Director-writer Paritosh Painter realised one of his long-time dreams in April this year — writing and performing a stand-up show. “Since this is my first time as a stand-up comedian it took me a while — almost a year-and-a-half to put the show together,” Paritosh says. “After watching my plays and films, people have a certain expectation of me and I wanted to do something good. I needed quality material that would sustain audience’s interest for an hour and ten minutes.”
Before deciding on his subject, Paritosh performed mock shows for audiences on various subjects such as Bollywood and politics. “But the one that got the most laughs was on understanding women,” he adds. While Paritosh usually takes three to four months to write a play, he says he spent more time on this act and took a lot of advice from his wife too. “She told me if something didn’t work and offered suggestions for material too.”
There’s always curiosity about women among men, Paritosh says, about what’s going on in their minds and that’s what his show is all about. “It adds to the humour and people who have seen the show, like Nigar and Gauhar Khan, have told me that it was as if I knew exactly what was playing on their minds,” he adds. Although it is in the humour space and Paritosh insists he isn’t trying to be preachy he says that couples would benefit the most from his show. “It can make a lot of difference and help men understand the women in their lives a little better. But in essence it needn’t just be a man and his wife or girlfriend but it could even help him understand his mother, sister or women friends better,” he says.
Having travelled to the city with all his plays, Paritosh hopes to win the audience over with his debut stand-up act too. “Pooja Malhotra was keen on bringing the act to Chennai,” he adds. “I am still evolving as there’s a huge difference between theatre and stand-up. In the former, you have a cast to support you if you fumble. Here, you are on your own and that can be scary,” he says. From Eddy Murphy to Vir Das, Paritosh has been seeing a lot of acts. “As research, I have been catching every stand-up I can. It’s too early to say I have a distinctive style of my own but I hope to get there soon,” he adds before signing off.
Paritosh Painter will perform Women Decoded at Hotel The Leela Palace on June 30, 7 p.m. For details call, 9840955556
