More shows, diverse venues, growing audience: Kolkata goes LOL as comedy gigs return

As live performances make a comeback with the pandemic situation coming under control, Kolkata is seeing an increase in live stand-up comedy gigs too. After streaming online for almost two years, comics are happy to finally tickle the audiences’ funny-bones in person. Not just city-based comics, performers of national repute too are now hosting multiple shows here.While Kunal Kamra, Saikiran, Anirban Dasgupta performed in the city recently, Atul Khatri, Aditi Mittal and several others are ready to take the audience on a laugh riot soon.
Muted audience versus roaring laughter
Most comedians survived the pandemic blow by resorting to online shows. Ask them what they missed the most about live gigs, and they almost unanimously say the roaring laughter of their audience. “For a comic, involving the crowd is important, but we have to keep the audience on mute during online shows,” said city-based comic Shantanu Mitra Neogi, adding, “So, whenever I cracked a joke, I could not hear them laugh. That’s so unfulfilling.” Highlighting the good part about virtual gigs, Shantanu said that it is more intimate as we can have a one-on-one exchange with our audience. “In halls, we don’t get to see all our audience,” said Shantanu, adding that of late there has been an increase in the number of open mics and shows in Kolkata, and even the size of the audience is getting bigger. “That’s an encouraging sign,” he smiled.
Atul Khatri, who is scheduled to perform in Kolkata on April 10, said, “Like music, theatre and other art forms, stand-up comedy too thrives on live audiences. More so, because we feed off our audience’s laughter. You laugh when the audience laughs.” Atul was one of the first comics to jump on the online bandwagon and did multiple virtual gigs during the lockdowns. “I had no choice because I have a family to take care of. But there is nothing like a live audience. When I got back on stage after the Covid break in 2020, I was as nervous as I was before my life’s first show. But the roaring laughter and audience engagement helped me loosen up in just 15 minutes,” he added.
Speaking about the worst and the best part about virtual shows, Atul said, “Online shows are like monologues. We have to keep our audience on mute as most of them join from their homes. If we don’t mute them, everybody would hear the whistle of pressure cookers, barking pets and sounds of other household chores. But when managed well, online shows can turn out to be great and I’ve done several of them.”
Stand-up comedy is not just about telling jokes
Apart from instant feedback from the audience, another reason why performers prefer live gigs is that it gives them a chance to express themselves in more ways than just cracking jokes. “Stand-up comedy is not just about telling jokes. It is about a funny man narrating his stories. For example, I have ideated multiple ways to engage my audience in my stammering. My body language, hand gestures, facial movements – it is a combination of everything that makes people laugh,” said Soumit Deb.
Diverse venues, growing audience
Soumit, along with Shantanu and several others, also performed at the recently concluded International Kolkata Book Fair. “The fact that we were able to perform at the book fair this year proves that Kolkata is gradually warming up to stand-up comedy and embracing it as an art form,” said Soumit. Agreeing with him, Shiladitya Chatterjee said that takers for stand-up comedy are increasing. “For years, I performed stand-up comedy in Hindi because of the audience I was catering to. We used to perform in cafes and restopubs, where the majority of the audience would be members from the elite section of society. However, after the pandemic, comedy is gaining momentum. Now the audience is much more diverse. It is also due to the fact that there has been a diversification of venues. Our shows are now being hosted at traditional theatre halls and the audience there is showing us a lot of love. I think, the more we diversify, the better,” he said.
Comediennes face limitations
While multiple female comedians have been slaying the comedy scene nationally, their number is not so high in Kolkata. “It is not that there is some kind of discrimination in the world of stand-up comedy in Kolkata. I perform as much as others do. However, in our acts, the audience demands only a certain kind of comedy – talking about our personal journey, bashing patriarchy, countering social stigma and so on. While men can explore many other avenues in terms of content, we face a lot of limitations there,” said Sridisha Chakraborty, a comedienne.