Exclusive Audio Cut - The Art of Making People Laugh! | Ft. Anu Menon, Vrajesh Hirjee and Varun Thakur

[00:00:00] Hello, hello and welcome to the second season of Unscripted with Akarsh Khurana, an Aadyam podcast produced by M&M Talkies. I'm your host, no points for guessing Akarsh Khurana. Our podcast is now in its second season and after the incredible response to the first one, we've curated this season especially for you. So, all you theatre enthusiasts out there lock in because it's just begun. From politics to feminism to comedy, this season we'll explore it all in the context of theatre.

[00:00:30] Oh, and by the way, this audio version of the podcast is even more special than the video one because it includes some exclusive segments that are not present in the video. So, if you've watched the video episode, you're lucky you're going to get some extra material and if you've chosen audio over video, then you've landed at the right place. Unscripted with Akarsh Khurana, an Aadyam podcast produced by M&M Talkies.

[00:00:56] Now, our first episode is going to be about the serious business of comedy. Ranging from the process of building a joke to the struggles of self-censorship, how does a comedian prepare? Furthermore, how does an actor prepare for roles that require them to be funny? Or not? I'm looking forward to a fabulous conversation with some of the most seemingly unserious and funny people in the business. Now, the key question is, how hard is it to make people laugh?

[00:01:25] All of us are craving a good time nowadays, which is why we keep getting pulled towards, you know, a good stand-up special or a live performance that entertains us. And what better way than to hear about the tricks of the trade from the magicians themselves? After all, like the legendary Mark Twain said, humor is mankind's greatest blessing. But did he really say that? Or is that something that the internet would like us to believe? Unfortunately, we'll never know.

[00:01:52] So today, we are blessed by the best of the best. And we are going to dive into the depths of performing comedy on stage as actors, the art of theatrical stand-up, and the nuances of writing a joke, among many other things. So without further ado, let's welcome our guests. The unconventionally renowned, infamous Vijay Lola Kutti. Well, actually, the fabulous actor Anu Menem.

[00:02:19] Next, we have the funniest, most spontaneously unpredictable and downright crazy, Rajesh Hirji. And lastly, relatable comedy-ka-sardar who never misses a mark, creator of Vik Malota, Varun Thakurvisai. So what is the current state of comedy? I mean, of course, globally also, but like in our country, I mean, you know, from Raju Srivastav to Samay Raina,

[00:02:48] how have things changed in India with regards to comedy? Varun? So honestly, in the last 14 years since I've been doing comedy, there has been a massive shift. In terms of the audience, understanding, coming out, supporting live comedy, probably at par with anywhere else outside. People get all the jokes, they understand it, they are willing to accept newer formats of comedy, not just stand-up.

[00:03:15] But there is a bit of self-censoring that has automatically gotten ingrained in, I speak for myself at least. You find yourself doing that? Yes, yes. Because, you know, there are times when you want to say stuff, but you've seen somebody else do it, and then the backlash that follows. So, little bit of self-censoring, I think every comedian is doing it. But other than that, I feel… And that's not how they started off? No. I think if I had to rewind back to say between, like,

[00:03:45] the early years of me doing comedy, we were doing a lot of, so to speak, risque stuff, edgy stuff, stuff that I would not touch with a 10-foot pole today. So, that is what I would say, at least from a comedy perspective. Not to say that comedy is anything, let's say people are still killing it on stage, people are loving watching comedians, but some self-censorship every comedian. But when you look at, like, when you look at perhaps this self-censorship not existing, say, abroad, maybe, perhaps, do you miss it?

[00:04:14] Do you feel bad about it? 100%. 100%. Like, because as comedians, every time you're watching comedians from outside and seeing the kind of material they are doing, and you're like, I wish I could, and then, no, no, no, no. So, we remove our khujli, when we go abroad to tour, we'll go and do a sport. Oh, you change it? Do you change it? Oh, yes. Because I know I can say five more things that I can't say here. Not can't, but don't want to. But it will be seen in social media. I'm hoping nobody records. Don't put it out. Yeah, don't put it out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of things we've not put out,

[00:04:44] we'll do it in a live show, but not put it out, and we hope nobody in the audience is secretly recording. Right. But other than that, I think comedy-wise, it's great. It's the perfect time to be in comedy, if you're thinking of starting out. Nice. People have left high-paying corporate jobs, and they do five open mics a day, and they're killing it. Anu? My thing is very simple. It's very hard to maintain a skincare routine from prison. So the thing is, these days, it's our national pastime, obviously,

[00:05:13] to get offended. But it's come to a point where I'm essentially a story comedian. Right? So I talk about stuff that's happened to me, and that's why I like Barun's comedy as well. It's very story-centric. So you're going along for the ride. Either it's something you've not experienced as an audience member, or you're there for the ride because you have experienced it and you empathize. Right? That's why people are with you. But the heart of any joke is the truth. Yes. And I just think that it's come to a... You don't want to take a risk, you'd rather people be happy. But I still have people coming up to me and say

[00:05:42] that you shouldn't make fun of your husband, your son. And I'm like, if I have to pay for my son's material needs, in this material world, I can use him as material. Right? Yes. Yes. Like what is left, Akash? Apart from pastel shades. What is left? But the amount of possible trauma this could cause your son going forward. But at least it'll pay for his education. Yes.

[00:06:10] I saw her set recently. I'm surprised her family talks to her. Unless they're completely unaware. They were all there. How dare you? They were there. I get written affidavits from him. Of course, the legal team. But do you see... Have you had to kind of consciously change stuff or have you always been comfortable with... I've never been a political comedian. But we do make certain political comments set ke beech mein. But even that now, I'm like... It's an aside. Yeah. It's a game. Because sometimes I tried it and then

[00:06:40] there's an audible... Oh. Now you do state-wise. Yeah. It's not just about crossing political lines or things. See, we're very funny. We're extremely funny. As a people also. Okay. But we don't like laughing at ourselves at this point of time in our history. We are very touchy about ourselves. It's very funny. It's how much it is. But... Who said it? I didn't say it. I didn't say it.

[00:07:10] I didn't say it. And this is what happened to my stomach. And it was a funny reel. But that pharma major went after me saying, Take it down. You take it down. How are you saying? You're slandering. You're a defect. No, I'm not slandering. I'm in fact saying that it's great medication but don't take it.

[00:07:40] No, but no. But people are laughing. No. We are not. So they're basically behaving like my granddad. I'm saying all of us are behaving like my grandfather. There is no... Nothing is funny. Unless it's about other people. In a collective, we really laugh. In fact, we're almost hyenas. So I'm saying that there is comedy but when it comes to other people. You know a play called One on One that I'm a part of? In the first edition, I play this wannabe socialite.

[00:08:10] So she could be from Oshivara or whatever and she wants to make it big and appear on page three. That is her thing. And she's sort of this Punjabi girl very loud in terms of dressing, etc. So we had performed in Kerala, in Kochi. And this couple in the audience, they were talking, they didn't know my friend was next to them, said, Oh my God, this girl who plays Lola Kuti, she's so terrible. How she's making fun of us Malayalis. Oh, she shouldn't be doing this, blah, blah, blah. As soon as I came on stage, they proceeded to laugh

[00:08:39] at every Punjabi-ism, every Punjabi mispronunciation because that is funny. Right, what he's saying. Yeah, which is, you're not being, you're making fun of Malayalis, that's terrible, but you're making fun of Punjabi LA. But I'll give you another example. From one on one, the piece that I perform as it was originally written was hilarious, man. And we had rehearsed that as written, we had started performing. This is about a guju on a plane. Yeah. We had started performing it as written, but then over shows, drop this line,

[00:09:09] drop that word, don't say this, but where is this all coming from? So of course, you know, we alter, and from various sectors, it started coming in. So there's just a fear among people, among, I'm saying, if you're trying to create comedy, you're trying to be funny, there is an unsaid line, like he said, that you can't cross. There is a fear, you never know. I was doing a joke on Andheri. Andheri.

[00:09:40] And that to Marol. The joke is, Marol is the Andheri East of Andheri East. Correct. Now, anybody living in Andheri will be like, yeah, we get it. Oh, it's traffic. Oh, this, that. In the middle of my show, a lady has gotten up. You are, you can't say that. I said, say Andheri or Marol? She's like, no, how can you make fun of your own country? Oh, she lived in Marol. Nice.

[00:10:10] Sure. Right? After I did a joke on Sakhinaga, she's laughing. So, I didn't know this pin code. There's a right. Yeah, yeah, pin code. No, 053 can't say anything. 5-4 can say it. I wanted to ask, what about self-censorship seeping into theatre nowadays? I was doing a play called Taj Mahal's Udghatan. Right. Which was the sequel to Taj Mahal's Tender. Right. Then, I am currently, yeah. These are funny players.

[00:10:40] Yeah. Okay. They're satires. Okay. Then, I am doing Chinese coffee and I'm on stage with Gads at the Taj. In all three, there are lines that we began with, which are really funny, but which we've dropped. Taj Mahal's Udghatan has shut down. But, yeah, there were, distinctly, there were people in the audience who came to see it who we were slightly wary about beyond a point. Right.

[00:11:10] Because they weren't laughing, they were just looking. It's scary. So, so we did self-censor. See, because at the end of the day, you want people in the audience to enjoy themselves, to laugh or cry or whatever. Right? You're not actually getting into this to offend or make people angry. So, at the end of it, you want them to leave the theatre saying, we enjoyed it, that was a great experience. So, that means removing a line or two, so be it. Like, you know. Okay, so my next question is, how does one build a joke?

[00:11:40] In terms of, like, I don't know, how does one sit down to write comedy? And, you know, how do you cook it to kind of serve the perfect munch line? You know, I think every single comedian will tell you this, we look at adversity in our life because, you know, that's a five minute bit. So, every monumental occasion in your life, you're just like, you're enjoying it but also like, okay, keep writing it. So, I feel comedians are never off duty. Right.

[00:12:09] You always have your phone and your note section ready. So, if something happens, you immediately sort of write it down. I'm very story based. It's anecdotes from my life. Oh, this happened to somebody I know. It's always that. So, for me, it's just, I'll open the laptop once and I'll just vomit in no specific order. It's how I'm thinking of it. I just keep writing it down and then I just hit the stage with that material. And every joke is then a process of elimination. Okay, you know, I tried this, this didn't work. Oh, I was here and randomly

[00:12:38] I improvised the line so I'll put that in. So, there's no strict process for me but my ears are always open. I need to write everything down. Because I need to have it to refer to because sometimes if I don't make a note of it, I'll forget. The first time, obviously, you're writing everything on the page. Then you have to see whether that set has a future. Right? So, that's a different part. But start to finish, full stop to capital letter, it needs to be there for me to refer to later. So, a lot of people say, no, you know, I just riff on stage.

[00:13:08] I was like, nah, this will be my song. This riffing, whiffing because I need to know what I'm talking about. But when it comes to a Vana special, usually, there is a through line. Right? Yeah, there's a theme. There's a thematic too. So, then you have to see of all the things you found funny and all the things you wrote, is there a thematic similarity or does this have a future in this Vana? Sometimes, it's just an arbit throw away, you know, 10 minute piece that you may just record and put up. But your Vana obviously

[00:13:38] has a lot more thinking into it in terms of what is my through line and what am I talking about or whatever I want to talk about for Vana. Oh, okay, great. Behind all this science, how much knowledge does Vana have to gather? Like, for example, do you guys keep up with what your contemporaries are doing and do you kind of, you know, stay abreast of what kind of content is being produced right now? I personally avoid watching too much because I don't want even like the slightest is you know, many a times

[00:14:07] there's so much content right, you're just doing it and six months later suddenly you write a joke and then I realize, wait, I've written this joke but have I heard it somewhere? Is that why I'm writing it? Like, it's a part of your subconscious for so long that you've forgotten it's somebody else's joke. So I try and watch less but that being said, even if the topic is very common to multiple comedians, it's your point of view that you bring on it. So I'm like, okay, everybody has a set on airlines but what will differentiate my set

[00:14:37] is my experience on it. So I will think of an anecdote about airlines that happened to me which is very specific to me. Suddenly tomorrow no other comedian is going and doing the same bit. So that's what we try and do that, okay. Comedy is coming at you from so many sources today, right? Whether it's from a reel, whether it's a meme, whether your kid told you something, your neighbor said something, some show you've watched, it's a movie you've seen. So you actually don't know whether you've inspired it

[00:15:06] or it's been inspired from. So this is not on stage but for example on Instagram I started doing a series of hotel rooms. Right. Okay. which I had no idea Rohan Dua, Raul Dua. No, no, who was with us on cricket? Raul Dua. Raul was with us on cricket. So I didn't know he also does hotels. Okay. Okay. But there was no overlap in the sense because he was doing different things, I was doing different things. We both, for example, I did a thing of how every hotel room has a curtain

[00:15:35] where there will be one crack from which the light will come in. And why do hotel people don't want to let you sleep in the day on their bed? So there is the overlap on the topic is there but we were doing completely different things. And people actually tagged him in the responses saying, you know, Raul Dua, I'm saying, that's when I went and I said, why are people tagging him? And I realized that he does that too. You know, like taking his forward, you said there's always that one bit from where a light comes. I have a set on hotel rooms where I talk about there's always that one light whose switch you cannot find. He shot it.

[00:16:05] We did that. What an intriguing point of view that is. More than other comedian, it's what came first, the joke or the meme about it. Wow. That's great. You don't know whether you actually saw it on 9gag or you know, one of those because they also talk about same stuff, relatable, personal stuff that happens to people in general. So you never know. Like I used to do this set about my time when I was studying in the UK and I first time did this set on stage

[00:16:34] in 2009. Okay, I have a video of it from then where the joke is, how like British people when my friends would come and talk to me, they'd ask me for wow. And I put that the video has 50 million views across platforms and all of that. But still to this date on different meme pages, there will be one normal people say water, British people and I still get tagged in it. Oh, nice. So, but it's not my joke that they're tagging me in. It's that meme pages.

[00:17:03] So you never know what came first. What came first. So people who are there, my joke came first. But for Jain Z, they're like, hey, I saw this, but he copies memes. You never know. See, strangely enough, we never speak about preparing for a role in terms of comedy. Especially in contrast to preparing for more grave or less funny roles. So do you guys approach the preparation of a comic role differently than a non-comic one, whether it's theater or film? Stand-up, I think, is the closest version

[00:17:32] of yourself on stage. Right. It's still not completed because there is some theatrical element to it. Right. But who you are at that point in your life is in your stand-up. Whereas obviously, in theater, you're playing a character, so you have a different physicality, maybe tonality, movement, voice, blah, blah. So that way, it's church and state. Like, I don't think... But say, like, both of you have done pieces in, say, one-on-one, which you mentioned, which are both solo pieces, which are kind of funny pieces all through. But they're not stand-up.

[00:18:02] No, so what she said was that, you know, there is an element of theatricality to stand-up. Right. In one-on-one, speaking to my piece, there is an element of stand-up to the theatricality of that piece. Except our director, Rajat, he just keeps saying, don't break the fourth wall. They can hear you from the wing. Let me just... Can we get this done today, please? So, yeah. So... So... But I'm saying that...

[00:18:32] So there is an element of stand-up to that theatricality. Now, speaking to her piece, it's a very funny piece. But she's approached it very seriously. She's approached it seriously to an extent where, for example, my wife said, see, that's me. Correct. You know what I'm saying. Correct. I play a harried mother of two children in this piece. So it's a day in my life. Yeah. And how, you know, I'm unbearing, wearing grey tracks and an old T-shirt, you know, just doing household chores, baby burping. Correct. You know,

[00:19:02] that sort of... You know, the good stuff. So I'm saying that it's extremely relatable. I don't know what the process for her is. But for me, I really don't think there is a change in process in terms of approach, whether you're doing something comic or whether you're doing something non-comic. Because on stage, you are playing someone else. You are. So you're essentially embodying that character. But let's talk about radio. What I do on radio. On radio, I have these three characters. One is my own grandmother who talks only about sport. Okay. And who talks... That's funny already.

[00:19:32] And she... Whenever she talks about cricket, she can't get the names of the players right. So Virat Kohli is Kirat Woli. So Rohit Sharma is Shohit Rarma. And Vrajesh corrects every time she says, you've got to understand which is my actual... Which is my actual grandmother. Right. Who every time, you know, a batsman would hit a ball to a field or would say, these guys keep the ball in front of us. So... So... So...

[00:20:02] Initially, I had no idea whether it was funny or not. But then, you know, people started, you know, writing in and saying it is funny. There's another character. It's a baba who predicts the future. So I'm saying that what they say is something I keep fresh because it's a... It's every morning. And those characters don't seem to get old. In terms of film, because there's so many other people around. There's so many other elements involved. So you're getting constant feedback on whether this is working or not. But, as a comic actor on film,

[00:20:32] I went through a phase where there was... It was a crisis where I was double-guessing myself. I don't know why that happened, where that came from, but that happens to a lot of people, I think, who perform comedy. Whether it's stand-up, whether it's, you know, theater-wise or whether it's film-wise. That was scary. The one thing on cinema that one would probably like to do is go prepared. In that sense. And, of course, there will always be variables about how your co-actor

[00:21:02] is performing, what your director wants. But I'm saying more or less in your head you have a sketch of how this is going to look and then you hope for the best. Also, you have to enjoy it, I think. You enjoy. Right. As long as you're enjoying it, that means you're invested. I think, yeah, that makes... Again, a lot of times I feel in a set also, there'll be a joke I really enjoy. Which not necessarily... I like it so much. But I've kept it there because I like it. It's for me. Yeah. It's for... Exactly. And that's a tax write-off. You know? In the special.

[00:21:32] Guys, before we go ahead, I have to ask Varun about Vicky Malhotra and the creation of that trending sensation. So, this is... This actually came from, again, personal experience because apart from doing comedy, I've always also tried my hand-died acting which meant I spent a better part of my mid-twenties walking around from one Aramnagar this to another saying, do I fit? Do I fit? Do I fit? And I would sit there and I would meet a whole bunch of what would be future Vickies. Right? They would come. They would have a way,

[00:22:02] a specific way of talking. They would always in front of you say, hi, myself, Ranjit. I'm like, I'm not confused whether it's you or somebody else. Right? My self. Lick Lia, exactly. And in 2016, I think it was where I actually sort of stagnated in my comedy, so to speak, where it came to a point where I'm like, nothing fresh is happening. It's the same stuff. I've done it too often and no bright ideas were coming to my head. My then manager said, listen, you should try Snapchat

[00:22:31] because that's the new thing that kids are doing nowadays. I was also a kid at that point, kid. So I said, okay, I'll try it out. So I opened that app and I went through different filters that they have. So they had this face swap filter. So I said, okay, let's see if I become a character. What sort of character do I do? Okay, I've met struggling actors throughout my struggling acting days. I have certain personality traits that they have written down, you know, personal experiences with them that are in my head. So I just went to Google. I typed Punjabi male model and 100 pictures

[00:23:01] I saved and one by one on that face app, I kept trying. This guy was number 32. This is me with makeup. That's an evolution of the character. on Snapchat, this number 32 fit. I had no idea who he is. I said, look, I don't know my muscles because Vicky is again a very quintessential, you know, like Bollywood actor sort of name. So I just did one with a put it out. Insane response on that first video. I'm like, oh, I thought it was some time pass stuff but no, it was and the people liking the most were women

[00:23:30] because on a daily basis they have met a whole bunch of Vicky Malhotra. Vicky's. Nice. You know, so struggling actor is one part of him but you know, being that brash, boisterous, borderline, not borderline, he was actually very sexist. Even Vicky Malhotra is evolved now in today's climate. But it was a satire on that sort of a person and it just suddenly resonated with a whole bunch of people and gave me that sudden push. Like my stand-up career got a separate push.

[00:24:01] Casting directors started watching this and calling me but to play Vicky type characters. I'm like, I don't want to play that character but I think it's one character that stayed with me almost eight years now. Only if the idea is really funny or my take on it is really funny only then I'll put it out. Earlier it was like wake up, shoot a Vicky video, put it out. But after doing it for so long you sort of also run out of ideas so either your character evolves and become something or you retain but just I personally like to do it lesser. Keeping in mind

[00:24:31] that all three of you are so well known for playing funny characters one might wonder about how difficult it is to be taken seriously or to get non-comic roles, right? So because I played Lola Kuti for so long I think about eight years so I think most of the chunk of the work that I I always say that it comes in the way of my item number career like being this Lola like the number of like South Indian roles that have come my way because of Lola Kuti absolutely or they see you

[00:25:01] as that person so now when they see me as is they're almost a bit disappointed because the image in their head was very different so breaking away from that has been tough yeah I would say so in terms of getting the kind of work on screen right that I mean now of course things are different I was playing Sarojini Naidu in a Lillia Dubey director play called Sammy right and so again talking about you know she has this big conversation with Nehru and then with Gandhiji we talk about freedom or midnight

[00:25:30] all the sacrifices and then from the audience hey Lola Kuti you know my god you know and not in a subtle way like it's rather loud and then you have to continue you know unabashed over the jhanda and freedom and getting of non-comic work on screen has been an absolute slog still is and still is and then when one finally gets that non-comic work one is so nervous and so excited and so much crying tears out of gratitude see people

[00:26:00] think I'm an actor I can do this that one forgets that one has to go and prepare also for work but so yeah so that's a slog in itself in terms of doing non-comic work on stage thanks to friends and people who've known me intimately and because you know I've been doing stage work for a while when you're up for auditions like so much is not in your hands right you're too thin not thin enough too fat not fat enough hair too curly not curly enough too fat too you know not fair enough whatever it is and in spite of the fact that you may give your best audition or you think

[00:26:29] that you know you've peaked in this and this is it it's not in your control so I think for me I find solace in the fact or I'm happy about the fact that I have this stand-up life where I am more in control of what is happening I'm in control of the script because I'm writing the script I get to perform more because you know it's in the stand-up genre so I feel like and I wasn't great at the hustle

[00:26:58] the hustle that was required of me when it came to sell yourself more meet people go to parties and in the early days I was told oh you should go to parties wear low neck dresses never give the impression that you're married always give the impression that you're available no matter what I was told things like when I met a film director once who said you're too fat if I would never cast you in a film and even if I did cast you in the film I'd never let you eat because I never let my heroines eat on set

[00:27:28] so the things that you're interested in Anu you're interested in voices and stage and accents and stuff you'll never earn any money so I just suggest you find a rich guy and then you do what you want after marrying him so I'm saying that you were but the thing if I look back now I said because I wasn't focused on film it didn't break my heart right because I always knew that I wanted a day job that supported my theatre habit say in the mid 2000s there was no stand up culture in India you had the Johnny Leaver the Rajeshrivastavs

[00:27:58] and they were in their own league their own sort of you know not echo chamber but their own niche we could only dream to do something even close to what they were doing correct so stand up was never really an option per se and then suddenly comedy store opened up you had people like Veerdas who were actually doing it giving other new never before seen they were not even comedians then just a chance to go up on stage and perform so it was always acting first comedy happened later but there was

[00:28:27] this one specific audition I'll never forget it was for a coffee brand and it starred Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra that's how it was pitched Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra is the ad on the IPL time everyone will see massive one kilometer line outside one of the Aramnagar studios I reached at 11 o'clock you know what time I actually went and auditioned inside 7.30pm I've taken a lunch break gone home eaten come back I was number 56 on the line that sheet has been torn now there is a new sheet I'm number

[00:28:57] 142 on it then okay so when I eventually did that audition I would not cast me because from 11 to 7.30 I'm a shadow of what I was I have no energy but you know that sunk cost fallacy where they're like okay I've waited so long may as well big ad and like true filmy style I went I looked back at this I said never again I'm not doing this I need to do something that I'm completely in control of you know and I do it so well that they will call me

[00:29:27] are you free between 4.30 and 5.30 to come and audition then I will go nice now I know why Varun Thakur never gets shortlisted for any of the things we are casting for because bhai does audition not give anu what pushed you in the direction of creating Lola Kotti considering that you were never inclined you know that inclined towards screen work anyway my mother always makes fun of me saying you went to London to drama school you've come back and now you're playing a Malu character on screen

[00:29:57] the flip is going on so I told my boss this is the idea how about you have this character who's the antithesis of cool someone you wouldn't expect to see on a music channel right and he was like but we're associated with all things cool and she said she will comment on music videos that are going on so but I was told you have to look funny in order to be funny because at that time that was the need like you just can't look like yourself you need to look funny so that was

[00:30:26] so it always stayed with me because now of course you know things have evolved so much and everything has changed clearly there was a time when people were you know made fun of based on certain criteria a lot of which now it's not woke to do but the wokeness discussion aside my next question really is that you know when we're talking it's such a popular form of comedy abroad but can it work in India and I mean it's a question that you

[00:30:55] know begs to be answered because back in 2015 there was you know a big AIB roast that happened and there was you know some sort of a backlash but now we suddenly have the you know recent rise to fame of Samiraina and his latent show so what are your thoughts on roasting as a form of comedy you know in India per se you know I'll be honest it's my favorite genre in comedy I love a good roast

[00:31:25] yeah I love a good roast honestly like there is nothing more fun than a bunch of people voluntarily sitting and completely going at each other with no holds barred no restrictions and then coming out of the show still high five and be like that was fun I think it's the most challenging to do to be okay with it because you know everybody has their own hang ups own insecurities so you don't wander a lot of things out but I feel as a genre it's my favorite in comedy I don't get to be a part of too many

[00:31:54] but I think it's still working in pockets like there's one comedian right now Ashish Solanki who's doing his version of a roast show that's been doing great it's getting millions and millions of views people are blowing up from an episode of that roast you know their careers were little on the down low and now spiked because of being a part of it so I feel there is a market but again it's a very that roast is working because again jokes on each other you know as opposed to a broader and he has

[00:32:24] a very affable friendly personality it doesn't feel like it's not that it's called a pretty good roast and it's done well because of that camaraderie that the entire people who are a part of it have with each other and also it's not that level of a roast not that savage not that savage sorry at this point in our country I'm saying in terms of the people roasting of course the roaster will be fine

[00:32:54] with it the roasty may be absolutely okay with it but you never know who will take Amraj on behalf of the roast you can't tell it's okay with me but it's not my problem I remember after the AIB roast we had done we had an annual comedy festival at the time called the pajama festival so different genres of comedy over the weekend and we had done one in Delhi of Suhail Seth the roast and it was edited and kept

[00:33:24] and then this whole AIB thing happened so he's like now we can't release it so I bumped into Suhail Seth and he's like why didn't you all release it I would have protected you all I was like you're 3 foot 5 what do you mean you're still roasting there is always a pecking order and a hierarchy yes so because of this status issue like it's a level playing field on a roast otherwise so if you have an issue with that then it's problematic like I can say this but you can't say that because I'm

[00:33:54] higher status and you're lower status you know that therein lies the issue yes absolutely you mentioned Ashish Solangi what do you feel about this new phenomenon of Sameh Rehna superb is that kind of what are the learnings from that at this point right there's no pretense he doesn't try and behave like a specific comedian or I'm this type of no he is who he is and I think that brand of humor resonates so much with his fan base and they are rabid fans they love

[00:34:24] everything he does and he's done like a whole bunch of things from comedy to he's one of the main reasons why chess suddenly got that push push chess during the pandemic during the pandemic he used to do this thing called comedians on board where he is also himself a chess player he's done a lot for chess in general right from getting the grandmasters from India to come do streams different comedians to there's a renewed interest and chess become cool bring it back to your point which you were making earlier

[00:34:53] so in terms of the evolution of comedy India's got latent it's a simple show it's a simple thought it's presented very very simply but it's blown up because it's a brilliant show so I'm saying the evolution has been in terms of an idea what is the idea let's go back to a talent show talent show which has a sense of humour ultimately there are only so many ideas it's how you reimagine and revision and repackage that idea

[00:35:23] which is the uniqueness also he's such a very interesting pointing system if you watch the show so every performer before he or she comes on stage rates themselves out of 10 of what they think their performance is going to be so I say I write an 8 I've written 8 I've gone I've performed then the judges give their score and if the average of the judges score matches yours that's how you win it okay lovely so moving on to my favourite section

[00:35:53] section the audience is familiar with from the first season which is our very own version of a rapid fire mine actually because I'm not rapid so our section which is called the slow burn so let's get into this and my first question is for Rajesh what is a role that he regrets rejecting delhi belly the role that paresh ganatra played which one was that what is the paresh ganatra part

[00:36:22] he's the guy who gets run over by bst bus and you said no because because i was going to get run over but later later you were like kash because i mean it's really close to real life now moving on anu what is your dream role actually i really don't have a dream role i just want to be at the west end once in my life okay clear go to work

[00:36:52] every day whatever you're doing there okay okay now i have a question for all three of you in terms of comedy particularly name some of your inspirations who inspires you Joan Rivers i think she's the ultimate she went out on she wore like a gown and high heels till she was about 85 doing stand-up and so i think she went out like that and i think that's fab Joan Rivers Pankaj Kapoor nice phenomenal like comedy man absurd

[00:37:23] and also i did office office with him and so i got to see him from close quarters insane yeah superb for me George Carlin yes Bill Burr and closer home Johnny Lever i think i can just watch Johnny Lever do nothing all day you worked with Johnny he's incredible insane his daughter Jamie is phenomenal she's also fantastic and you know what the thing with Johnny Lever is to be also know him as a stand-up etc but his creation of a

[00:37:53] character and the way he performs is i mean people might say that you know his tonality or his pitching everything at the same no it's not you see him in Jalwa and you see him in this Golmal where he plays that absent minded guy it's absurd it's chalk and cheese and he's incredibly funny and also takes care of his girls and is he funny generally like in life he's actually a very grave man i mean he can be really funny when he wants to be but he's very serious that was actually a question which is not

[00:38:23] from the slow burn that do you all feel compelled to be funny at gatherings no i just hate the question tell me a joke i swear and you get it i do because i don't have a joke at the top of my head you know do you remember a joke you remember like no not your own but are you asked are you asked all the time all the time from the time i started till like last year so this used to happen to me in college so i used to host whatever talent parades and college days and whatever and people say hey joke bolna

[00:38:52] joke bolna and my comeback is to be public phone i started using the joker line from dark night when you're good at something never do it for free nice so sirah bolta de mire o ticket kaha baisa de abhi i had a friend of mine who came with me to a comedian party and she told me at the end of the night this is the most boring shitty thing i've ever been to in my life and these are supposed to be top comedians jesus christ you all are boring

[00:39:21] no i got introduced to my friend's friend okay and i said hi oh varun he's a comedian oh wow you're a comedian and then she just stared like that waiting yeah and then hi bola and then she turned around walking and i could hear he wasn't that funny i said hi how do you want me to say hi and lastly a question again for all three of you and this is my personal favorite

[00:39:47] what is your strangest slash most memorable fan interaction i got invited after one of my shows to perform at what this person said is a party in lonavla so i've shown up i'm like i'll go anywhere right as i go up on this makeshift stage there's dudes only dudes in the crowd so i was like okay what sort of party is this

[00:40:15] then they point at one guy saying it's his bachelor party nice and i'm like you called me so do i have to dance while i do the joke like so that was strange because i'm like why would you waste your bachelor party time on me telling you jokes how good is it? and you did a set there i did and it went very well amazing there was a pole in the center there's a guy who was a big fan apparently

[00:40:45] and was making a movie so he came and said that had a meeting to say that he would love me to play this character who's an alcoholic, lymphomaniac, drug junkie and he just thought of me for this role that I'll be perfect because i'm Lola alcoholic, lymphomaniac, drug junkie and my image as Lola Kuti is the one that made him think ah she's perfect there's depth you hadn't even realized over there

[00:41:15] this was Delhi i was on a movie shoot two o'clock in the night hotel room and i'm like okay what so i open the door i'm in my boxers and there's three really tall people standing there and one guy looks at the other and says i've gone to the house i've gone to the house the house the house the house the house the house at 2.30 in the morning he wants me to the house

[00:41:43] and it's Delhi you have to you have to this is what she rang the bell how did he handle it i backed away and shut the door and then i called reception and i said i said i said three people stand yes sir okay then and that was episode one of season two of unscripted with akash krana and adhyam podcast produced by m talkies big and hearty thank you to our guests for joining us and

[00:42:13] to all of our beautiful listeners i hope you had as much fun as we did and you know even shared a few laughs along the way stay tuned for more conversations coming your way and until next time keep the drama alive you