I was lucky. If I had to enter stand-up now, it would have been a tough cookie. As long as you could make someone laugh, you used to get the spots. But now it’s a whole different scene, you have to sell tickets, get people, then make them laugh.
It was comparatively easier to get on stage back then because you were responsible for making people laugh, that’s it.
Experience with annoying audience member or a heckling experience?
There have been many. And there are some, which cannot be told on this platform 
So, there was this one girl – she was drunk and it was her birthday. She kept yelling ‘it’s my birthday’ again and again, and had bugged around four comics who performed before me which derailed their sets. I went on stage, she started again with her ‘it’s my birthday’ anthem. I said, “usually the maturity increases with age, but guess it’s the opposite with you”. Because I said, you are becoming dumber as you getting older – the audience that was equally annoyed with her laughed and applauded at this. It was then her birthday express came to a halt.
Tell us something about your new special ‘Aalas Motaapa Ghabraahat’. We saw the trailer and loved it, especially the bit where you nudge us to confront our parents.
*laughs* Kar dena chahiye confront, definitely!
It’s important to set boundaries with the parents too, show them the real you. The love won’t vanish, you won’t become a bad child if you have a healthy argument with your parents. 
This special is basically on two topics, one, on my relationship with my parents and second, on my relationship with my girlfriend.
Watching this didn’t bode well with both my parents and girlfriend.
I have taken many pot shots at my parents and then I went into a self-depreciation mode.
Watch the Amazon Prime special here!
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]]>The post Tête-à-Tête with the ace comic Gaurav Gupta appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Gaurav Gupta, stand-up comic artist said:
“I am delighted to associate with a global platform like Amazon Prime Video and amuse stand-up enthusiasts all across the world with my comedy special. Thanks to them, a host of comedians have entered the limelight and I too look forward to reaching a larger audience and garner new fans. Everyone wants to watch a show if they know it’s on Amazon Prime Video. That said, “Market Down Hai” is really special for me as it is my first stand up special on Amazon prime video and also as I used my life experiences that are hilarious in nature in the stand-up. I am a Baniya and cracking jokes on the Baniya community never gets old for me. I hope the audience will love “Market Down Hai” as much as they loved my other work of stand up.”
In the trailer, Gaurav Gupta can be seen talking about his hilarious experiences as a parent, husband, son, a Delhiite, and above all, a Baniya! Watch the trailer here:
We got an opportunity to interact with this amazing dentist-comedian prior to the launch of his special ‘Market Down Hai’. Humour Sapiens got into a Tête-à-Tête with the ace comic Gaurav Gupta. Get to know him with us.
Q. How did you get into comedy?
A. I was a dentist and followed a routine. Just like most of us, the need for change and the want to break my monotonous routine led me into comedy in 2015. I took a chance and I’ve been here ever since.
Q. How was your first stage experience?
A. Just one word – Pathetic. I did so bad, I don’t even want to recall or discuss that. 
I had no clue what happens in a stand-up, I just went on stage and did some ‘sansani’ and practically tanked.
Q.Experience with annoying audience member or a heckling experience?
A. Looking at my personality, no one usually heckles me. I look like a ‘biwi-bachhon wala aadmi, jo job se aa raha hoga’. So, no one messes around with me but I have people having a picnic in the midst of my gig – ‘mere show ke beech mein, khaa-pee rahe hote hain’.
I remember one time when I was doing a private show – my baniya act was on and one uncle stood up from the audience, with his stick in tow. Vo boodhe uncle khade ho gaye, and said, “ ek minute bhaisaab, ye bhadkau bhaashan band kijiye”. I tried telling him that it’s comedy, but it fell on deaf ears.
Q. What challenges did you face while starting up?
A. Spots. This was one of the main challenges I faced. When I was starting up in 2015, Delhi had only a few venues to perform. Though comics were a handful, but audience was less as well – you could hardly get 10-12 audience members, and stage time was very less too. There were just about 2 prominent rooms to perform and we had to hustle a lot for getting spots in those. Writing emails to get one spot, and many times our confirmed spots used to get cancelled when any seasoned comic came to perform.
Q. What has been your worst bombing experience?
A. You mean, ‘Sannata’ – total silence? That has happened a lot many times. One that I remember was a corporate show in Goa. I was really excited and happy to do this big show. As I got on stage, I saw all the uncles staring at me and they remained that way all through my act. I used all my energy, spoke at the top of my voice, narrated my best jokes – no one laughed and everything I said fell flat.
When that happens, it breaks your confidence, drains your energy. So, I had a 45 minute spot and I came back to my room after 20 minutes of attempting to make them laugh.
Happens to the best of us. Right?
Q. Tell us something about ‘Market Down Hai’? How is it different from ‘Not Just Baniya’?
A. “Market Down Hai” is my father’s pet peeve. This is what he says all the time. You go to him asking for money, he’s all like, “abhi ruk ja, abhi dekh le, market down hai, dhanda down hai.” And this is what he used to say before the pandemic happened and market actually crashed. But now pandemic has made the situation such that people are able to relate to this line.
How’s it different? You can say, the pizza base is same, toppings have changed and gotten better. The theme is same, naturally, because the genre of any artist doesn’t change. It started with my ‘Baniya’ acts and since then a lot of changes have happened in my life. I have tried to inculcate all that and more in this special.
You can follow Gaurav Gupta on Instagram: @gaurav_comic
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]]>The post Ketan Kumar Giri: stand-up comic on a roll appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>He has recently come up with two new videos, which are quite a joyride!
Indian Food & Talented People
This is Ketan’s first video, and is all about people who are as talented and down to earth as it can get! But he tells us, those are the kind who trigger depression in you. As you while away the time on Instagram waiting for magic to happen, these gifted people are using their gifts to their full potential.
Ketan also talks about the time he decided to visit France…well, the French part of India and tasting French cuisines to his delight. This adventure ended when he figured that the only spices they were aware of were salt and sugar.
He ended the video with a concrete opinion about Raisins–“Raisins shouldn’t be called dry fruits, since they aren’t completely dry”–and the people who eat it.
Ketan also shared a secret in this video about why wine complements French food.
Watch Indian Food & Talented People to know it:
Birbal & Comfort Zone
Ketan’s second, Birbal and Comfort Zone leaves you pondering about a lot of things. One being, those people in our lives who are constantly talking yet not arriving at the crux of it all. He also enlightens us on ‘How did Birbal actually die.’ And no, it is not how you think.
Ketan also talks about the comfort zone and the struggles of life.
Want to know? Watch Birbal & Comfort Zone here:
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]]>The post Amazon Prime Video’s ‘LOL – Hasee Toh Phasee’ coming up on 30 Apr appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Last one Laughing (LOL) is a TV show franchise with some of its parts released in Australia and Mexico. It is now making its way to India. The show is a unique format wherein ten comics are put in a room for 6 hours in a battle of wits, jokes and improvisational comedy.
The challenge? To be the last person in the room with a straight face.
Whoever does it wins the grand prize of ₹25 Lakh.
Starring: Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani, Sunil Grover, Mallika Dua, Kusha Kapila, Gaurav Gera, Cyrus Broacha, Suresh Menon, Aakash Gupta, Aadar Malik, Aditi Mittal and Ankita Shrivastav
Release Date: April 30, 2021 only on Amazon Prime Video
It is a six-episode series, with the last one to crack taking home the prize.
Check out the trailer of LOL – Hasee Toh Phasee here:
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]]>The post Kusha Kapila: The swaggy comedy content creator appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>She has worked as a brand and copywriter with the likes of Razorfish and Apparel Online, and moved on to work on her own terms as a freelancer for quite some time. Currently, she is rocking as fashion editor with iDiva.
Not only does she create fashion content spanning entertainment and fashion, she also creates funny video content and stars in those as well. This is where she developed her famed fictional character Billi Maasi.
Her series of sketches that imitate girls from South Delhi are absolutely hilarious and real. Apart from this, she also loves writing poetry as Kavita Ki Kavita.
This is a recent one on normalising asking for help.
Such are the times – all of us are overwhelmed with work, household stuff, abrupt meetings, and having to stay extra cautious, adding to the list of to-dos. It isn’t quite working from home, but staying at work. This Kavita ki Kavita talks about the importance of talking and listening.
Kusha posts comedy content on her YouTube channel as well, that she started on October 7, 2011 and has gained over 222K subscribers and over 1M overall views.
She has over 1.4M followers on Instagram and posts all sorts of relatable and funny content. Her videos are the scroll-stoppers on the feed. From getting excited about waxing to making dosa on the forehead, she puts our thoughts into videos, making us believe that we are absolutely sane for letting such thoughts cross our minds.
Kusha Kapila has been creating a lot of new content for us and keeping entertained during this dreaded lockdown. Check out!
The lockdown fad – Dalgona Coffee: A tutorial on how to make it
Edited by main man @hercules_sharma #dalgonacoffee #dalgona
Honest account of quarantine workouters
Funny account of the pain of couples distanced in quarantine
On another lockdown fad: Cooking
Sanitizers and more: Wedding preparations in 2020
Speaking for all the rajma lovers – Rajma is Bae
@voot
Relatable pro max – thick thighs know
Yes, that’s what road trips are all about. And with multiple people it gets even worse
For more interesting content from Kusha, check out her instagram feed here.
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]]>The post Shibani Bedi funny, witty, sassy content creator appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Shibani has done a bunch of stage plays, and short cameos in movies like Rang De Basanti and No One Killed Jessica. She also starred in a Balaji Telefilms TV soap called Kuch Iss Tara in 2008, appeared in the movies Matra in March 2017 and Why Cheat India in 2019. She has even done a Gujjar film ‘Tau Jhagdu’. 
Content Creator and Curator
This powerhouse of the online world, in her journalistic stint, has worked as a copy and content curator 
with the names like NDTV, The Asian Age, India Today, Hindustan Times. Her latest two stints have been with Vegabomb – a Scoopwhoop media venture as writer and editor, and at Times Internet as Video Content and Actor Consultant. She is the brain and face of the video content on iDiva, MensXp, and Indiatimes.
Lockdown Video Love
Since the lockdown began, she is on fire and creating hilarious content pieces and posting on her Instagram page. We have always been in love with Prabha didi – the hoity-toity house help, but her Punjabi mom videos have us bursting with laughter. What’s more? Of late, she has been bringing the food to life and sharing lots and lots of couple-react videos, both young and old.
In August, Shibani and Ankush Bahuguna, her partner in crime in all couple videos, shot a 6-minute debut drama film ‘Almost’ – an emotional yet beautiful chronicle of a breakup.
Watch the video ‘Almost’ here:
Now let’s get back to the Humour Sapien that Shibani is!
- Prabha Didi: ‘Haaye Raaam’! Prabha didi has issues with the most normal things in the world and her take on those is hilarious. And unmissable.
- Punjabi Mom: This character is an absolute favourite and totally relatable. Anyone who has lived in a Punjabi household or observed one from a distance, knows how aptly she depicts it. The dramatic Punjabi mom sounds she makes perfectly complements her hilarious act.
- Bringing foods to life: Maggi or gol gappa, Shibani proves to be a total snacc! The humanised roti, maggi and golgappa hold very strong opinions and high self-esteem. Who doesn’t love an independent, opinionated, funny snack?
- Couple tales: Her couple videos with Ankush always leave us cracking with laughter. Their metro rides are indeed a joy ride for us and their mushy videos are a treat. Lately, she has been throwing at us a lot more quarantine couple videos
. The young couple videos are as rib-tickling as the old married couple videos. While the young couple romances, the older couple hurl brickbats at one another.
- Everyday relatable: Entertaining, relatable and super-slick, that’s what Shibani’s interpretation of day to day things is. It feels so real, and her natural delivery style makes it all the more fun. It’s something we all can instantly connect to.
Featuring @varsha_bedi15, who definitely does NOT miss hugs at all! Music courtesy: Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham . . . . . . #memes #dankmemes #memesdaily #memelife #meme #instafunny #instagood #instagramers #instameme #lifelessons #life #funny #funnymemes #funnymeme #funnyvideos #hugs #hug #miss #missing #hugday #lockdown #friendship #plans #socialisolation #socialdistancing #shibanibedi #k3g #kabhikhushikabhigham
. . . . . . . #memes #dankmemes #memesdaily #memelife #meme #instafunny #instagood #instagramers #instameme #pee #struggleisreal #struggle #shibanibedi #tiktok #tiktokindia #tiktokgirls #tiktokmeme #tiktokstar #life #lifelessons
- Bublee Chaiji Vlogs: Though Bublee Chaiji left blogging sooner than she began, but we loved her short exploration of the vlogging world.
There’s a lot more happening on her Instagram, that you wouldn’t want to miss out on. Check out here!
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]]>The post Dolly Singh: Spilling the Sass to 1M Fans appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Interested in the fashion industry, Dolly interned with iDiva, who offered her the post of a writer on completion of her internship. Therein, she landed an opportunity to multi-task in the iDiva videos as the producer, writer and actor.
Hitting 1M on Instagram 
We have been following Dolly from the times of ‘Spill the Sass’, and witnessing her hard work. On Monday, 24 Aug, Dolly hit a million followers on Instagram. The credit indeed goes to her creativity, commitment to churn new content, and being relatable at all times. She as well has a strong following of 360K people on Youtube.
Lockdown Delight 
We all have been at homes for almost six months now, and the Dalgona days are gone. There’s a constant need of a happy-push to keep us going. That’s where Dolly’s content comes to rescue. She is a delight to watch, and the kind of exciting content she’s been creating certainly keeps us afloat during these times. We are sure, managing everything by herself must have gotten overwhelming for her, but she’s the boss, apple sauce!
The best part about her posts are her self-acceptance messages, and of course her dog, Phoebe. 
Take a look at her comedy videos that make her fans roll with laughter. 
- Raju ki mummy: Dolly’s Raju Ki Mummy avatar took the internet by storm. Inspired by her own mother, this character leaves us in splits every time we watch it. Her honest bon mots with celebs are too good to miss. But poor Raju, always has to bear her wrath – flying chappal received by Raju for not completing his homework.
- This or that: Her iPhone vs Android, Chai vs Coffee, Delhi vs Mumbai videos are so on-point and relatable. Throughout the video, we are rooting for our favourite of the two, hoping for it to come up with the best responses and slay the other. But somehow, she manages to keep both the sides happy.
- Guddi bhabhi: The rich South Delhi daughter in law, Guddi has a perfect response to everything. Her point of views on everyday situations are hilarious and so is the catchphrase ‘Cheeni Kamm hai Chhotu’ in the end.
Take care, cheeni Kam hi rakhna
- Real life situations: Been there, seen that, done that, felt that – this is what her videos make us say. The reactions to quotidian situations she shows in her videos are so apt, it leaves us wondering, “how does she know?” From opening a new toothpaste and relatives asking for marriage plans, to looking for just the right song before a chore, her videos are so accurate. But our favourite has to be ‘Pooping in someone else’s house’.
- Zeenat: This avatar deserves a few extra hearts
. We find ourselves scrolling through her feed every few days, just to see if Zeenat is back with “Salaam! Zeenat, pehchana?”
There’s a lot more interesting content on here Instagram feed. Check out, if you already haven’t!
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]]>The post Feminism, Sati Aur Nange Log by Neetu Bhardwaj appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Bonne Bouches from the video:
Introverts have been following social distancing since forever.
We support Fries over Guys kinda feminism only.
Has happened to the best of us.
In her video – Feminism, Sati Aur Nange Log, Neetu Bhardwaj also explains the difference between ‘Sati’ and ‘Jauhar’ girls, moving on to telling us why she prefers being classist but not casteist.
Though Neetu Bhardwaj presents herself on stage with a poker-faced expression, but her content graced the faces of audience with a bout of hyperventilated laughter. We’d love to see her interacting with audience, for we feel that is going be a laugh riot!
Watch the full video here:
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]]>The post Shun the gloom, laugh heartily with these top 5 comedy shows appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>What are you waiting for? Get set to lighten up your mood and grin widely.
Amazon Funnies (Amazon Prime Video)
What better than having 14 stand-up comics working together to entertain you and spread some laughter? Amazon added a cherry on top of the cake of festivities with Amazon Funnies – Prime Day Special. It featured a stellar line-up of 14 comedians – Sumit Sourav, Karthik Kumar, Aishwarya Mohanraj, Shreeja Chaturvedi, Nishant Tanwar, Neeti Palta, Sapan Verma, Sumukhi Suresh, Gaurav Kapoor, Urooj Ashfaq, Rahul Subramanian, Nishant Suri, Rahul Dua, and Anubhav Singh Bassi – who performed a 10-minute set every hour. They covered everything from movies to breakups, to gymming and wedding. If you haven’t watched it yet, you are missing the miniature doses of happiness.
Vir Das for India (Netflix)
After the release of two comedy specials on Netflix – Losing It and Abroad Understanding, Vir Das came up with another special ‘Vir Das for India’ early this year. The special talks about his life spent growing up in India, mentioning India’s favourite Parle G, Old Monk and chyawanprash. What’s amazing about this man is, he finds the funny side about everyday things that make us truly Indian. This special is truly special. Why? Because it is filled with some hearty laughs and nostalgia.
Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill (Netflix)
This show is all about Kanan Gill revisiting his 15-year-old self by the means of a letter that he wrote to himself – the older-Kanan, when he was 15. He goes through the letter which included a list of goals; he evaluates his achievement count and how far he has come in life. The tone Kanan maintains throughout is certainly a poignant one, but his subtle and witty comments rolled into one leaves everyone rolling with laughter.
Comicstaan (Amazon Prime Video)
Comicstaan, both Season 1 and 2 are the reality shows that feature aspiring comics – most of them are widely recognised now. So, Comicstaan showcases the talent of budding comedians who are groomed under the guidance of Kaneez Surka, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kanan Gill, Kenny Sebastian, Abish Mathew, Sumukhi Suresh, Zakir Khan, Neeti Patla and Urooj Ashfaq. Their comic timing and extra-ordinary sets will leave you splits. What’s more? You also get to these contestants rehearse for their shows, yes, the behind the scenes part, and how they structure a perfect laughter-inducing set.
Pushpavalli (Amazon Prime Video)
Are you looking for a comedy show and not really a stand-up special? Then Pushpavalli, both Season 1 and 2 are your go-to options. Starring Sumukhi Suresh, Pushapavalli is the story of a girl who is obsessed with a boy she has never dated. The show is laced with witty one-liners and relatable situations which will plaster a smile on your face. Sumukhi’s impeccable comic timing steals the show and she delivers a performance to remember. If you haven’t watched it yet, this show could offer you some light-hearted laughter.
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]]>The post Know Your Comic: Gaurav Kapoor appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Gaurav Kapoor weaves stories out of things that he sees and experiences and has a funny take on almost all of them – his school, college, office, Royal Enfield, Mumbai flats, Nano – everything under the sun that catches his eyes.
Kapoor credits Zakir Khan for the sudden interest in Hindi stand-up, and admits that he is a fan of Vipul Goyal’s comedy. However he just wants to be like himself, and we are glad!
Here are some quick facts about Gaurav Kapoor:
- Has a journalism degree from Delhi University
- Post Graduate in Fashion Management from National Institute of Fashion Technology
- Worked in the retail sector post qualification
- Won every open mic competition on the Mumbai circuit including Big Mic, Canvas Laugh Club, Chalta Hai and Buzz Off in his early years as a comic
- Opened for Russel Brand on his India Tour
- Recently changed his name from Kapur to Kapoor – neurologically at play here
- Does Saturday ki Rasoi with wife Shreya Sharma
View this post on Instagram
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