A new comedy club in Navi Mumbai is leaving no joke unturned in making stand-up stand out in the satellite city amidst testing times; the club’s mission — more relevant than ever now — with the city and its extended suburbs turning into a giant excavation site
A moment from the club’s initial experimental shows at the new venue
Hello, sir. There’s a comedy show going on. Want to join?” a voice answers when we dial comedian Rahul Singh on a weeknight. It takes us a second to realise Singh isn’t talking to us yet. He’s pacing through the halls of Raghuleela Mall in Vashi, trying to fill seats at his recently co-founded Navi Mumbai Comedy Club, an effort to make comedy accessible in the neighbourhood. Comedy isn’t the easiest thing to sell right now, and Singh knows it — he was a contestant on India’s Got Latent (IGL), the series at the centre of all the controversy right now. But more on that in a moment.
Rajesh Murugan, Rahul Singh and Gajanan Bolewar
Over our call, which has by now doubled as a live feed of Singh hustling to pack the show, the comedian finds a taker. Tickets? Free — like we said, comedy isn’t the easiest thing to sell right now. “It has become a tad easier after the IGL episode aired, to be honest. Some of the shoppers recognise my face,” Singh admits. Their adda is an embodiment of the founders’ hustle itself. A music academy by day, the space transforms into a comedy club when the curtains fall; this curtain sports the club’s logo. “Having a recognisable logo is half the job done, when your videos start making the rounds on social media,” Singh laughs.
The club’s mission — more relevant than ever now — with the city and its extended suburbs turning into a giant excavation site, is to cut the commute time for budding Navi Mumbai comedians who make the pilgrimage to the home of live gigs in Bandra and Andheri every week. “During one of my crowd interactions at a Bandra venue, I asked people where they came from, and we had audience members from Ulwe, Thane, and Belapur. If the comedians are from the far-off suburbs, and so is the audience, just what were we doing in Bandra?” Singh recalls his ‘Eureka moment.’
The space operates as a music academy during the day and transforms into a comedy haunt at night to host the club’s shows
Among the comedians that have more time on their hands now is co-founder Gajanan Bolewar, a Vidharbha-born Kamothe-based real estate broker who dons the stand-up cap after working hours. “I would get home from the western suburbs at odd hours like 2.30 am, dreading having to return to work the next morning,” he recalls. This weekend, Bolewar will host an exclusively Marathi stand-up show at the club featuring budding artistes. “The key is to keep experimenting. We’re still gauging what the audience here likes and dislikes. The new programming will help us test the regional comedy waters here,” he adds.
Funny as these comedians might be, a good laugh doesn’t pay their rent, certainly not in this city. Singh explains the math: A comedian pays a R100 entry fee for a spot on the show. “Since we offer free tickets on weekdays, we manage to only break even with the rent. On weekends, when audiences pay to watch, we take home a modest profit,” he reveals. It’s a good enough deal for Matunga-based comedian Rajesh Murugan to make the trip to Navi Mumbai. “It’s all about stage time. The audience might be more enthusiastic at more popular venues, but it’s tough to find a slot in the first place, given the already saturated line-ups,” he reasons.
Ask the trio how they plan on sustaining the club and they unanimously quote the double-edged sword hanging over their heads — social media virality. “Even a few viral videos are enough to put us on the map. But more eyes also bring more criticism,” Singh admits. A good time to address the elephant in the room, we reckon. “Setting up a new club is undoubtedly a risk in the current climate. We make our fair share of sex, self-depreciation, and dark jokes. At best, there’s roaring laughter; at worst, we see people get up and leave silently. This gives us some faith in the audience to cling on to,” Singh adds.
Murugan, whose jokes didn’t manage to fly under the radar like Singh’s, tells a different story. “I was performing for a mixed crowd at a Mulund pub two years ago. One of the interactions didn’t sit well with a middle-aged gentleman, and things escalated to threats of beating us to a pulp,” he sighs. “We have an internal group discussion before any joke makes it to the stage. If we realise it crosses a line or punches down to an already disadvantaged group, we discard it right away,” Murugan reveals.
Everything said and done, the trio still believes what they present on stage is merely a mirror to society. They leave us with an interesting statistic to ponder upon: “In the past few weeks, we have experimented with all kinds of material. We run a family-friendly, clean comedy show called Laughter Therapy, and an adults-only show called Love Sex and Dhoka later in the night. While the former has been struggling to fill even five seats, the latter had people line up outside the venue to catch a punchline.”
ON Monday to Friday, 8.30 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 4 pm
AT Navi Mumbai Comedy Club, next to INOX, Raghuleela Mall, Vashi. LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.in ENTRY R99 onwards
Laugh around town
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