5 funny men this year who brought me joy
Some things are freely available in the world. Like water, air, mud and human stupidity. Consequently, this also means an unlimited supply of fodder for humour. And with social media’s reach exploding and a desperate need for people to laugh at others, we have stand-up comics sprouting faster than rabbits and ISIS jihadis.
This species, which has a protruding funny bone, is exponentially increasing in numbers. However, only a few among them can elicit a genuine chuckle, leave alone lead to a ROFLution. Many just stick to the Russel Peters school of humour. When in doubt, crack a racist joke aloud.
So this Diwali, we separate the wheat from the chaff, and bring you the howlarius humourists that had us laughing louder than a loudspeaker at a temple, mosque, just any religious place.
1) AIB | The Day India Resigned
All India Bakchod, better known as the people other people love to get offended by, have had their moments in the sun. There was no controversial roast this year but AIB came up with possibly their most intelligent piece of satire – The Day India Resigned, to coincide with Independence Day.
The brilliant skit had a person playing India, another Great Britain and of course someone (Tanmay Bhat) playing Pakistan. The hilarious skit has 1.2 million views on YouTube and goes on to show why AIB is amongst the top stand-up groups in the country today.
They speak the language of the youth, are not afraid to take on authority (okay, they may be a little afraid of FIRs now) and collectively, have the comic timing of Virender Sehwag on fire on a dead pitch.
2) Varun Thakur | Indian Moms
Another humourist who hit the nail on the head this year was Varun Thakur. One of his videos on Indian moms has already garnered half a million views and seems to have touched a chord.
India has its share of mama’s boys and all the beta sweater pehno moments that infuriate someone growing up are encapsulated in this four-minute video in which Thakur holds forth on the filmy Ma obsessed with her bachchas and dabbas. Watch and laugh.
3) EIC: Sorabh Pant | Why Goa Is Awesome
One of the most consistent performers on the comedy circuit is East India Comedy’s Sorabh Pant.
The only thing funnier than the man himself is his laugh, which sounds like a combination of a horny hyena choking on baingan ka bharta while it has a cold. Backed with that absurd laugh, a squeaky voice and some incredible comic timing, Pant has been dishing out some gems with Rahul Dravid-like consistency. To top it all, he uses his wit to interact with the audience and leave them in splits even as he insults the pants off them.
4) Rajneesh Kapoor | Defending Delhi
Rajneesh Kapoor used to be famous for his comic strips. Turns out he’s far funnier in person. This year, one of his skits went viral that compared Delhi and Mumbai.
Rajneesh used some of his rustic Delhi charm to talk about the city stereotype, road rage and other Neanderthal-like behaviour the capital is famous for. For the real tale of two cities, watch the skit. Rajneesh has a unique, laidback style of delivery and he clearly enjoys himself on the stage.
5) The Viral Fever | Truth or Dare with Dad
One comedy group, apart from AIB, that is setting the web on fire is The Viral fever. Their channel, which even has a number of popular web series running, came up with a gem called “Truth or Dare With Dad”. The video has been viewed over 4.6 million times already and pokes fun at the dad stereotype.
It stars the talented and established actors Gajraj Rao and Seema Bhargava. The realistic yet funny video will leave you hysterical with laughter. But it works best if you watch it with your dad.