BENGALURU: Rubi Chakravarti, one of the first women in the country to have initiated the standup comedy scene in India, has been on a break for a few years. Ahead of her comeback performance in the city later this week, City Express caught up with the comedian, to get an insight into what the veteran artiste has to say about the evolving space and opportunities in the standup space today. Excerpts:
Tell us about your upcoming show...
I haven’t performed in Bengaluru for a long time. The last I did was a series of standups for an international coffeehouse chain two-three years ago. But for the last couple of years, I have been using the subject matter of my comedy to address serious issues.
Like they say in Masterchef, you can expect a blend of sweet and sour with that right amount of crunch, in this show.
What was the standup comedy scene like when you started?
The scene when it started was very bad (laughs). When I started, everyone used to laugh at my jokes. I have joie de vivre to laugh at things and to take the seriousness out of them. Not that I’m a joker, but to be a standup comedian you have to be intelligent. I just found the lighter things in life. But by the time I turned 40, my brain fell together and my body fell apart. That’s when I decided that everyone shouldn’t be laughing for free. So, around 15 to 17 years ago, I started doing standup professionally. When I started, it was tough, generally, women talking was not an accepted norm. Women with so many words in her mouth meant too much...and making jokes on top of that, was a lot for people to take! I used to perform and get down from the stage and people used to pat my husband’s back and say, “Why can’t you control her a little bit.” I used to wag my imaginary tail and say woof woof to him. (laughs).
To this day, as a woman I’ve to be really careful of what I’m saying because people find it really offensive. As a woman, I am still judged for my jokes. If they have sexual innuendos, then the first question is, “What type of a woman are you?”
Many youngsters view this as a viable career option
today. Your thoughts?
Now everybody and their grandfathers are doing standup comedy. Sometimes it’s nice and sometimes it’s pathetic. Sometimes it’s literally below the belt because that’s where they speak from – the posterior level, while they think it’s funny. I feel everyone is uncomfortable with explicit sexual innuendos – that is sex talk. Innuendo is okay, but explicit sex talk is not. There are also some kids who are doing standups, and they’re on the ball. But there are also the kind like – basically I was a salesman and now I’m standing up; I was a software engineer, now I’m standing up. But yes, it’s evolving for sure. In the last two-three years, there have been many edgy young people coming up. I’m glad to have been part of the starting off process.
Do you think the quality has dropped, because of the number of people who want to be a part of it?
Even when there were fewer standup comics, quality was not excellent. It depends on your material, how evolved you are, how topical you are – it depends on what you do. For example, I don’t use cuss words. Am I politically incorrect? Of course, I am. But do I pick on my audiences, call the names? No, I don’t do that. I prefer to form an interpersonal relationship with them and not have people laugh at me, but with me.
What does it take to be a standup comedian?
You must be erudite, have a good vocabulary, and be able to think on your feet. You have to be able to turn situations around. When you are well travelled, you pick up different nuances, which add to your storytelling technique. In the last couple of years, the standard – in terms of opportunity and quality of comedians – has definitely improved. You can’t go up there and read SMS jokes and be a standup comedian. You have to have been able to switch from topic to topic seamlessly.
Rubi Chakravarti will be performing at One Bangalore West by Phoenix builders, Dr Rajkumar Road on December 9, 12pm.