Stand-up comedian Aakash Mehta, who is known for packing a punch with his one-liners, was recently seen in the reality show Social Currency on Netflix. The comic competed against seven influencers and left the show with a bounty of Rs 50 lakh. A chat with the funnyman who will be launching his new show, Nasty, tomorrow on YouTube.
You were the only comedian among the lot in Social Currency. How was the experience?
It was pretty surreal through and through. As a comic, you’re not really on the same wavelength as influencers. I mean, these are the people I make fun of on stage and now suddenly I’m in a house with them for 21 days! There was a lot of biting my tongue, to say the least. It was amazing to see how people whose life is dependent on social media had to deal with life without it.
As a stand-up comedian, how did you adapt your comedy style for a reality show?
For the most part, my style of comedy is pretty much me being myself only on stage. I’m hoping it works for the audience at home because I could barely get the influencers to laugh while I was in there. But we comics are resourceful people and above all else, we really know how to get things done by jugaad.
Tell us about your upcoming special Nasty.
Nasty is a labour of love (and lovemaking also). It’s also the first time I wrote a show that wasn’t just a compilation of jokes but had a point I was trying to make about a thing that I felt deeply about. After all these years of going to small cities and big cities alike, I feel like I’ve been able to create a show that is relevant and funny at the same time and I can’t wait for the world to see it.
What do you think sets Nasty apart from your previous performances?
Nasty is one of the oldest shows I perform. It’s been on tour since 2019 and has been performed hundreds of times all across the world. It’s also as educational as I dare to get with a show. Talking about issues around sex and sex education in our country is something I’ve always been keen on and this is an opportunity to share that message to a huge audience, especially considering that we’re putting up 10 languages of subtitles.
How do you keep your stand-up comedy routines fresh and appealing to audiences?
I keep writing new things! I like to think of myself as chronicling my life and what I’ve learnt on stage, every time I perform. It’s like, show and tell for me. I’m so excited that I think the excitement rubs off on the audience too.
Are there any particular topics or themes that you enjoy exploring in your comedy performances?
I feel that comedy is a great medium to explore absolutely anything and everything in life. Lately, though, it has less to do with what I want to talk about and more to do with what’s “allowed” on stage.
Can you provide some insights into the process of writing and refining your stand-up material?
It’s always hard to explain a process that involves so much thinking. But mainly it is just that. Every waking moment (and some asleep ones too) is filled with just absorbing everything I can. The aim is not so much to think of jokes but to refine my worldview and be a whole person. The jokes mainly get worked out on the stage itself. I don’t write any of my material down, ever. I just record audio tapes of my performances and listen back to them to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Does that make sense to you? Because it usually doesn’t make sense to me. It just works somehow.