The set that broke stand-up

In his latest video titled Instagram aur Content, comedian Punit Pania takes a dig at other comedians for selling out, and points out how stand-up is a profession of privilege

I have always been a little snobbish about stand-up, preferring British and American comedians to Indian ones because they always seem miles ahead in their craft. But the most recent video by Punit Pania released this week shows that the Indian scene has slowly started to mature.

“You either die a hero or live long enough to be content creator yourself,” he says at the start of the video, which shows a level of self-awareness rarely seen in Indian comics, who often talk about topics like marriage, relationships and sex.

Stand-up comedy in India will not be taken seriously until a comedian commits suicide, believes Pania, putting his money on Aakash Mehta doing it on live stream.

He rants about the recent trends where all comedians now have become content creators more concerned with views and engagement to sell products rather than make good jokes that has led to the loss of dignity. “The best ads are closest to deception and the best standup is closest to the truth,” says Pania as the audience breaks into applause.

What he finds disappointing about other comedians is that they are smarter than they appear, where one might talk about reading Sapiens in the green room, and get on stage and do the same jokes about his wife not knowing to cook or the maid not coming.

He says that stand-up is the highest form of privilege, adding, “What do you do for a living? I think!” Which is why, it's a luxury that has been the domain of male comedians. And he is aware that he can be this honest because he is fair, upper caste, male and above all a homeowner in Mumbai.

He ends by saying that “we should not begrudge anyone their content or take feedback seriously. Because reality is expensive in this country and illusions are cheap.”