From what our sources say, the SMS culture is making a comeback, and a quick one at that. No, we aren’t referring to the Short Message Service, but the Secret
Marathi
Stand-up, that is being held in the city tonight.
Going by the fact that
stand-up comedy
is (mainly) perceived to be the game of English and Hindi-speaking performers as well as audiences, the Secret Marathi Stand-up, is perhaps the first of its kind, in a way. The curated open mic in Marathi aims at entertaining both the Marathi and Non-Marathi public alike.
Actor and director
Sarang Sathaye, co-founder of
Bharatiya Digital Party
or BhaDiPa — a popular Marathi digital content creator, also responsible for holding this event, says, “Marathi culture had a thriving stand-up tradition in the 70s, with key people like PL Deshpande contributing to it. But like every culture has a phase, it died out, only to resurface later again. The intention of this format is to keep the once-popular Marathi stand-up culture alive, and make it a manner of performance that we can look forward to more often.”
So, why is tonight’s gig called a secret, curated open mic? “It’s a secret show because the line-up of stand-up comics will be unknown till the very end. In addition, we have no control over the content they’ll perform, nor has it been altered. But, it is curated in the sense that we’ve gotten these comics together after they submitted samples of their work,” Sarang explains.
The Pune edition of the SMS show is the second, as part of the tour that BhaDiPa is undertaking across the state, to places including Nagpur (November 4). “We’ll keep doing this till there’s a point where we won’t need to specially organise a Marathi stand-up gig; when it will start being organised by local art enthusiasts themselves.” says Sarang.
The Pune edition line-up is special in more ways that one. It will comprise seven comics of which two are women, making their debut at the show. “There’s also an eighth person, who will play host as well as perform. We’ve kept the person’s identity a secret (which adds to the ‘secret’ factor of the show), but one should know that he or she isn’t a regular comic,” Sarang adds.
The format also aims at building a dedicated audience for regional stand-up comedy. Sarang tells us that the audience you find at such shows usually comprise comics who want to perform their work, and their close friends. “Through this format, we’re trying to build a more varied audience that can appreciate the form,” he adds.
With a line-up that’s top secret, and content that will touch upon a variety of issues ranging from politics to perspectives on everyday life and more, you have
reason enough to attend this gig.
*
We were overwhelmed by the response we got at the recent SMS show in Mumbai. It seemed like there was always an audience for regional stand-up. It’s just that the platforms are few. Even if Marathi jokes were cracked during stand-up performances, a combination of English or Hindi would be used.— Sarang Sathaye, co-founder, Bharatiya Digital Party*
The Secret Marathi Stand-Up show will be held today, at Ishanya Mall, Yerwada, 8 pm onwards
Start a Conversation
Post comment