Karou Charou: Hot & Spicy in The Mother

INDIAN stand-up comedians in South Africa are few and far between, with Riad Moosa arguably being the most well-known.

But others are beginning to make a name for themselves, like the enigmatic and charismatic Karou Charou, the stage name which Mahdevan Moodley has created to great effect. Karou Charou makes his Cape Town debut on Saturday, October 21, at Artscape with the show, Hot and Spicy.

Mahdevan burst on the scene just over eight years ago with the character of Karou Charou. While many comics often play the club scene for a good few years, honing their skills before venturing into stage productions, Mahdevan launched his career with a one-man show.

Using the Karou Charou character, he produced an adult show called Kama Sutra, which dealt with sex in the Indian community. According to Sagren Moodley, Mahdevan’s managing agent, critics and naysayers were of the opinion that the show would flop.

He explains: “The show premiered with three sold-out performances and went on to sell out a further four shows when it returned a month later by public demand. Mahdevan then took the show on a cross-country tour, selling out a further 10 shows.”

The Karou Charou character subsequently appeared in other one-man shows developed by Mahdevan, including Don’t Dalla wid da Masala, Madhir and Kama Sutra 2.

Sagren continues: “All the shows went on to achieve further soldout successes at premiere venues such as Izulu Theatre at Sibaya, Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City and Theatre of Marcellus at Emperors Palace, making Mahdevan and his alter ego Karou Charou among the most commercially successful entertainers on the South African circuit, amassing a strong fan base both nationally and internationally.”

Sagren says that the character of Karou Charou became so popular that a well-known international fast food franchise used him as the face of a burger campaign. Mahdevan has taken the Charou character and shows to Botswana and Zimbabwe. He is currently working on a tour to Australia.

Although Karou initially made his mark as a comedian focusing on adult humour, through subsequent shows he managed to garner a fan base that ranged from children as young as four years old to senior citizens. Based on the response from a wide variety of audiences, Mahdevan created a family show titled Hot and Spicy.

Sagren says the show will see the “turbaned one” perform some of his best material from his various shows over the past years.

Among other things, he will reveal why most Indians can’t swim, why Indians choose not to play rugby and how Indians put the “fun” in funerals.

Mahdevan adds that the Charou character has a very interactive style, which means the audience plays a big part in the show.

His mental telepathy stunt involving two audience members, a pack of cards, an egg-beater and a blindfold will leave you gobsmacked.