Azeem Banatwalla: ‘It’s the golden age of web series’

Kicking off his ‘Problems’ Tour, the comedian reminds us that things are going to be okay — relatively speaking

Laughing at life Azeem Banatwalla M Periasamy

Tell Azeem Banatwalla about your problems and he may have a different take on the whole thing. How? Enter his ‘Problems’ Tour, his 20-stop tour across India which also features five international destinations: Singapore, Dubai, Bangkok, London and Kuala Lumpur. Hyderabad is the second stop and Azeem is fuelled for fun in one of his favourite cities, explaining, “I love Hyderabad; the city honestly has the craziest crowd. Over the course of one show, I received seven standing ovations and that was really something.”

Sporting a short bio ‘I tell jokes for money. Your offence is free,’ the East India Comedy veteran will have your interest piqued. In April, he completed his part in the Melbourne Comedy Festival which exposed him to different styles of comedy of which he wasn’t aware. Do check out his Facebook page for a hint of what’s to come for Problems. Living in an age of political correctness and outrage culture, Azeem doesn’t shy away from artistic license nor does he deliver punchlines for shock value. This probably stems from the fact that he has a background in journalism. “Despite my background, comedy has opened up new avenues to explore topics I hadn’t prior to all of this, such as aspects of the beef ban discourse.”

“I’ll be addressing issues within our government as well as social dilemmas like overpopulation. It may leave some people thinking ‘okay that’s a very different way to look at it.’ I’ve been doing trial shows for the tour for about three months and I feel pretty geared up,” he explains, “and there was quite a bit of adjustment here and there. See, style in comedy is something that progresses slowly but surely. So I’m actually planning on implementing a Powerpoint presentation to add a bit of a kick to the show.” He chuckles a little right then.

So how much of his set is ‘planned?’ He responds, “maybe 20% of my writing actually ends up on stage. There is an element of improv I see in other comedians’ sets but I do what feels natural. I find I tend to make use of the ‘on-stage down-time’ to formulate something fresh which does end up working on varying crowds. Plus my work on

EIC versus The World on Amazon Prime was a great deviation off the scripted nature stand-up shows tend to have. I really enjoy that on the show; we sit and discuss issues candidly and that in itself fuels different comedies and perspectives. Engaging with different platforms is really important and, right now, it is the golden age of web series.”

So trust a guy who’s done over 500 shows all over India and Asia, and is pretty much a one-man-show. “I tend to do most of the planning and scheduling on my own,” he reflects, “and, in a way, that keeps my grounded, on my toes and away from complacency.” So bear witness to Azeem’s lack of complacency this weekend, for sure.

Azeem Banatwalla’s ‘Problems’ will be taking place at Bhaskara Auditorium on October 6 at 8:30pm. Tickets are available via bookmyshow.in at ₹499 onwards.