Comic Stripped

The result is a dynamic and spontaneous documentary that makes the viewer break into smiles and then guffaws while watching it. The film reflects the limits to which the Indian public will accept being made fun of. The comedians interviewed on this 99-minute documentary appear to be living in a climate of intolerance, especially when it comes to jokes on religion, politics and sexuality.

Over a cup of coffee at a cafe in Bandra, Varma confides that he didn’t have a concrete plan for the shooting. The idea of making the film came when he was recording a show for a friend. “The stand-up comedians performing were being politically incorrect. So I went from comedian to comedian, interviewed them and captured excerpts from their shows on video,” says Varma.

The documentary includes Tanmay Bhat, Varun Grover, Virr Das, Aditi Mittal, Rajneesh Kapoor, and others, who share how they prepare for a sketch with anecdotes from their shows and talk about how their careers developed. They shed light on stand-up comedy’s social responsibilities. As Grover explains in the documentary, “Stand-up comedy is trying to say something which is not allowed in other spaces. Even if it is a frivolous, juvenile joke on sex, it’s still some kind of protest —  a new voice in a public space.”

The film also explores the censorship experienced by comics in India. Among the handful of women stand-up comedians, Neeti Palta reveals that when performing at a show in Vadodara, she was specifically told “not to do any jokes on Modi”. Grover relates how he was told to avoid any sketch about caste, religion and refrain from using cuss words.

Rajoura describes it best. He compares corporate shows to the Taliban, where they decree their own rules and the comedians have to oblige. The documentary also talks about the Jay Hind! controversy where the comedy show got into trouble after a parody on Fauja Singh, a centenarian marathon runner from Punjab. Ironically, Varma felt that he should delete some material from the documentary about censorship because “dealing with the censor board, is a very painful process.” Since Varma was facing a lack of funds to complete the film, two people who loved his previous works — National Film Award winner Leaving Home (2010) and Baavra Mann (2013) — offered to help him. The film was to be released online exclusively but now, because of the buzz it has generated, Varma is looking for a big screen showcase. I Am Offended! is slated for release in theatres in either August or September.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com