BENGALURU: After a sold-out show last month in the city, Aakash Mehta is now returning with an unplanned show 'Bear with Me' to break his fans into laughter once again in the city.
This time, the show will be an 80 to 90-minute show. "It depends on how much audience can bear with me," he says. The show will be based on his personal experience - A trip to the mountains. (Hint: This time, he encountered something on his journey.)
Aakash is currently on a tour in 17 cities including Dubai. He concluded his last show in Nagpur. “Bengaluru has always been arms-wide open to comedy and my first show in 2015 was so great that I ended up getting gigs for the rest of the week,” says Aakash, who has performed at least 1,500 times in the city since the start of his career six years ago.
The lawyer-cum-engineer has been known to do comedy on ‘death’. While he has faced criticisms, at least twice in the city, for speaking out on sensitive issues, Aakash says, “People need to see comedy as it and take it lightly.” The Mumbai-based comedian recently spoke on his grandfather’s death. According to him, comedy was a way of dealing with the loss that he had endured. “I dealt with his death by getting on stage and it is catharsis," he says.
The artiste has travelled to Dubai, UK and US for shows and has earned over one million views for several of his YouTube videos. “I never thought I would go international. It continuously blows my mind. The fact that I get out of the house just to do comedy is out of this world,” he says.
Just as any artist faces challenges in his industry, Aakash also faces challenges that he says change over time. “Initially writing a good script was a challenge.” However, after his success over the years and making a mark in the industry, he continues to grapple over the fact that he is now a brand for venues to book and make money out of him.
An advice? “Just keep writing and keep getting on stage,” he adds. He has completed diploma in audio engineering. While his initial passion was to become a musician, he says that the option continues to be open to him and but he is not fond of performing live. When asked if he has tried to mix both professions, he explains that because music is very emotional, he still has not figured out how to bridge the gap between music and comedy.
However, his next show in Bengaluru will feature a song which he had written based on his script. Aakash will be performing in Wanderers Craft Brewery & Artisan Cafe on April 27 at 8 pm.