All India Bakchod, one of India’s finest comedy collectives, has a huge fan following in the UAE and for its latest show is bringing along Abish Mathew. The stand-up comic, whose routine is a mixed bag of one-man sketches, original songs and improv, is an up-and-coming star in his home country. The former New Delhi radio jockey says he found his calling in school, where he was called on to host events and eventually discovered that he liked being up on stage and making people laugh. Mathew, who claims to be his own biggest critic, says he doesn’t like any of his own work, but the more than 32,000 followers of his YouTube channel might beg to differ.
You’re teaming up with AIB for this show. What are the similarities, or differences, between your comedy and AIB’s?
I have worked with AIB on several projects. Working with them is as fun as you can imagine. AIB is known as India’s edgiest comedy group and I am usually called the happiest comic. As you can imagine, there is a vast difference. But that’s what makes working with them great, because when we bounce off each other the results are hilarious. I think this combination will go down extremely well with the audience.
Your performance in the UAE demands a certain amount of self-censorship – did this pose a challenge when putting together the show?
I will not deny that there is a “self-censorship thought process” that I do have to keep in mind when writing this show. But I don’t think that this posed a challenge in any negative way. Just another way to get the creative juices flowing.
India is home to a growing number of exceptionally good comedians. What makes you stand out?
Honestly, “my style” or “my brand” or “my comedy” is something I don’t think of. Only the audience can decide that for me. I am just being myself and writing stuff that I consider funny. So my perception of myself as a comedian has to do less with me and more to do with the audience that sees me perform.
With social media so widely consumed today, it really is possible for anyone to get on YouTube. As a YouTube comedy veteran, can you tell us what are some of the things one can do to stand out from the crowd?
Social media and content sharing platforms are a dime a dozen. All it needs is a good idea, hard work and the persistence to continue even when the results aren’t what you expected them to be.
Who is your favourite comedian or comic act?
My favourite keeps changing faster than the political affiliations of Kiran Bedi [a politician and the first woman in the Indian Police Service], so there really is no answer to that question.
What we should expect from Desi Laughs? How is it going to be different from your live YouTube shows?
A live show of Son of Abish usually has a lot more going on. And what's put on YouTube is a compressed, "best of" version of the show. But just like every Son of Abish, Desi Laughs will have new jokes, new segments and things you will not have seen or heard before.
• Desi Laughs is at Dubai Community Theatre & Art Centre on Friday, January 23, (18+ only). For tickets and more information, call 04 341 4777
All India Bakchod is back with more laughs
Move over Russell Peters. There are players on the desi comedy scene laying claim to their piece of the pie. Desi Laughs – a night of stand-up comedy coming to Ductac on Friday, January 23, – will bring together two of India's biggest comedy acts.
The hilarious Abish Mathew joins the Indian comedy collective, All India Bakchod, for an evening of laughter (and potentially inappropriate jokes).
AIB brought the stage production The Royal Turds – which named and humorously shamed the worst moments of Bollywood – to Dubai in April last year and is known for its sketches and parodies, which have received more than 50 million views on its YouTube channel in just two years. The collective has also gone from having just the two founding members, Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba, to a team that includes the comedians Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya, plus several others working behind the scenes.
* Ujala Ali Khan
artslife@thenational.ae