The immense popularity of Digital Media and more specifically YouTube gave impetus to several new careers and professions; One such success that with audiences online and off line was undoubtedly Stand-up Comedy.
The modern Indian comedy culture had its origin in Mumbai with professionals like Aditi Mittal, Tanmay Bhat and Vir Das, who went on to take the Indian comic talent globally.
While Stand-up comedy worked well in Pune but there were many budding artistes from the city who never did get the apt opportunities to display their talent.
That’s when these three individuals who loved comedy decided to get together and do something about it.
The three – Akash Gaurav Singh, Sahil Horane and Sudhanshu Ramteke – formed a group called Stand-up Fever and became flag-bearers of stand-up comedy in the city.
The two-year-old group has organised over 25 open mics in Pune in more than 10 venues. Their longest running comedy open mic series in the city was called Comedy Wars.
“Our aim was to promote stand-up comedy in Pune and this has gained pace over the last year and a half,” says Sudhanshu, a branding consultant by day, stand-up comedian at night.
“Earlier, people who were interested in performing comedy had to travel all the way to Mumbai and back just to showcase their talent. The Pune venues that hosted comedy events mostly booked artistes from other cities for shows.
“A lot has changed in the last 18 months with regular open mics and venues opening up to the idea of comedy by local artistes.
“In a span of 18 months, more than 30 venues have hosted comedy events and the art form is gaining increasing popularity with local artistes getting traction,” he adds.
“Stand-up Fever in collaboration with another group, Stand-Up Comedy Pune, have been prominent in hosting a lot of comedy events in Pune.
“We have also organised numerous open mics in venues such as Aufside, Powerhouse, Aeriel Bistro, The Dokk and many more to provide platform for the upcoming talent in Pune.
“We have also been organising and performing at corporate, private and bar gigs.
“Comedy Wars, Stand-up Fever’s flagship open mic, collaborated with Comedy Central last year for their nationwide comedy talent hunt contest called Chuckle Hunt which provided a great platform for local artistes,” says Sahil who does digital marketing for the kitchen and comedy for his soul.
Shouting out loud to all the artistes who want to get into the comedy business, Akash, an IT engineer by profession and comedian by choice, says, “Anyone who wishes to try their hand in stand-up comedy should first attend a comedy show. This will give them an idea about the art form. They should then register online for an open mic and prepare a four-five-minute performance.
“After an artiste has built the initial material and get the hang of performing live, they can approach the venue programmers for open spots. Currently, there are more than 30 regular artistes in Pune and the number is growing with each open mic,” he adds.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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