On the first weekend of every month, a group of people gather at a pre-announced café. The crowd, mostly, is a mix of students and young professionals, and occasionally, the middle-aged and elderly. Here new bonds are formed before settling down, coffee in hand. This is a common scene in the cafes over the weekend. In a city that is still taking slow steps towards finding newer entertainment cultures, a few good guys are making room for amateur comics with open mic nights at cafes. With the evolving café culture of the city, now an evening at a café has gone beyond just sharing a cuppa to include a good dose of laughter as well. A great place to spot talent early and for performers to realise what lies on the road ahead, the open mics have become a regular feature, thanks to the efforts of the group of Vizag Komedians. Manik Mehta and Sourabh Sinha, the names behind the group, say that the open mics have not only helped the standup comedy culture to grow in Vizag but is also, a win-win situation for amateurs and the city cafes that are springing up at every nook and corner. Vizag Komedians hosts two shows or open mics every month. “In our first open mic, there were very few who turned up. Those were the days when we had to struggle to find venues and had a hard time explaining the concept to café owners. We have come a long way since then,” says Sourabh Sinha, a third year B.Tech student.
New concept
On Sunday, Vizag Komedians hosted a first-of-its-kind show at Kala – The Art Café at Lawsons Bay Colony with Hyderabad based comedian Rajasekhar Mamidan. Titled ‘The Legend of Ram’ it was a retelling of the Ramayana from a comedian’s perspective in a non-offensive manner. For a city, which is still has to tread some miles to reach the level of Hyderabad or Mumbai when it comes to standup comedy, this was something very different. The show was sold out with nearly 50 people gathering at the cosy café to listen to Rajasekhar bring alive the epic story in 80 minutes of performance. Says Rajasekhar: “The standup comedy culture in Vizag has grown significantly in recent years. The last time I came here was in 2015 and the crowd was not even half the size; it was a very different crowd. I was sceptical to try out ‘The Legend of Ram’ here, but the response I got was terrific.” The 33-year-old standup comedian attributes this change to the regular open mics being hosted in the city. “This was a very different style of comedy. It was a story-telling style which required me to build-up an engaging story from the start till the end to get the attention of the audience. I was surprised to see the crowd here,” says Rajasekhar, an MBA graduate and now a full-time standup comedian. Having spent a good number of time doing research on his content for ‘The Legend of Ram’, he now plans to take the show to Chennai, Kochi and Coimbatore in the next leg. Agreeing to the fact that open mics give a great platform where amateur talent is put to test, night after night, he adds that eventually, this is here winners are born.
College fests
College fests in the city have also gone through a change with open mics and standup comedy shows being now being included as one of the main highlights. Recently, IIM Visakhapatnam’s maiden cultural fest ‘Samaarambh 17’ featured a special show by standup comedian Shridhar Venkataramana, an IIM Bengaluru graduate, that saw a great crowd converge at the venue. GITAM University, too, is planning to host a standup comedy show in its upcoming annual college festival. The content in these shows have grown past slapstick and mimicry. In campuses, regional stereotyping is old hat; stand-up has become a lot more news-driven. This could be assessed at Venkataramana’s show that had a good dose of political overtones being lapped up by the youngsters.
Cafés, the new venue
Cafes like The Gallery, Moksha Restocafe, Kala The Art Gallery and Plot 17 have supported the cause of open mics and standup comedy shows by offering their space for open mics, where you will find a stream of 20-somethings eagerly making their way every weekend to try out the content before a new audience. “Cafes give a cosy setup which is easier for the standup comic to connect with the audience,” says Sinha. It has also given rise to a healthy competition among the amateurs. “I don’t miss a single open mic or show hosted in the city. Most of us anyways meet our friends in the cafes during weekends. The open mics and standup comedy shows just adds to the fun. It is a great way to unwind and bond with friends,” says Prasanth Mandava, a third year B.Tech student. Mandava is now gearing up to try his luck in one of the open mics to see if his jokes connect well with the crowd here. Despite the growing number of venues willing to host these open mics, th«e participants feel that a lot more places will help the scene grow better.
