Comedy Archives - Page 2 of 3

21 Years of Hera Pheri: This Priyadarshan Comedy is Greatest Uplifter of All Time

In these dark times, my friends and I turn to Hera Pheri, the heist comedy that informed our childhoods. The Priyadarshan film is a bunch of guffaw-worthy skits, where the narrative is secondary. It has aged perfectly for the meme generation with our ten-second attention spans and voracious appetite for punchlines.

Jackie Thakkar May 28, 2016

Pop Culture

Netflix’s Russian Doll Reveals the Hidden Cost of “Inconsequential” Decisions

Nadia on Russian Doll becomes a proxy for the viewer as she scrutinises her life while stuck in an endless time loop, confronting all the decisions she ever took for granted.

Meghalee Mitra May 20, 2016

Bollywood

There is More To Juhi Chawla Beyond Her Giggles

Throughout her career, Juhi Chawla has consistently played women who are funny and boisterous. The typical “giggly girl” stencil set by Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, was a weapon that Juhi Chawla wielded with perfection. But Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is final proof that she is no ordinary actor.

Runjhun Noopur May 19, 2016

POV

Why Seinfeld Would Have Failed at Indian Stand-Up

Jerry Seinfeld’s new Netflix special releases tonight. The man has been an inspiration to several budding comics, but would he have been written off as a fluff comic with no spine today?

Jackie Thakkar May 5, 2016

Pop Culture

Nanette: Hannah Gadsby’s Angry Anti-Comedy is Perfect For the Age of #MeToo

In Nanette, Hannah Gadsby offers up her anger and pain on a plate and refuses to lace it with laughter. She deconstructs the hypocrisy of a joke and the manipulation of comedy. But, most importantly, she disallows a comedy special to reduce her life to a punchline.

Priyanjana Roy April 27, 2016

Gender

Siren Is Here, Let’s Give It A Loud Cheer!

A two-day music and comedy festival, Arré SIREN features the first-ever fully female lineup of acts. Blasphemous things will be said, unladylike jokes will be cracked, and songs of cheer will ring out loud.

Arré March 29, 2016

POV

What it Means to be an Unfunny Person in the Age of Stand-ups and Comedy Specials

It’s a particularly bad time to be born without the ability to make people laugh. Stand-up is the new guitar that everyone wants to leave their careers for. And in this Age of Lols, the struggle of those born without the funny bone is real.

Ananya N March 25, 2016

Pop Culture

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel Asks, “What’s So Funny About Checking Your Privilege?”

As a privileged upper-class woman, Midge Maisel keeps her comedy a secret from her elite social circle. But the second season of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel explores Midge’s anxiety as her disparate worlds collide.

Kahini Iyer March 23, 2016

Pop Culture

BoJack Horseman Does What The Simpsons Can’t

A cartoon featuring a horse person is a better illustration of the millennial situation than most live-action and other shows with regular humans.

Dushyant Shekhawat March 19, 2016

Pop Culture

How Inside Jokes Helped Me Understand the Crisis in Indian Stand-Up Comedy

The #MeToo allegations that have marred the Indian comedy scene in the last few weeks had convinced me that I was done with stand-up. Then I stumbled upon Inside Jokes. The six-part docu series gets inside the heads of seven amateur comedians and highlights the transient nature of comedy.

Devang Pathak March 17, 2016