The Supreme Court was scathing in its opinion on Ranveer Allahbadia’s grossly unfunny comedy content but ultimately protected him from arrest in several FIRs filed across the country. It’s been a stroke of good fortune for him — imagine the humiliation of being the first comedian in history to be incarcerated for an appalling joke. That said, one must reluctantly concede that being a crass upstart is not a crime, no matter how much some of us wish it would be. Otherwise, why single out Allahbadia? His team of cohorts and several others trade on similar, cringe-inducing banality that passes off as comedy on YouTube.
Writing jokes for a living is hard work and it isn’t always a barrel of laughs. Watching older episodes of India’s Got Latent, it’s clear the producers couldn’t care less about comedy as an art form, they’re there for the bucks. In a country of 1.4 billion, it’s not that hard to find a few lakh followers who are titillated by crude humour dripping with cheap innuendo and abusive language. When money is rolling in with zero effort, the flourishing Indian attitude of kaam chalao prevails, so why bother raising the bar? However, online fame is an unreliable beast. One moment you’re a dazzling star lighting up Google Trends and the next you’re crashing down to earth, burnt out, washed up and over. The Internet is full of self mythologising posers luxuriating in their mediocrity but the party seldom lasts forever. Tip the scales too far and we the people, responsible for propping up two-bit influencers and minor celebrities are equally ruthless when it comes to tearing them down.
There’s this idea that comedy is a gift some people are born with, that it comes to them naturally. Actually, like any other art form, it’s a learned skill that needs to be worked on, incessantly. Jerry Seinfeld refers to himself as a lifelong student of his craft and continues to write one joke a day. There’s plenty to laugh at in everyday life but it requires a skilled observer to highlight the hilarious contradictions in daily existence. No one does it better than America’s late night hosts who are probably thrilled at Donald Trump’s return. For anyone in funny business, he’s an endless source of amusement, a gift that keeps on giving. Marcel Proust had said we should be grateful to the people who make us happy but that could also be paraphrased as let us be grateful to those who make us laugh. The power of humour to disarm, relax and lift moods while also provoking critical thought, should not be underestimated.
It’s a thought that occurs to me every time I stumble on a rerun of Mr. Bean — that if I was on the Nobel Committee, he’s the first guy I’d recommend for a prize. It’s a social service he’s performing by sending half the world into delighted hysterics with his goofy antics. It’s Oscar season but somehow, one rarely sees the likes of Rowan Atkinson rewarded by the Academy, that could really do with a sense of humour. Oscar Awards viewership is diminishing because people are derisive of the gap between the films that win and the films we like to watch. Typically, movies where the protagonist has cerebral palsy but can valiantly paint with one toe gets feted, or daunting tearjerkers called 12 Years a Slave. The frightening title is enough to make one lunge for the remote and turn off the TV. They may well be deserving but comedy has far greater resonance than its given credit for.
Meanwhile, there’s something to laugh at — that it took a court intervention to scare India’s comedians into (hopefully) producing better material for their acts.
The writer is director, Hutkay Films
