Ennanga , ponga, vaanga… the Kongu dialect will be thrown in to bring on a few laughs at an upcoming stand-up comedy show in the city.
“It’s going to be an evening of laughter,” promises Navin, who is performing here for the first time.
“People in Coimbatore speak Tamil with respect. May be I will try and use lines like Ennanga Navin neenga loosu maari panreenga… It’s going to be quality comedy that doesn’t offend anyone.”
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Navin is a Chennai boy who studied engineering in Coimbatore and is now a software engineer in Bengaluru.
He performs stand-up comedy over the weekends and “I got into theatre and did a couple of plays but it involves a lot of people and you have to stick to a schedule. But stand-up comedy is an individual art form. It’s also tough, as you have to come up with something funny every time, but I keep improving. It’s my passion. When I come across something funny I make a note of it. Later, I give it a structure,” he says.
The show in Coimbatore has been organised by the Bangalore Comedy Club and Navin and his team offer 90 minutes of stand-up comedy that packs in a lot of live interaction with the audience.
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Navin says, “Suman Kumar, a novelist, comedian, and stay-at-home-dad, will add humour drawn from personal experiences. Satish Perumal, who has done over 500 shows, will pepper the show with jokes from the advertising industry where he comes from. And, Shunky R. Chugani, the Sindhi boy who grew up in Coonoor, shares the woes of life in a small town. Each of us has his own voice in comedy.”
Though about 60 per cent of the show is scripted, there is always room for spontaneous jokes, Navin says. “We try out new jokes at Open Mic stand-up comedy nights in Bengaluru where we perform for free. Based on how people react, we make changes and perform better the next time to a live audience. We have to adapt ourselves to the city and the audience we perform to. It doesn’t make sense to talk about traffic snarls in Coimbatore,” he says.
He also adds that stand-up comedians are not always funny. “We are like anyone else leading a normal life. I like travelling to new places and meeting new people. I am able to achieve both with my comedy shows. Earlier, I blogged about my thoughts. Now, I use comedy as an outlet to express my thoughts, my frustrations and my happy moments.”
Navin —who has done several shows in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and also in Pune, Mumbai and Gurgaon —rates Mumbai as the hub of stand-up comedy. “Bengaluru comes a close second. Chennai still has a long way to go. They expect more local flavour and political commentary in such shows. Coimbatore is deprived of entertainment options and it’s time such shows take place here. The crowd is educated, forward thinking, and will love it,” he says confidently.
He also wants to promote the concept of Open Mic shows in Coimbatore to encourage local talent. Despite the popularity of TV shows like Kapil Sharma Comedy Nights and comedy channels on YouTube, Navin says there are takers for live stand-up comedy shows, especially among youngsters. “They want to spend an evening doing something new. And it is in a live show that they get to interact, crack jokes and have lots of fun. People in Coimbatore will get a taste of it at our show. I am sure they will keep coming back for more.”
Venue: Hotel Vijay Elanza, Avinashi Road, Opposite To SMS Hotel, Behind BP Petrol Bunk, Peelamedu, Masakalipalayam, Coimbatore.
Date & Time: November 27, 7.30 p.m.
To buy tickets, visit https://in.bookmyshow.com/events/the-other-banana/ET00049198