Arindam Ganguly, OP
BHUBANESWAR: Times are changing. There’s more mirth here on stage these days. The city of stiff-faced bureaucrats and serious-minded citizenry is witnessing many comedy shows these days, where local groups like The Chain Jokers, Bhubaneswar Komedians are regaling their audiences with sound and action, creating an explosion of laughter at events at stages small and big. The rise in popularity of comedy shows is spectacular, and this is giving the city based comedians added confidence about good days ahead for comedy as an entertainment form, and hope for good money for their sustenance as well. Satyabrat Mohapatra, a city-based comedian who has been selected for the upcoming national level comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, is upbeat about the current times. “The comedy scene here is on the upswing, and we are really hopeful about better days ahead,” he tells Orissa Post. “We are organising many shows now. We are not only getting a large audience, but national-level stand-up comedians like Kenny Sebastian, Sorabh Pant of EIC fame and the like are coming to the city and attracting huge audiences. Recently , popular comedian Nishant Tanwar was in the city as a part of his world tour.”
Satyabrat feels that the upbeat mood in the comedy scene here started after some local comedians made their mark at some of the national-level comedy festivals. Comedians like Biswa Kalyan Rath, who became the first comedian in the state to have his own comedy show aired on Amazon Prime titled Biswa Mast Aadmi , is gaining huge popularity. This has seen him emerging as one of the top comedians in the country. “Taking time off my job responsibilities in Pune, I am able to reach up here to do shows,” he says.
Chetan Anand Sahu, another comedian and part of Comedy Jokers, says: “During weekends, we organise shows at several cafes in the city. We are also inviting comedians from outside the state, like from Kolkata.” Ticket prices were fixed between Rs 100 and Rs 500. Some shows turned House Full, which excited us a lot. We also organised a competition for the locals to come up with funny jokes.”
Roshan Bisoi, founder of The Chain Jokers, says that for some reason, the popularity of comedy shows has seen a recent rise here. “The shows are attracting good numbers of people, and one reason for this could be that we bring in some fresh and funny jokes for the audience. Reliance on old jokes is less. This helps. In cities like Mumbai and New Delhi, comedy gigs are organised on a large scale. Here, that has not been the case. Not yet. But, there definitely is a new mood in favour of comedy shows here,” he adds.
Soumesh Patnaik of Café Frespresso, where comedy gigs are organised very often, says a metro city culture is slowly gripping the city and the new-found interest in comedy shows is part of that. Customers who come to the cafes on weekends expect something different and interesting. These shows give them an opportunity for entertainment and laughter, he notes. Senior comedian
Rauof Gangjee, founder of Bhubaneswar Komedians, says comedy shows are not yet profitable. A show involves considerable costs. Bringing a national-level comedian means major expenses. “We do not put ticket price high, because the city people are still not ready to pay high for watching a show. But, the good thing is, the local comics is becoming popular, and I’m sure that eventually these shows will be profitable. Our three comedians, Chetan Anand Sahu, Satybrat Mohapatra and Alokesh Malick Anand from the city, had been selected for national-level comedy shows. We hope that this will popularise comedy more here,” he adds. Good days are here for comedy. What is hoped for is more corporate and private support, so that comedians can have a decent income, afterall.
