Laughter has become serious business. When stand-up comedian Raghav Mandava first took to the stage, little did he know he would come this far. For someone who worked as a journalist once, comedy has turned out to be a great turning point.
“I first took the stage on Open Mic called “Shaken and Stirred” and at that time I was just experimenting with different things. After taking the stage a few times, I thought I could give organising comedy shows a try, because I saw that there was money to be made in organising these shows and hence I created ‘Cheese Monkey Mafia’ to do that,” he says adding, “After hosting a number of shows I eventually started enjoying spending time on the stage, and almost a year after my first show, I decided I wanted to be a stand-up comic,” he tells us.
Having said that, he also feels that the Indian audience is beginning to appreciate a new crop of irreverent stand-up comics, but there’s still a long way to go. “People were always waiting for something like this. But that being said, people are still not fully ready to venture into the dark side of comedy, when it comes to the subjects of death, religion, divorce, etc. I never thought stand-up comedy would become so popular. Three years ago people did not know what stand-up comedy was, now so many people want to see it or be a part of it,” he adds.
For someone who loves Delhi’s audience, Raghav says the city is definitely an attractive proposition for stand-up comics. “There is plenty of demand for comedy here, and it is a very good place to start if you want to be a comedian. The crowd here appreciates and understands the humour and the satire behind the acts. And that’s what I enjoy about performing in Delhi,” he says.
Talking about the financial aspect of the comedy business, Raghav says the demand exceeds the supply. “To quote Chris Rock, ‘the business is as strong as you are’. As far as costs are concerned, they are escalating. However, the demand for it is far more than the number of comedians and the market could very well saturate itself, so we need more comedians and more fresh acts,” he says.
Raghav Mandava from ‘Cheese Monkey Mafia’ performed at ‘Hinglish-the Colonial Café’ on Sunday