Going viral & Beyond

An escalator is something we’ve all seen. An escalator is something we’ve all used at some point. But most of us used it as a tool to go from one floor to the other. But Mitch Hedberg, the greatest one-liner comic of all time, used the escalators to go from silence to – what in stand-up comedy terms is called – an applause break.

There are many theories about the world’s oldest joke. Some say that the first joke was cracked by a Greek philosopher. (Why does it always have to be the Greeks? Democracy I tell you!). Some theories claim that the first joke was when Lenny Bruce set foot on stage for the first time. And some more people claim (who are these people?) that the first real joke was when Donald Trump became the president of United States. Hard to argue with that.

Although, the first joke in the Indian stand-up circuit was cracked by Vir Das. Who knew a frustrated drunk guy at a bar in Dubai telling jokes to disinterested white people would be the beginning of India’s stand-up comedy scene. There are at least 1,000 comics across the country now and amidst all this, it is only fair that the first Indian comic to get his Netflix comedy special is Vir Das.

“I’m a Delhi kid, this has always been my dream. So today we do this,” says a clearly excited and slightly nervous Vir in the opening of his one-hour special. But why am I raving about this moment? Because this was the moment every stand-up comic in the country knew, this isn’t just a hobby anymore.

In a gap of two months, 15 stand-up comedians were signed up by Amazon Prime. Comedians like Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kenny Sebastian, Kanan Gill and Zakir Khan – whose special is yet to drop – were amongst the ones who signed up. For the first time ever, Indian stand-up comedy was going to go beyond the non-skippable advertisements of YouTube.

“I’ve been doing comedy for four years now and I was buzzing all day when I read this on my timeline,” recalls Hriday Ranjan, a stand-up comedian and blogger. “Up until this point, the circuit felt like a game of snake and ladders, where a snake was waiting to bite us at 99. You know the worst part? There was no 100!” he laughs off.

“After Amazon’s announcements, I saw every comic I work with have a clearer idea of what the future holds. Up until this point, most of us were just working on our acts and trying to come up with funny stuff that might go viral on YouTube someday. But now, we know there’s a better end point, which I think is a huge boost,” the 32-year-old comic adds.

Shortly after Amazon’s announcement, Netflix dropped the bomb. Vir Das had a Netflix special! A website that produced shows for comedy greats like Louis CK, Dave Chapelle and Kevin Hart had now finally decided it was time Indian comics got up there. The icing on the cake was when news broke that Aditi Mittal’s Netflix special will be released in July.

“There are times when you’re happy about something. But then there are times when you’re happy and relieved. When Aditi got her special it was the latter,” says Manjusha Banerjee, a stand-up comic who is going viral with her ‘Ruposhree’ videos.

“The relief was mostly because there wasn’t a single woman comic who was signed up by Amazon. And that was more annoying than concerning because there’s dearth of good female comics in our country,” she adds.

In fact, Manjusha wasn’t the only one pointing this out. The occasion was smeared with accusations of stand-up comedy becoming yet another sexist thing in this already sexist world. And if it wasn’t Aditi’s special, this argument would have taken down the entire scene.

But this wasn’t the only thing that was happening. Not far away from the suave of the high-class comedy scene of Bombay, another storm was brewing. A storm that looks set to take stand-up comedy beyond the internet boundaries of Amazon and Netflix – television.

Almost a decade back, one of these TV channels decided to invest some money in stand-up comedy. Connoisseurs of stand-up comedy might remember the show by the name ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. This was the first time the world saw the likes of Raju Srivastav, Naveen Prabhakar, Sunil Pal and Kapil Sharma.

If the picture is still not clear, this was the first time the world saw that an elegant former batsman could laugh out loud - Loud enough to be called the latest edition of the laughing Buddha. Yes, Einstein, we’re talking about Navjot Singh Siddhu.

‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ was where funny people across the country realised that there is a chance they could do this for a living. Up until then, the most a funny person could achieve in life was to be invited to every wedding/party because there was never a dull moment around them. The show fizzled out because of lack of entertainment and good new comics and with the show, hopes of many stand-up comics also fizzled out.

Call it poetic justice, smart timing or just co-incidence, this show, after being off-air for years, is finally making a comeback. The prodigal son of Indian stand-up comedy is returning. Auditions have been in full swing, comics from all cities are getting involved and even before the launch date is confirmed, the buzz around this show is insane. With names like Akshay Kumar and Zakir Khan on board in various capacities, this show looks set to bridge the gap between the contemporary stand-up scene and the masses.

“I enjoy doing stand-up in comedy clubs. But that’s not what I grew up watching. For me, the ultimate aim was to do stand-up comedy on TV, where my family could watch it. And hopefully, the next few rounds go well and that happens,” says Shadab Aziz, who has already cleared a few auditioning rounds for the show.

Shadab, who also is a Radio Jockey sees this as a golden chance for a mega boost. “The boom for stand-up comedy in India hasn’t arrived yet. We’re on the brink of it. And it would be great to see it all unwind from this close,” the ecstatic RJ added.

To sum it all up, it is a great time to be alive if you have anything to do with stand-up comedy. If you’re a comic, this is a time of opportunity. If you’re a comedy-watcher this is a great time to be around because there so much quality being pumped in.

And if you are someone who hasn’t watched comedy, this is a great time to start because every comic up there is trying really hard to make you laugh. All in all, it is a good time to be associated with stand-up comedy in any way.

And yes, if you’re wondering, Siddhu won’t be in the new laughter challenge. So, Yay!

By: Bhavneet Singh