Forty. That is how many cities Rahul Dua is visiting as part of Oh Hello! , his first solo tour. It is ambitious, admits the Comicstaan season one runner-up, who will be performing in the city on Sunday, October 13. He adds that this is also the first time that any Indian stand-up comedian will visit as many cities as part of one single tour.
The little things
But that doesn’t deter the 28-year-old, who is confident that the relatability of his material (he is hesitant to reveal the content of his new set) will strike a chord with audiences. That his earlier videos have clocked in millions of views on YouTube only adds to the assurance. “I will get to a point where I want the audience to take away something from my set, but for now I want them to have a blast,” says Dua, who thinks of himself not as a comic on stage but as a friend in the drawing room, there to share a story. “I have moved away from anecdotes to storytelling,” he says. What that means is “not doing multiple small sections but having a common thread running through the entire set, while introducing new characters and situations. It has a start, middle and an end and is so much more fun”.
It is one of the changes Dua has brought into his style. He isn’t going after the low-hanging fruit, if you will. “You know that a joke that’s critical of Mumbai will do well in Delhi and vice versa. But I’ve started to move away from such safe material,” he adds.
Transcending boundaries
All this is part of his learnings from the past four years, of which Comicstaan was a huge influence. “I was two years into comedy when the show happened. None of us had any idea just how big it would be for us. It changed everything — for instance, I learnt that I was far from ready for a set, and that in stand-up, every line needs to be funny,” he says.
One of the defining characteristics of Dua’s set is how it is generously peppered with Hindi or Punjabi phrases. “My Hindi is simple, something that [anyone] can easily consume. Even if someone misses out on a couple of words, they will gather the essence of the joke. The sentiment will transcend the language barrier,” says Dua, who is looking forward to his second visit to Chennai, having thoroughly enjoyed himself in the city earlier this year. “I loved my first visit and it was certainly one of my better performances. I didn’t explore the city much, so I do hope to get out and explore the nightlife this time around,” says the comic, who heads off to Bhopal next.
Oh Hello! is for audiences above 16 years. Shows on October 13 at 5.45 pm and 7.30 pm at The Spotted Hyena, Phoenix MarketC ity. Tickets at ₹499 onwards at in.bookmyshow.com .
