Comedy can be tricky business depending on the platform you use and the audience you address. Content is often a commentary on society and its people, and there is a fine line between being funny and offensive. Stand-up comics in India say that while a live audience may be able to understand your context, the internet may be more sensitive to your opinion. Popular stand-ups Amit Tandon, Akash Gupta and Uroj Ashfaq, who have come together for Comedy Premium League on Netflix, talk about how they have to keep revising their content to keep it relevant.
“We always go back and rewrite our stuff from time to time. In my experience Live Audience vs Internet Audience, there is a big difference. Live audiences are more approachable than Internet audiences, where they will go back and comment on small talk. Internet is a very interactive medium. So if we do something wrong then people will mention it. You don’t have to agree with everything, but some things may need to be changed, and you go back to make sure that doesn’t happen,” says Amit.
Uroj further explains, “When you buy a ticket and come and sit in an auditorium, and we start the show and set a context for ourselves, people think it’s a joke, you really mean it. On the Internet, it’s often taken out of context. Even if you put up the whole video, they can take out a line or two – because some people are seeing you for the first time and they Don’t know what kind of person you are – and they may be upset about something you’ve said. Sometimes they have a point, and sometimes they don’t.
There is no dearth of comic content on the internet, anyone with a smartphone can create and post funny videos. But the stand-up comedian says those short videos don’t have the same effect as a full show. Referring to whether these shorter forms of content can prove to be a competition for live shows, Aakash says, “I think it is a different branch of comedy, there is no spirit of competition. For most of us, the internet is a secondary platform, as we love to perform live on stage. I’ll go back to live gigs the day it opens. But creators on Instagram or YouTube, the internet is their primary platform, so they should feel the competition we have entered into their territory.”
It is clear that stand-up comedians love live audiences more than any other platform, even as they continue to experiment with other formats. Apart from social media, the streaming platform has opened up another format for them to experiment with. Comedy Premium League, which arrives on Netflix on August 20, features 16 stand-up comedians divided into four teams, fighting to prove who is the funniest. While OTT comes with its own restrictions, it helps stand-up comedians with a larger scope and budget for experimentation.
“For independent creators like us, they are giving us the budget right now and letting us experiment with it. OTT platforms are ready to spend a certain amount. So I can have a bigger platform, a prop, to do something bigger, and to experiment more. Which you will also see in Comedy Premier League,” says Amit. Uroj says, “Yes the budget is big, but it also comes with collective responsibility and certain rules. I have to be mindful of the fact that this is not my solo show, there are other people involved, so whatever I say or do The results are also divided. So the material undergoes a certain amount of filtration, which I fully understand.”
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