One of the many forms of entertainment that is slowly growing roots happens to be stand-up comedy. While still in its infancy in Kerala, the stand-up comedy scene in India is relatively new, hardly a decade old. It gained widespread viewership in 2005 with the success of 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge' show on TV.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines stand-up comedy as “relating to, performing, or being a monologue of jokes, gags, or satirical comments delivered usually while standing alone on a stage or being in front of a camera. In simple words, the genre can be described as perhaps one of the most influential tools to educate, heal and make people ponder about ideas and things beyond themselves.
It was in the 19th-century United States that stand-up comedy as a entertainment form first developed and reached its greatest popularity. America's stand-up had its origins when the comic lecturer and author Mark Twain toured the country giving “humorous lectures” that centered around long-form anecdotes and witticisms. In fact, it was Twain who coined the synonym for comedy as “bit”. It is said that whenever Twain got tired of telling long stories, he would say “I cant tell you the whole thing, so here's just the bit.”
In fact, Chakyarkoothu, a performing art form from 16th-century Kerala can be perhaps referred to as a oldest primitive version of stand-up comedy in an Indian language.
Growth on social media
Open mics are the cradles for all aspiring comedians. While providing a platform to upcoming comics, it also serves as a venue for established comedians to try out new material. But the advent of social media provided the budding stand-up comedians more avenues to publicise their content.
Starting out initially by trying out content before open mics, it takes hundreds of such attempts before the comedian develops the necessary confidence, composure and back-up content. A half-an-hour performance might takes weeks and perhaps months of drafts and try-outs before the comic puts it up on stage.
The artistes often find themselves under tremendous pressure to deliver, while all that the audience expects is a nonstop flow of jokes. Very few actually take the effort to understand and acknowledge the process that goes behind it all. For a stand-up comedian who is established, the stakes are even higher as the audience after watching their previously released content expects them to deliver a steady stream of fresh content.
A crucial aspect the comedian cannot afford to forget is the audience. What a 50-year-age group might find funny might even fail to get an encouraging smile from a 20-year-old college-going audience.
Big cities are hub
Big cites like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi still remain hubs for stand-up comedy since the time of its inception in India. The stand-up scene in Kerala is restricted to Kochi alone, but the city is yet to accord widespread acceptance for the same. The very success of Bangalore-based Malayalis Kenny Sebastian and Naveen Richards, both leading comedians with national stature, proves that there is no dearth of talent amongst Keralites. Drama and mimicry troupes like the Kalabhavan still remain popular and close to people's hearts. But barring a few open mics and irregular shows, acceptance to the new genre is still weak in Kochi and orther parts of Kerala.
George Vivian Paul and Vinay Menon happen to be the only two recognisable faces of stand-up comedy in the state. Menon, whose viral video on the Kiss of Love issue, made him popular, is an IT professional-turned-English professor-turned-comedian. On the other hand, George quit his job as a civil engineer and is now a part of the 'Kochin Komedians' group. The duos efforts ought to be appreciated in popularising this form of entertainment.
Shows like Comedy Nights with Kapil, the Kapil Sharma Show and its Malayalam adaptation Badai Bungalow hosted by Ramesh Pisharody heavily rely on the use of slapstick as a method to evoke smiles and burst of laughter from the audience.
Sensitive milieu
Comedians, meanwhile, fear the growing intolerance to jokes and even the slightest of puns being termed derogatory or offensive in nature. It is not just the racist-sexist and homophobic jokes but even the slightest slip of the the tongue can get the audience offended. In an interview given to a daily, psychologist Dr C J John noted that the satirical way of criticising and putting a point across once thrived in our society, but it is no longer tolerated for many reasons. “We are becoming increasingly parochial because the development of personalities in our society is not giving much way for open-mindedness, even at home. We are more competitive than being helpful or empathetic, and this stops us from enjoying or tolerating even a joke.”
While topics like sex,politics and religion still remain taboo, there happens to be no fixed limits on what the comedian can chose to speak on. Stand-up comedy in a lot of ways makes us question ourselves, acts of the societies or people in power that we wouldn't otherwise do.
Is pay a factor?
Now with the rising popularity of both English and Hindi stand-up comedians in India, the foundation of comedy clubs in urban cities and invitations from companies for corporate shows, an established comedian like Kapil Sharma can command up to Rs.10 lakh a day for a show, while top acts such as Vir Das can charge upwards of 2.5 lakh a show. While in the first two-three years, struggling newcomers are disappointingly underpaid with just around Rs.10,000 a show, a medium-level comedian with 3-4 years of experience can earn close to Rs 1-2 lakh a show.
With the entrance of big players like Amazon Prime and Netflix and a healthy level of competition among them, talented and popular comedians find their work reaching far and wide areas of the world.
Another area of concern is the low level of participation from the womenfolk. There are hardly 12 recognisable female stand-up comedians with Aditi Mittal leading the pack. Disproportionate pay scale and discrimination or lack of acceptance could be factors behind this gender disparity.
