It's no laughing matter

Stand up comedian Abhineet Mishra’s recent act on the Meghalaya mining incident has been a wake-up call for many.  Gone are the days when stand up comedy was just about making people laugh

Comedy is perhaps the strongest way to connect with the youngsters right now and stand-up comedians are using their talent to get audience’s attention on social issues which otherwise are go unnoticed. While they are ready for applause and bricks and bats for their acts, this section of the talent is becoming stronger and voicing opinions through their act while others choose to be diplomatic.

Comedian Abhineet Mishra’s recently released video against the government and public ignorance on Meghalaya’s mining incident has triggered an outrage amongst those who follow him. The video’s tone is comic but sans audience and is made like any other similar video. But Abhineet’s anger against the government and media is evident when he talks about the rescue operations not being swift enough to help them and their grieving families. He took a jibe at the ignorance the North-East Indian state faced, which is also his hometown.

The miners got trapped in a rat hole on December 13 during illegal mining in Meghalaya, are still stuck there. The first body was recovered on January 22 by the Indian Navy.

I genuinely feel that every artist in their respective fields create a sense of persona around them and have a style. My choice is to deliver steady humour on the stage but at the same time I definitely an inclination to import a lot of content from social issues. The fact that I come from North-East, I know the blindfolded approach media and the government has. It’s my responsibility is to fill in the loops that are there or for that matter the government. Two weeks after the tragedy, barring one story nothing was there,” says Abhineet.

He goes on to add, “I was just angry. I put out the video which was experimental in many ways. When you do something like this, there is a certain sense of satisfaction you have. As a stand-up comedian, you really need to understand the worth of your talent.  If you feel very strongly for something, one should probably go ahead with it.”

Post Abhineet’s video, a man called Aditya approached him and then filed a petition to fasten up the process. He was joined by a couple of more citizens in that petition.

Comedian and actor Vir Das, is known for putting across fearless comic jibes on social and political matters.

Talking about the importance of stand-up comedians taking up relevant issues, he says, “Comedians tell jokes. That’s all they do. People carry the message of a joke onwards. If a joke about your government’s actions goes viral, it’s because it resonated with people. So rather than study our jokes, the government should study the response to them. You can learn a lot from what people laugh at.”

Hyderabad based comedian Rajasekhar Mamidanna feels art is all about what the society wants.

“It’s a good idea to express your concerns through comedy because at the end of the day, art imitates whatever is happening in life.  As an artist if it affects me emotionally, I would want to talk about it,” he says, but is quick to point out, “I don’t think it has the power to shake people up. It’s at a very nascent stages and it is a very privileged art form. If I talk to a tea vendor, he wouldn’t know what stand up comedy is. The thing about privileged art form is that it only reaches the privileged people. I don’t think any difference can take place with only the privileged because it is in minority.”

Comedian Avinash Agarwal believes that comedy should also be given a chance to address social issues. “We can’t make fun of things in the current political environment but as comics, it is our nature to do that. Comedy is an art form. So, if there is a painting about a social issue or a song, people accept that but why not comedy? Our point as comics is that we should give it an equal standing. Comedy is a personal art form, it should be accepted. It is a double edged sword because it has to be dealt in the right way. If you are expressing your thoughts in a certain way, you should also be ready to accept the fire from people,” he says.