Vasu Primlani does not just make you laugh, she also makes you think. Her comedy is layered, with satire and logic, and that is why her stand-up act stays with you, like it did when she performed at the Gender Bender event at the Bangalore International Centre, recently.
Among her most popular acts are A for Allahabad , Demonitisation , Delhi men vs Mumbai men , and Ubola (Uber and Ola). Vasu has won a slew of awards, including the President of India’s highest honour given to women — the NariShakti Award (2016). She is also a triathlete, environmentalist, chef and actor.
Vasu Primlani
Ahead of her performance, Vasu speaks about how she weaves in niche topics into her jokes and still makes them relatable to every kind of audience.
“Comedians have to talk about issues important to them. It’s called finding your voice. And issues like civic sense, democracy, environment, civil rights are important to me.
“So as a comedian, I have chosen to make my comedy meaningful. I shed light on issues we don’t talk about, and it is an academic exercise, so the message is deep. The magic of comedy is that you can convert data into a few sentences that is entertaining and the message is delivered effectively.”
In this age of information overload and with nuances lost in social media, how does she put across her point of view? “I am known for my subtleties in my comedy. So on the face of it, the vehemently-aggressive will agree with it.
“I am saying exactly that. That is what satire is, you don’t know which edge of the blade you fall on. But there are layers of meaning. Some just get the face value, they don’t hear the inverted commas, and there are those who do get the nuance.
“That tells you there is another India. You see, the nation gets depressed. India is not high on the happiness index. Comedians then put their finger on the pulse of pain of depression and we relieve that pain.”
She says thinking deeply over a joke appeals to her. “For me a laugh for laughter’s sake is not enough. There needs to be something more. I like to have an emotive value as well as the intellectual titillation, so that the audience will not forget my performance. I remember middle-aged CEOs came up to me in Bengaluru and repeated every joke I had said.”
She believes in holding up a mirror to society without being judgemental. “I am a change maker. We have heard jokes that are silly, cute, and dirty, but as long as they are funny, you can discuss any topic. I once did a show in Delhi and an elderly man walked up to me, and said, ‘I admit I look at women like the way Delhi men do, but I promise I won’t do so from tomorrow.
“One woman came up to me and said, ‘I hadn’t smiled in three days, until I saw your show’, and another person said, ‘Thank you for making my friend’s last days so happy’ (he had terminal cancer).”
Vasu is also an inspirational speaker and somatic therapist, who has worked with rape and suicide survivors, as well as rapists and murderers. “I took up somatic practice because I have been in a dark place myself.
“As a five-year-old, I was raped for two years. So I grew up hating myself and then it came to a point when I could not live like that any more. I did a year’s course in San Francisco and have been practising as a somatic therapist for 10 years now.”
Vasu is also among the few comedians, who do stand-up acts in both Hindi and English, though she candidly admits: “I do a lot of research and work on the shuddh Hindi words because I think in English.”
Environmental causes are close to her heart. In fact, she is pursuing her PhD which addresses pollution.
“It is about cutting down fuel consumption based on the way you drive. Do you think bad driving has an impact on fuel consumption?
“Take a bicycle, brake every 10 metres, will you use more energy?”
With that thought, she takes her leave.
