Laughingatourselves

It's comedic gold and cultural commentary as All India Bakchod take the stage in Sydney

Hindi readers,itis that rude.

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

ComedianTanmayBhat was hilarious as heripped into Indianjournalists' behaviour towardscelebritiesascompared to their westerncounterparts.

"Journos on aHollywood red carpet are like,'HiBrad, HiAngelina,you look lovely whoareyou wearing ?' Indian journos onaBollywoodred carpeton theotherhand,lose everyinchof their dignity(c1ct.rlikehe'stc1kiugoffhisclothes), AISHWARYAPHOTO!! AISHWARYA BYTE!! AISHW1\RYAPHOTO!!

AISHWARYABYTE!!"

Of course hewastryingto be funny, bmitwas almost as if he wasrecountinga recentreallifeSydneyeventat whichIndian journos descended wildly ou a bewildered Aishwaryaas shearrivedcoJauncb her signature watch atLongines.

Buethat is exactly whatTanmayand his partners-in-crimeinAllIndiaBakchod (AIB) do - lampooncontemporaryIndian societyand showit off for how ridiculous it can be.

Andas hisimaginarylushwarya walked off the stage,Taumaywas stillin character, shoutingafter her, "Bachchakiskahm?" o, wearenot goingtotranslate thatfor non-

Rude, that'stl1eotherthingtl1atAIB do. Andtlieydo it so well tliat rudewould actuallybeapoliteword.Indeed,they themselves would9ualify"rude" with an adjective beginning withf.

AIBwas attlieir rudestbestastbeytook cotliestageinSydneyrecently.

Tan.mayBhat,Gursimran Khamba, RohanJoshi andAshishShakya rose co fameinInclia in2013asYouTube in their 20s and 30s they were seeking entertainment not tradicionallyofferedby community providers and lapping up every minuteof it.. proclaiming: F-l1111JPhirBhiKh11shThe(But111e ll'Crehcippyandcontent). Yeah,righcl Abishi'vfactliew wasbrillianc with his takeontoilethabitsi.npublicand what the nonverbalbehaviour of cricketersreally means. comediansbuc hittl1enational headlines with theirinfamousRoastwhich the Sanskaris took umbrage against. Ulcimately, theprotestors ate humblepieasAIB's popularitywenttbrougb tberoof.Today, they areIndia'sbestknowncomedyace, courageous in their attempt to lampoonthe deshin timeswhenallkindsof unnecessary boundariesarebeingdrawn.

AIBtooktbemickeyomof anybodyand everybody•politicians,Bollywoodscars, cricketers,journalises,homophobes,dieyouth, theb11Z!"l!/,theirownparents, themselves, Indians,Aussies,Americans,Koreans,the French,evenPakistanis, andadmittedlyonly omsideof India,theSh.ivSena!

1nan .interview onIndianLiol<Radio in thelead uptotheirAustraliatom,Ashish Shakya unabashedlyadmitted RussellPeters wascl1eir majorinspiration. (Russellmust feel ciclded pinktohavebecome theSalman Rushdieof thestand-up world inIndia, inspiringa generationof comics in a new careerjust.like Rushdiespurred onyoung writers).

OntheSydneystage,AIB werejoinedby AbishMatthew, another emergingscarin Indian comedy.

Thesell-out audienceat theEnmore Theatrewasalsoarevelation.Largely

Rohan took onhis peoplethe Gujjus; .Lot.refGujaratisi11theaudience?Oh,so1JJeare giving011!co111pli111entc11ytickels.

AndIndiansarethe011!ypeople011 thep!at1ef 111hotraveltho11.rand.sefmiles tobe1vithother Tttdi,ms.

Kha.mba did the same forSikhs:AraSikh IhavetoSt£)'Man111oha11Singhhasreal!)brought o,n-com111tmi!J'd01vn especial!)' afterct!/thegood 111orkMikaSinghhasbeendoing.

AshishShakya channel.led hisownand all parents in theirnever-endingreminiscences abouttheirimpoverished childhood,despite their currentlycomfortablelives, andyet

Theirmentor thoughwould probably givethem a few morelessons onaudience interactionastlieypickedonthose front seaters somewhatless successfully,but, hey, we'rejustnit-picking here - ina show mat otherwise wenc off superbly.And while we're nit-picking,AIB, we expected a bit moreAussie content. Soyouhad the mandatory convictjoke,vegemite, Masterchef andSydney/Melborune rivalry but perhaps tliere's morematerial outtliere -Jobnny Depp and tbe dogs,tl1eAussie cricketerswell knownin India thatshoot off atthe mouth

As comedians, tlieywereno doubt playingfor a laugh. But as social commentators, whichis ultimatelywhat theyare - whethertheyadmit it ornot, tliey were reaUyholding upa mirror romoderndayIndia.

#WeAreLike1hatOn!JJ