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Whether you enjoy stand-up comedy or not, chances are you’ve heard the name Papa CJ more than once. Winner of Asia’s best standup comedian award in 2014 and a self-baptised ambassador of happiness, he has been making waves both in India and internationally. Known for his faster-than-light comebacks, headstrong narrations, brilliant comic timing and those shiny long locks, Papa CJ talks to us about his new show Naked, what it takes to be free and what’s he doing with that Oxford MBA of his.
WH: You are one of the few comedians who have witnessed and been a part of the progress of standup comedy as an art form in India. Do you feel like a veteran in the scene?
Papa CJ: In the context of India some people might call me a veteran, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of this beautiful, honest, complicated and yet, incredibly raw and simple art form. The longer I do it the more I realise how little I know. For me, progression is not about external yardsticks. It is about the internal journey of self-discovery that the art form takes me through; about opening doors in my mind that I was never able to open before and some doors that I didn’t even know existed.
WH: You’ve stated that Naked reflects your personal experiences and observations. What was the main idea behind the concept?
Papa CJ: As human beings we build protective walls around ourselves. In Naked, one brick at a time I remove these walls, exposing myself with all my vulnerabilities and pain. This is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. At the end of it, while I am completely naked, I have nothing to hide or hide behind and therefore I am also completely free.
I could not have performed this show five years ago because at that time, Naked was three doors behind the door I was standing in front of (in my head)! Also, I doubt I would have had the skills or emotional ability to do justice to a show like Naked then. It is a show that at times involves talking about deeply intense and personal topics and yet as a performer requires you to be entertaining, interesting and funny without trivialising the issues or misrepresenting the depth of emotions – that is a very, very fine line.
WH: In recent years, you’ve moved from doing just standup shows to a lot of public interaction and on the spot improv – why did you make this change? Is Naked an evolution of this change?
Papa CJ: There have been times where in a one-hour show, fifty minutes of it has been created on the spot. I do this for a few reasons.
Firstly, I do it as a challenge to myself. I thrive on the challenge of constantly having a logical and witty response to an unexpected answer from the audience. Secondly, I do it because the audience loves it. They see a show that is more personal because it is based on what they have said, and the people in the room. There is a misconception that nobody wants to be picked on by a standup comedian. At my shows, the first row always gets sold out first. And thirdly, I do it because I have the ability to do it well. Naked though, is not an extension of this at all. It straddles the genres of theatre, storytelling and standup comedy and has a very strong narrative.
WH: How was the show received at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015? How different was it to perform it for an international audience?
Papa CJ: The show was received very well in Melbourne. I love what Beat Magazine said about the show: “It dawned upon us that CJ might not be the innocuous Indian comedian we’d naively envisioned…”! It gives me great joy to represent Indian standup on the global stage and to smash some of the preconceived notions that people might have about us.
I can’t quite describe how heartwarming it felt to perform Naked for an international audience. It was great to see that audiences from different countries could relate to the entire story and felt like I was talking about their lives.
WH: Apart from spreading smiles through your charity and your shows, what other things keep you busy when you’re not performing?
Papa CJ: Not a lot. I’m a bum. I didn’t get out of the corporate world and into standup comedy so I could be busy all the time! That being said, I am in the process of designing something that puts my Oxford MBA, executive coaching and motivational speaking background to good use. I’m designing workshops for corporate leaders around what management and leadership can learn from standup comedy. As a part of that, I’ll be getting corporate executives to learn how to do some standup as well!
WH: After instances like the AIB Roast controversy and the police crackdown at Vir Das’ show – do you think writers and comedians now have to think twice about expressing their views? Do you think standup comedy still isn’t taken seriously or understood by a vast majority of Indian audiences?
Papa CJ: The problem in India is not that standup comedy isn’t taken seriously, but that it is! Audiences often don’t realise that offence has to do with intent. And a comedian’s intention is almost always to entertain and not to offend. It cannot be denied though that sometimes newer comedians don’t understand the nuances of crowd interaction and end up being hurtful instead of cheeky. Once again, that is almost never their intention.
As comedians, I don’t think we should have to think twice about expressing our views but what we have been forced to think about is where to express our views. My thumb rule is that if you’ve come to my show, you’ve come to my environment to see what I do, and I’ll do what I feel like. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to leave and never come to watch me again. However, if I’m presenting at a corporate or personal event, it is my duty as a professional to respect the boundaries of your environment. And I will do so every single time.
Delhi Mumbai folks can check out the upcoming edition of Naked this Saturday Sunday respectively.
Not just an average comedy festival – Only Much Louder’s Stage 42 is upping the ante in year two with more performances across various mediums. Last year saw over 150 gigs performed in 7 cities and this time, you can expect to see 70 of the finest stand-up artists perform in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur besides Ahmedabad, Kochi and Vadodara. Starting January 23rd and on till March 6th, we take a backstage look at what’s in-store.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Stage42 is a platform for stand up artists from across the country to come together, showcase their work and collaborate. This year, you can witness various genres of comedy that are relevant to our present time, plus a host of music as well. The line-up showcases a stellar list of Indian and international artists. While each city has its own roster, must watch gigs that are travelling to various places include Radhika Vaz’s atypical bra burner Unladylike, where she talks about a woman’s struggle to achieve acceptance through her teens to menopause. Multiple artists are coming together with fresh scripts, so there’s Aisi Taisi Democracy by trio Sanjay Rajoura, Varun Grover and Rahul Ram is a part-music part-comedy satirical take on everyday India – elections, politics, religion, sports et al. Kenny Sebastian’s latest A Door Through a Window will showcase his signature style of improve with the addition of music.
The famous duo Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath will bromance with their act Kiswa and Banana for Bangalore audiences, while East India Comedy’s Sorabh Pant, Sahil Shah and Sapan Verma go against Bollywood’s abundant stupidity from 2015 with EIC vs Bollywood in Delhi. Another highlight for Delhi will be 12 Funny Men – Atul Khatri, Kunal Kamra, Abhishek Upmanyu, Angad Ranyal, Anuvab Pal, Abijit Ganguly, Kunal Rao, Azeem Banatwalla and Madhavendra Singh – with an opinion on everything and anything.
Music is the other half of this fest, so you’ll get to see the likes of bass happy Nucleya, rapper Naezy, Sufi rock band Parvaaz, singer-songwriters Nicholson, Nikhil D’souza and Mahesh Raghunandan, Dualist Inquiry, and Sid Vashi to name a few. We are also looking forward to US-based acoustic band of brothers – Boyce Avenue who will perform in Mumbai and Bangalore.
Pune folks will see a special show by Max Godman and Dhruv Viswanath along with Ankur The Ghalat Family where they sing their stories through music in Our Stories, Our Songs. Abish Mathew, Naveen Richard and Tushar Abhichandani’s comedy Lower Your Expectations in Pune will be your guide on living life with lower hopes.
WHAT’S NEW
There are a bunch of fresh ideas running around this time with headliners (that won’t get cancelled cos of parking issues!) including Australian YouTube sensation Miles Allen – who will be performing One Man Breaking Bad at Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore – breaking down the 6 seasons of Breaking Bad with hilariously accurate renditions of the cast of the hit TV show.
The bad boys of Indian comedy from the ‘not-to-be-spoken-about- roast’ are also part of the show with AIB Diwas in Mumbai. The day-long series will definitely make headlines and keep city cops on high alert! After becoming a rage on Twitter for his sassy videos and tweets, rap legend Baba Sehgal will be seen in the Maximum City as well.
When: January 23rd to March 6th
Entry: Starts at Rs 150
For tickets and more info, click here
There will be a solo standup gig #39;A Door Through A Window#39; by Kenneth Sebastian (Kenny) from Bangalore at Heart Cup Coffee. He is a musician and stand-up comedian who has done more than 800 shows across the world till date. He is not only known for his hilarious parodies on daily life situations but for his inpromptu humour and wit. Trained under Upright Citizens Brigade (New York) in improvisation and comedy writing from Magnet Theater (New York), Kenny has over 100k subscribers on YouTube and is well known for his musical and improvisational touch in his live shows. Having released three online stand-up specials online, and acted and written an entire season of a show for Comedy Central India, Kenneth is well on his way to becoming one of the leading young comedians in the country.
Tickets are available on Insider for Rs 400.
The popular nightlife destination Heart Cup Coffee will host a live standup comedy night with two two of the brightest South Indian comics from Chennai, Aravind SA and Karthik Kumar: They will talk about lack of women in their lives, the excess of Sambar, and the excessive lack of women in their lives. Be prepared to laugh your guts off!
Price of tickets: Rs 400. Available on Insider.
Street Beat is a mix of witty poetry and some back breaking beats by a rather unusual pair. Rapper Naezy gives us a rhythmic and witty verse that will be sung to the tunes of bass from Nucleya who is also known as the Baron of Bass. Watch the pair bring the house down at Heart Cup Coffee.
Entry: Rs 499
Tickets available on Insider.in
The electrifying dubstep and bass baron Nucleya along with prodigious rapper Naezy will be coming for a live gig at Heart Cup Coffee. The sharp wit and verse rhyming skills of prodigious hip hop rapper Naezy from Mumbai and the back breaking, bass heavy dance beats of none other than the Bass Baron Nucleya make a potent combination on this night that will be one to remember. Nucleya started his musical journey towards the end of #39;90s when he co-founded Bandish Projekt. Since then, he has released 14 singles, studio albums and numerous collaborations. Udyan Sagar, the man behind the EDM group Nucleya, bass is one of the most important elements that makes a song. He recently came out with his album, Koocha Monster, and says that the album is all about Indian street music.
Tickets are available on Insider for Rs 499.
Abish Mathew, Nishant Tanwar and Vikram Sathaye - three of the hilarious standup comedians will be coming down to Hyderabad at Heart Cup Coffee for a live gig called #39;Lower your expectations#39;. When the dream is about eating a double choco chip cookie dipped in nutella but instead the only available option is Naankatai. Abish Mathew takes you on a guided comic tour on how to live your life by lowering your expectations. Abish is one of the most popular comedians in India these days with thousands of subscribers on his youtube channel and daily shows across all the major cities in and outside of India. He is also a part of the comedy collective All India Bakchod.
Nishant #39;Joke Singh#39; Tanwar is an Indian comedian and actor. He began performing in Gurgaon in 2009. Apart from corporate shows, he has performed and conceptualized many comedy specials like Comedy in Diversity, Two and a Laugh Men, and Third World Comedy and is the founding member of IPL (Improv Premier League).
Rs 499 for tickets available on Insider.
Whether you enjoy stand-up comedy or not, chances are you’ve heard the name Papa CJ more than once. Winner of Asia’s best standup comedian award in 2014 and a self-baptised ambassador of happiness, he has been making waves both in India and internationally. Known for his faster-than-light comebacks, headstrong narrations, brilliant comic timing and those shiny long locks, Papa CJ talks to us about his new show Naked, what it takes to be free and what’s he doing with that Oxford MBA of his.
WH: You are one of the few comedians who have witnessed and been a part of the progress of standup comedy as an art form in India. Do you feel like a veteran in the scene?
Papa CJ: In the context of India some people might call me a veteran, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of this beautiful, honest, complicated and yet, incredibly raw and simple art form. The longer I do it the more I realise how little I know. For me, progression is not about external yardsticks. It is about the internal journey of self-discovery that the art form takes me through; about opening doors in my mind that I was never able to open before and some doors that I didn’t even know existed.
WH: You’ve stated that Naked reflects your personal experiences and observations. What was the main idea behind the concept?
Papa CJ: As human beings we build protective walls around ourselves. In Naked, one brick at a time I remove these walls, exposing myself with all my vulnerabilities and pain. This is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. At the end of it, while I am completely naked, I have nothing to hide or hide behind and therefore I am also completely free.
I could not have performed this show five years ago because at that time, Naked was three doors behind the door I was standing in front of (in my head)! Also, I doubt I would have had the skills or emotional ability to do justice to a show like Naked then. It is a show that at times involves talking about deeply intense and personal topics and yet as a performer requires you to be entertaining, interesting and funny without trivialising the issues or misrepresenting the depth of emotions – that is a very, very fine line.
WH: In recent years, you’ve moved from doing just standup shows to a lot of public interaction and on the spot improv – why did you make this change? Is Naked an evolution of this change?
Papa CJ: There have been times where in a one-hour show, fifty minutes of it has been created on the spot. I do this for a few reasons.
Firstly, I do it as a challenge to myself. I thrive on the challenge of constantly having a logical and witty response to an unexpected answer from the audience. Secondly, I do it because the audience loves it. They see a show that is more personal because it is based on what they have said, and the people in the room. There is a misconception that nobody wants to be picked on by a standup comedian. At my shows, the first row always gets sold out first. And thirdly, I do it because I have the ability to do it well. Naked though, is not an extension of this at all. It straddles the genres of theatre, storytelling and standup comedy and has a very strong narrative.
WH: How was the show received at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015? How different was it to perform it for an international audience?
Papa CJ: The show was received very well in Melbourne. I love what Beat Magazine said about the show: “It dawned upon us that CJ might not be the innocuous Indian comedian we’d naively envisioned…”! It gives me great joy to represent Indian standup on the global stage and to smash some of the preconceived notions that people might have about us.
I can’t quite describe how heartwarming it felt to perform Naked for an international audience. It was great to see that audiences from different countries could relate to the entire story and felt like I was talking about their lives.
WH: Apart from spreading smiles through your charity and your shows, what other things keep you busy when you’re not performing?
Papa CJ: Not a lot. I’m a bum. I didn’t get out of the corporate world and into standup comedy so I could be busy all the time! That being said, I am in the process of designing something that puts my Oxford MBA, executive coaching and motivational speaking background to good use. I’m designing workshops for corporate leaders around what management and leadership can learn from standup comedy. As a part of that, I’ll be getting corporate executives to learn how to do some standup as well!
WH: After instances like the AIB Roast controversy and the police crackdown at Vir Das’ show – do you think writers and comedians now have to think twice about expressing their views? Do you think standup comedy still isn’t taken seriously or understood by a vast majority of Indian audiences?
Papa CJ: The problem in India is not that standup comedy isn’t taken seriously, but that it is! Audiences often don’t realise that offence has to do with intent. And a comedian’s intention is almost always to entertain and not to offend. It cannot be denied though that sometimes newer comedians don’t understand the nuances of crowd interaction and end up being hurtful instead of cheeky. Once again, that is almost never their intention.
As comedians, I don’t think we should have to think twice about expressing our views but what we have been forced to think about is where to express our views. My thumb rule is that if you’ve come to my show, you’ve come to my environment to see what I do, and I’ll do what I feel like. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to leave and never come to watch me again. However, if I’m presenting at a corporate or personal event, it is my duty as a professional to respect the boundaries of your environment. And I will do so every single time.
Delhi Mumbai folks can check out the upcoming edition of Naked this Saturday Sunday respectively.
The premium clubbing destination at Hi Tech city, Playboy will be showcasing one of the biggest parties on February with one of the biggest names in the international electronic and hip hop music producing scene today, DJ Bl3nd who recently returned after a breathtaking concert at Tomorrowland, Spring Awakening, Electric Adventure and other massive gigs all around the world. Along with the Los Angeles based charttopping electronic artist whose stage presence and energy is unparallel, there will be the electrifying resident DJ Yudi who plays an enormous mix of quality techno, minimal and tech house. In addition, there will be a massive visual set-up, high energy lasers, international dancers, ground rumbling sound on world#39;s best sound system #39;Funktion One#39; and lot more.
Early bird tickets are available at Bookmyshow for Rs 2000 for males and females, Rs 3000 for a couple, Rs 4000 for vip couples and Rs 3000 for vip females. Full cover charge included.
Friday nights are back at Terrace Bay, the popular nightlife hub featuring DJ Mark who will spin your favourite Bollywood and commercial dance chartbusters with his techno touch. Prepare to dance all night long with your friends or partner as Liquid Blast, the friday night party is here.
There will be free entry for ladies.
Celebrate the club night party with DJ Sunny who will spin a stream of Electronic dance music and Bollywood dance music at Cafe Equinox. Known for its electrifying ambience, the club will have exclusive beverages at the bar including an array of lipsmacking shooters, cocktails and beer. Dance to the Bollywood beats and party hard.
Venga boys productions present Neon Beats, one of the most grand neon parties in Hyderabad featuring DJ Navin at the newly launched nightlife destination Purple Hazee. Get ready to dance to some Bollywood, commercial, hip hop and dance music tunes. Dig into some continental and chinese delicacies while sipping into a few lipsmacking shooters and beverages at the bar.
Entry: Stag Rs 500. Ladies can walk in for free.
The premium resort will be celebrating the day of love #39;Valentines Day#39; by showcasing a live music concert with celebrity singers Babu Rao and Sabitha from Hyderabad. There will be a RP crew and DJ set live performing to make you groove. Indulge in rain dance by the pool or games like snookers, table tennis, etc. There are lucky draw competitions along with unlimited food and drinks. Make your V-day memorable.
Prices: Couple Rs 2499 and stags Rs 1499.
When it comes to food, party and music- N Grill is a name that immediately pops up on someone#39;s head. The popular clubbing destination will showcase club nights with DJ Abhi Maisekar and VJ Tarun playing some of the most rocking commercial chartbusters to make you groove. There will be cocktails, electronic dance music, lipsmacking food and a lot more.
Join the Sundowner sessions at W3- What We Wish club as they showcase DJ Fusion with rockband Defuze, a set of tech, deep, commercial and EDM music. There will be DJ Naik and DJ Shine to accompany him. Groove along with their beats while the opening set is played by DJ Akil, DJ R-Ya and DJ Praney. A massive visual setup will be there to funk things up. Defuze comprises DJ Naik (Tunes mix), Prem Sagar on Guitars/Vocals, Amrutanshu Dash on Lead Vocals and Akshay Athreya on Drums Percussion. They mostly play Rock, Hard Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative, Power Metal and Carnatic Fusion music.
Be there to witness the fun.
Verba Maximus is the National Literary Festival of BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. As a part of this Literary Festival, they are hosting a stand-up comedy show that the bibliophiles can attend and relax after spending the day at the festival. This year, Verba Maximus will be seeing Biswa Kalyan Rath doing a stand-up comedy show. Biswa Kalyan Rath needs no introduction at all. He is one of the best known standup comedy artists in Bangalore and India at large. He owes his enormous fame to the infamous #39;Pretentious Movie Reviews#39; that went viral online. Watch him do a revamped #39;Pretentious Coffee Review#39; at Starbucks this week.
Entry to this event is Rs 300, available on Bookmyshow.
Silly Point is India#39;s first Cricket-themed stand-up comedy show that will feature jokes only on cricket. Why did Robin Singh puke on field? Was Anil Kumble India#39;s fastest bowler? The three hilarious artists are Rohit Swain, RajaSekhar Mamidanna and Hriday Ranjan.
The show will be hosted by RajaSekhar Mamidanna, a Harvard graduate and has a Ph.D in Information systems, he is a B. Tech Computer Science graduate and MBA marketing guy, who now, is good at making fun of both the degrees.
Rohit Swain is comic whose stage performances are a mix of Stand Up, impersonations, sketches funny songs on guitar which keeps his style of comedy delightfully amusing. He has been featured on NDTV#39;s The Rising Stars of Comedy where he was hilarious as hell. He is surely an act you should not miss.
Heartranjan is a writer and stand up comedian from Hyderabad. He began by winning the Punchline Contest in 2013, and has been tormenting his friends and family ever since. He runs the popular blog Heartranjan, but that isn#39;t much help, as his readers are either lazy, or broke.
Tickets available on Bookmyshow for Rs 300 and Rs 499.
If you share the love for tattoos, then this is one event to mark on your calendars. Since its a no childs play, a professional skilled hand is required for such an art, and who better then the well known celebrity tattoo expert - Sammer Patange. The artist will guide through the various desicion procedures involving - selection of design to getting it etched on your body. He is a well known artist with his own studio - Kraayonz, in Mumbai. He is the name behind the tattoos of many Bollywood clebreties such as Sanjay Dutt, Urmila Mantodkar, Hrithik, Sussane Roshan, Shruti Haasan and Sushmita Sen and now the man is finally in town personally to ink you!
Price: Rs 2,500 (Cosultation Fees)
Tickets available on Bookmyshow.com
Versatile musician Kohra and Harry Rait will be rocking your party night at The Farm. Kohra is the deep, hypnotic and often grungy mirror image of Madhav Shorey. Raw analog signals and lush soundscapes mixed with percussion sounds and sharp glitches is what can be heard through his mysterious productions. A style that is intelligent enough to mesmerize, yet simple enough to move you. Constantly paving the way for a new sub-culture of underground dance music is no task for the timid, which is why he has already become the first Indian to have hit the top 10 charts on global industry standards such as Beatport.
Harry is a true fanatic of the House and Techno Genres that he relentlessly supports, he’s spent the better part of the last decade developing his clean and minimalistic sound. Punchy kicks, euphoric melodies groovy Basslines with crisp highs are a staples of his sets.
Catch them live and enjoy the party.
The premium clubbing destination The Pirate Brew will be showcasing one of the biggest sundowner parties this weekend featuring DJ Abhinav and Rahul Sanga, two of the hottest deep, tech, techno and progressive musicians who will surely rock the night with their groovy beats.
Unlimited pours and entry for couple: Rs 2,499 and stags: Rs 1,499.
Spinland is one of the biggest annual global music festivals of India held in Hyderabad. The first edition of the 3 day festival will happen this year with top rated world class DJs from all over the world. The amenities provided will be camping tents accommodating 2 or 4 persons each. The festival will be setup in a sprawling 35 acres of land that will have a diverse section of shopping, supermarket, equipped with all varities of food, fruits, bakery items including European, Indian and Italian flavors for Spinlanders. The musician line up is: Gregor Salto from Netherlands, Marnik One- the Italian duo, Kshmr or Niles Hollowell-Dhar from California and others.
Gregor Salto: The versatile DJ and producer Gregor Salto from Haarlem, The Netherlands has been dominating the Dutch club scene for over a decade with his original dance music. Tracks like ‘Mas Que Nada’, ‘Paris Luanda’ and ‘Damelo’ seem to underline Salto’s identity as a Latin House artist, but a closer look shows his interest in Pop, Soul, African and World music.
Marnik One: Curated by Alessandro Martello, Emanuele Longo, the Progressive House musician duo from Milan have made their mark as one of the most promising talents in today’s scene as they quickly escalate the Beatport charts, perform electrifying sets around the world, and garner the support of dance music icons. Emanuele and Alessandro, known as Marnik, have truly impressed the masses with their distinct originals boasting tantalizing melodies influenced by trance and progressive house, resulting in pure anthemic productions that command each and every crowd.
Kshmr: Niles Hollowell-Dhar, better known by his stage name KSHMR is an Indian-American EDM producer from Berkeley, California. KSHMR has been producing electronic music under his own alias following David #39;#39;Campa#39;#39; Singer-Vine#39;s departure from the duo The Cataracs in 2014. He debuted at #23 on DJ Magazine#39;s Top 100 DJs of 2015, earning him an award for the highest new entry of the year. In 2014, Niles #39;#39;Cyranizzy#39;#39; Hollowell-Dhar started making electro house music under the alias of KSHMR. Under this name, he has charted on Beatport. KSHMR collaborations notably include Firebeatz, R3hab, Tiesto, Carnage, Timmy Trumpet and Dallas K.
Price of tickets: Rs 1000 for one day entry, Rs 1750 for two day entry, Rs 2500 for three day entry, Rs 15,000 for a tent for two, all inclusive and Rs 21,000 for a tent for three, available on Bookmyshow. Enjoy the one of a kind music and camping festival with your friends or partner.