“I TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT AFFECT ME, ANGER ME OR INSPIRE ME”
PAVITRA SHETTY, 28, Comedienne, Mumbai
Growing up, Pavitra Shetty would steal her father’s cell phone and quickly learn all the SMS jokes in order to be able to recite them to his friends. “My dad is a doctor, so there were a lot of “non-veg” jokes because these doctors have really corrupted brains,” she laughs, recalling how as a child she was always ready to perform for everyone without the customary parental requests. Now at 28, she’s an IT engineer with Deloitte by day and one of the most promising comediennes on the scene by night.
“About two-and-a-half years ago, there was the first women’s open mic happening in Mumbai, being hosted by Aditi Mittal,” she recalls. After being tagged on Twitter by all her friends to participate, Shetty wrote her “script” (she didn’t know what a “set” was at the time) and recited it to one of her “townie friends”. “She said, ‘This is not funny.’ I rewrote it two days before the event and she liked the second one.” And it worked. Soon, Shetty started getting open spots, and from performing once a month, she went on to doing a gig a week, until it took over her life.
“I speak about my personal life experiences. It’s something I enjoy talking about even if it’s for the hundredth time,” she says. “There’s this uniqueness but also a relatability factor.” Shetty draws inspiration from her mother and she’s constantly scribbling notes to replicate exactly what is being said to her when the two squabble. “The moment you make a joke out of something that annoys you—it liberates you. Usually as a comic I talk about things that affect me, piss me off or inspire me,” she says.
“When I went up on stage for the first time and did my set, I had a lot of guy comics who came up to me and said, ‘Damn, you’re really good for a female comic.’ I was like, ‘umm I’m good in general.” Shetty believes people are ready to listen and learn, and “if you show them you’re talented, they’ll shut up”.