Stand-up comedy is gaining ground like never before. While metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore regularly host open mics, the trend is gradually catching up with the denizens in Bhubaneswar as people now don’t mind to spend a few extra bucks to tickle their funny bones. About a decade ago, nobody could think of making a career as a stand-up comedian. But now it is one of the most sought after professions provided you have the required skill set.
If there are Kapil Sharma, Raju Shrivastava, Sunil Pal, Ahsaan Qureshi, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Vir Das and Abish Mathew at national level, back home Satyabrat, Alokesh, Debarchan and Varsha are no less. The quad shares with Sunday POST how they worked on their skills to rejuvenate the comic scene in Odisha.
Satyabrat
Satyabrat Mohapatra’s rib-ticklers have already made him a name to reckon with in Odisha. He founded Comedy Highway, the only active comedy collective, in Odisha in 2018. Since its inception, the club has done more than 150 shows across the state. He also co-founded Bhubaneswar Komedians, the first comedy circuit in the state.
“Komedians is a nationwide network. There are comedy collectives like Kolkata Komedians and Pune Komedians. But we parted ways because we wanted to start independently. And that’s how Comedy Highway came into being”, Satyabrat says.
How did it all start? To this, he responds, “When I was pursuing B.Tech in 2016, I was considered funny among my friends at our hangout sessions. It was then I came across a standup comedy show on YouTube and realised I can capitalise on my humour quotient. I hit an open mic and it surprisingly clicked.”
He continues: “I met Alokesh Sinha, then a student at Ravenshaw University. We formed our own collective and started rejuvenating the comedy scene in Bhubaneswar. Initially it was just a bunch of funny people going and performing to random audiences in various cafes free of cost. It took us a lot of time and exposure to finally shape it into what we can call the Standup Comedy Scene in Odisha. We worked very hard in the last five years to reach where we are today. Now we conduct weekly open mics. The shows that happen are all ticketed events and are listed on ticketing portals for our audience accessibility.”
Satyabrat, who quit his job to make a full-time career as a stand-up comedian, derives ideas from his day-to-day observations. “Comedians have this rare ability to see the world differently. Even when I was doing a job, I wrote jokes about my workplace and took those jokes to my shows in the evening. I also love doing anecdotal comedy and observational at times. My stories revolve around me and only me. I believe making fun of myself is the safest.”
Hailing from a middle class family it was not easy for Satyabrat to pursue a career in comedy, quitting a secured job. “My parents were not happy with my decision, I had to convince them. But things changed soon once I became popular,” recalls Satyabrat who is currently working with different startup apps as a content creator.
Sharing the stage with Zakir Khan in Raipur in 2018 and getting standing ovation for the first time at VSSUT Burla are among the moments that he wants to cherish, adds the ace
humourists.
On his future plan, he reveals, “I want to develop a self-sustained ecosystem for all standup artistes in Bhubaneswar. Maybe with the right kind of connections and resources we can have a makeshift comedy club in our very own city and the big names can travel down to Bhubaneswar to do shows. Comedy Highway has also roped in star personalities like Nishant Tanwar, Zakir Khan and Sorabh Pant for their shows, giving the people of Bhubaneswar a taste of national comedy in their hometown. If things go as per our plan, renowned stand-up comedian Pratyush Chaubey will join us March 13.”
Alokesh
For Alokesh Sinha of Balasore, it all started when he came to Ravenshaw University in 2015.
“It was a little depressing when I joined Ravenshaw as I felt all had been blessed with some exceptional skills but me. It was my sister, Megha who spotted my ability to make people laugh. At that time, I had absolutely no idea what stand-up comedy was. So, I checked a few videos to learn more. I wrote a few jokes and went on stage to examine if they made an impact on the audience. To my dismay, it didn’t work. But a show at SOA University in 2017 brought the turnaround in my fortunes. After that there was no looking back. I went on to co-found Comedy Highway collaborating with Satyabrat. Artistes like Zakir Khan, Rahul Subramanian, Nishant Tanwar have performed under our banner,” narrates Alokesh.
Apart from his expertise in stand-up comedy, Alokesh also works at a company AmbitionBox.
“It is the tendency with many to accept other art forms like music or dance but comedy. I can’t blame them, because everyone thinks they are funny, which is not true. Unlike music or dance, comedy is something that can’t be taught. If you’re funny and you can write witty jokes consistently, there will be no dearth of opportunities. People will love to see you perform. But again it depends on how much money is enough for you to say that I can sustain myself just by cracking jokes,” explains Alokesh.
On his cherished moment, he says, “Performing at Habitat, Mumbai was one of the best days of my life. It was a crazy night. Sharing the stage with all the big names was really special.
Alokesh loves to perform in Bhubaneswar and Burla while Kapil Sharma and Raju Shrivastav are his idols.
Debarchan
Hailing from Dhenkanal, Debarchan was in Class IX when he noticed that his friends used to laugh at whatever he would say and they were keen to listen to him.
Recollecting those days, he says, “I was very good at making people laugh. One of my teachers used to make me speak in his free classes. Needless to say, I often left the entire class in splits. Then some of my friends and cousins suggested that I take the art seriously. So, I attended a few open mic events. Then I joined Comedy Highway, the only active comedy collective in Odisha.”
Debarchan picks most of the ideas from his school life and works on them. He did his first open mic September 23, 2018 and it was a mixed event comprising poetry, storytelling and comedy. Then he joined Comedy Highway in November.
“In the last three years, I have performed in many cities including Rourkela, Berhampur, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar,” says Debarchan, who is planning to pursue MBA.
On the prospect of stand-up comedy in Odisha, he says “Making people laugh is not easy. About four years ago, organising an open mic was difficult. We were constantly on a hunting spree for venues. So, we could arrange only one or two open mics a month at that time. As the number of events was few, all of us had to perform at our best. After a while people came to know about us and things changed for the better. As the audience started liking our acts, we got calls from venues to perform open mics at their property. Now people love our shows and the scene in the city is getting better.”
About his best act, Debarchan who is a diehard fan of Gourav Kapoor , says, “It was when I hosted Munawar Faruqui in front of 600 people in Rourkela. The claps and cheers of the audience were unbelievable and unforgettable.”
Barsha
While the stand-up comedy scene is dominated by men all over the world, the Indian comedy scene has lately been bustling with feminine energy. In Odisha, Barsha Mishra is a major player in the current stand-up scene.
She says she grew up watching standup comedians Bharti Singh and Kapil Sharma.
“I did extensive research on how stand-up comedy works and how to write jokes. Also, I watched videos of stand-up comedians on YouTube. I texted them how to get a stage to perform and few of them responded also. It was from them I got an idea about open mics and finally after years of toil, I managed to get a stage to perform. This was like a dream come true for me. I bank on observation and imagination to woo my audience”, says newbie Barsha who has been doing stand-up comedy independently for the last
six months.
Rashmi Rekha Das,OP
