Stand-up comedy touches taboo issues

NAGPUR: ‘The rotten oranges’, a stand-up comedy staged at a city mall on Saturday, was a heady mix of satire and mimicry, and presented many issues considered taboo in the society.
Utsav Chakraborty, known for his eccentricities, was the star attraction as he talked about his daily ordeal with his father, a former narcotics officer. He gave many instances of his teenage days.
He said once his father caught his bag of ‘ganja’. His father asked him, “Pata hai yeh kya hai? This stuff makes people kill their dads.” In reply, he said, “Eh baapu tau yeh kya phook ke bol raha hai?”, as the audience burst into laughter.
Utsav also mimicked senior politician Shashi Tharoor and how he could go and teach ‘Agreezi to Angreezo’, drawing reference to the latter’s famous speech at Oxford. He termed Tharoor as “the most British man outside Britain”.
Jitesh Vasani took potshots at the age gap between youngsters and their parents and how their perspectives differed. Modern comedy usually involves strong language and hard subjects which is abhorred by the Indian society. He also mocked senior citizens when they complain of his content being vulgar and how it made them uncomfortable.
Jitesh’s sketches took hard stances on the issues like homosexuality. They spoke critically against the current political situation in the country. From Tharoor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to their family, they spared none.
Organizers Shreyas Manohar said he wants to push the stand-up scene and hold more such shows in the city.
(Reporting by Abhishek Pratap)