Neville Shah has had enough of the same old questions. Instead, he wishes people would ask him what he’s actually like. Isn’t that a bit too self-indulgent? He laughs and says, “You’re right: we comics can’t change the outcome of an election, so people probably don’t care about our opinions that much.”
Riding high on the success of his recent Amazon Prime special, What are you laughing at? , Shah is back in town with a set that he says toys with a brand of comedy that India’s still getting warmed up to: dark humour. “It’s pretty popular in the West,” he tells us. A syntax that he says works in a place like America that’s slightly ahead of the comedy curve, his punchlines are risky. It’s a chance he’s willing to take in an attempt to push the envelope in the hopes for a brighter future for the country’s stand-up scene.
“It’s difficult to do political jokes because we lack a sense of absolute freedom of speech,” he laments. Shah blames it on the restrictions, a byproduct of the nation’s own identity crisis.
The future is now
He says the struggle is a multifaceted one. And yet, it all hinges on the recognition of what he calls ‘the ultimate joke.’ “A really great joke is when you don’t see it coming,” he explains, adding that the possibility to influence the social sphere through a set of well-crafted jokes is an untapped one. Ask him why, and the flood gates open to a world of change that he hopes to see follow.
“Opportunities for female comics, for one,” he says. “A woman’s voice is extremely necessary because there are experiences that we, as men, will never be able to do justice to. Because we simply don’t know.” And that’s just the beginning. Performing largely in English, Shah says his ‘slice-of-life’ content is what he hopes connects artist to the audience.
“I pick topics that are more humanitarian in nature. Once you decide to tell a certain story, language is just the vehicle.” Regional comedy, he says, is just as strong, though the use of a universal language is something he would like to propagate himself, broadening the reach of eastern comedy. “I’ve always tried to make sure that my material is global. At most, it’s shown through an Indian lens. That way, the experience of the joke holds true.”
Chennai, to him, is familiar ground. Visiting the city for the third time, Shah’s reminded of his first performance down South. “I performed during the 2015 floods. There were hardly any people, but we had a blast. Karthik (Kumar) convinced me: he said the city needed to laugh,” he remembers. The vibe, he says, has set the bar high. Back almost two years later, he’s looking forward to a full-house where he can introduce a whole new set of jokes. “I’m planning to go dark, and I hope Chennai’s ready for the ride.”
Neville Shah performs at Bay 146, Savera Hotel, in conjunction with Evam Entertainment, on Sunday at 7.30 pm.
