Making no (funny) bones about it
Once a rarity, women stand-up comic are breaking the humour barriers. SAPNA SARFARE finds out whether these women still face biases while they try to poke fun at the audience
The tougher things you throw at women, the stronger they return. One of the biggest charges thrown is the lack of funny bone. Yet lately Indian ladies are tickling you with funny tales and throwing all bias out of the window. But the journey has been tough, and definitely not funny.
Let’s start from the start
Ace stand-up comedian Neeti Palta began writing at the age of six which included nasty limericks to bug her elder brother. “Exploring the different genres of writing, I’ve realised that I have an affinity for writing comedy. I had gone to see Collin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of the ‘Who’s Line Is It Anyway?’ fame perform in Delhi. They have a round in which they ask for volunteers to provide sound effects for them. I was one such volunteer. After some point I decided to randomly start making crazy sound effects and they had to keep weaving their story around it. At the end, Colin said I was really funny and should try my hand at stand-up comedy. Fortunately, there were some people running open mics in Delhi who approached me to try out my hand at stand-up. It’s only when people started offering money that it dawned on me that I could make a profession out of it!”
Another funnybones, Vasu Primlani began her tryst with comedy courtesy an advice she asked her successful male comedian friend from US. “I asked about how to get into this and he showed me the way. That’s it!”
Appearances matter
Vasu narrates amusingly that most do not find her comic as she appears more serious. “Even when I go up on the stage, people just do not believe that I am a stand-up comedian.”
Acclaimed stand-up comic Radhika Vaz reveals, “Being a woman in comedy is exactly like being a woman in any job. The first few of us are an oddity and so the initial reactions can range from utter delight to utter horror. When I started back in 2011, no one was talking honestly about sex from the female perspective. These are hard conversations in India even though they are the most important ones and as you can imagine this type of content pushes people to think! But then that is my job as a comic is to say the things not everyone wants to hear.”
A rare breed
Neeti recalls, “We are still a bit of a rarity. Sometimes when we say something edgy you can hear the sound of judgement. But then I got noticed because I was a woman. Thankfully I could back that up with being funny! Audiences are becoming more comedy savvy. There are more female comedians. Women audiences are mostly always supportive. But I still prefer performing for a mixed audience because there’s extra joy in making them all laugh.” One might be amused to inquire whether the reactions are different from women. Radhika states, “My experience has actually been that regardless of gender or age the people get my humour are typically socially progressive by nature. Anyone who believes that gay people shouldn’t be allowed to marry or that women shouldn’t have premarital sex is not my audience!”
Surprise package
Vasu recalls seeing people having a hard time believing that women can be funny or that their jokes can be relatable. “A friend came to my show – India’s first all women comedy show. He said that he wasn’t sure that women could make him laugh. Afterwards, he told me that even at 4 am, he was till laughing. It was definitely a surprise for him.”
Of course, not all reactions are good. Neeti reveals, “Some are quite subtle and some notso-subtle pick up lines if you stay back and have a drink with the corporate types after a corporate show. Sometimes there is a mindset: If she’s open on the stage she’s open in life.”
Bias galore
But does the bias still exist? Vasu think it does. “There is a general attitude that women are not funny.” She narrates the incidence of a survey in India where 15 male stand-up comedians were mentioned but no women comics. Neeti ruefully states, “I’d like to believe that we ladies have made a dent. But bias still exists.”
Of course, dealing with it will be part of any good women stand-up comics’ life. Neeti really thinks certain pros and cons come with any gender. “In comedy, I got noticed because of my gender first and then thankfully enough I was funny. I hate it when people mindlessly brand a female comedian’s stuff as ‘chick comedy’. How come a male comedian’s comedy never gets branded ‘stud comedy’? There are so many male comedians making jokes about their wives or girlfriends and it’s all in good spirit. But if I make jokes about men I get comments from guys calling me sexist! A female artist expressing an opinion on social media invites trolling of a sexual nature. But there has also been enough support and encouragement from men. Also, as a woman I am in a unique position to be able to call women out on their bullshit as well without immediately being branded a misogynist or a sexist (I hope!). After all we should be able to take as good as we give,” she says.
Vasu reveals, “Once you see our shows, you realise that female comedians are equally funny. At the end of the day, we are all just professionals. But we do not get as much opportunities as they (men) should.”
For wannabe trailblazers
Radhika advises, “Comedy and the performance of it goes against the old-fashioned principles of femininity. Ladies thinking of joining the force will hear the conservative patriarchal type say ‘oh women shouldn’t say things like that’, you will hear the uptight aunty type say ‘women shouldn’t do things like that especially not on stage’. Remember – you are clearly doing something right. Keep doing it. Do not back down because that is how sexism wins.”
Vasu adds, “Ultimately, the person who gauges how funny you are is your audience. It’s wonderful, though the ration is very much skewed in this world much more than engineering.” Neeti ends by saying, “We’re funny. Come buy tickets to our show while you can still afford them!”
BEING A WOMAN IN COMEDY IS EXACTLY LIKE BEING A WOMAN IN ANY JOB. THE FIRST FEW OF US ARE AN ODDITY AND SO THE INITIAL REACTIONS CAN RANGE FROM UTTER DELIGHT TO UTTER HORROR. RADHIKA VAZ