Bhargav Ramakrishnan, popularly known as Baggy, brought Kungfu Bonda to share with people in Visakhapatnam. It was an account of hisshenanigans as a bachelor in Chennai. Pages The Book shop was the venue for the event, held in collaboration with Vizag Komedians, a local stand-up group.
Almost immediately, Baggy got into the act that was really more like a conversation with his audience. He did not spare two people in the front row who couldn’t keep their hands off their phones! After relentlessly interrogating them (in a funny way), he ensured no one else dare take their mobiles out. “It is very disrespectful. The artistes have a responsibility to inform the audience so that no one uses their phone in a live performance in future,” he said.
He said it was his responsibility as an artiste to take the audience way from its comfort zone. Along with hilarious accounts of his experiences with his landlord, parents and girlfriend, he also addressed issues like gender equality, self-acceptance and being tolerant of people who were different.
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Baggy started his career as a producer in Chennai for various live shows in 2010. “My years as a producer helped to deliver my content in the best possible way when I started doing solo performances in 2014,” he said. Even at Pages The Book Shop, he helped to set up the stage and lighting. Baggy has performed in more than 40 cities in India and has travelled to the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.
“There are moments when I just want to get over with the tour. This feeling is strongest on the day of the performance. But as soon as I get on the stage, such thoughts disappear,” he added.
Baggy feels organizations like Vizag Komedians and Pages The Book Shop play an important role in keeping the stand-up comedy scene alive. “The culture of paying for comedy shows will grow when local artistes are given the space to perform. Quite often the audience and the artistes are priced out because of the venue’s cost. The prices should be inviting for the majority and not just for some section of the city.”
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Manik Mehta, from Vizag Komedians, opened the event. Pointing out the silver-lining of the venue he said, “If the jokes don’t make you laugh, feel free to grab a book.” If anyone did make an attempt to read a book, they wouldn’t have gone beyond the first page, because Baggy held everyone’s attention for 100 minutes straight.