You’ve got to be kidding!

In A book we often revisit Willy Wonka says the OompaLoompas are always laughing they think everything is a colossal joke When Charlie buys a chocolate bar with Grandpa Joersquos savings and it doesnrsquot fetch him a golden ticket they burst into peals of laughter The reaching after a reason for laughs may or may not be met with relish Yet the ones who laugh in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stand away from the Salts the Gloops and the TeaveesEven in the moment laughter heals Comedy Wagonrsquos Mumbai Comedy Festival with its opening night kicking off this week might just help you stand with the Buckets mdash away from the likes of the GloopsAnuvab Pal will present a new set of jokes that will involve tidbits on the pandemicLive audience thrillsIt will be Anuvab Palrsquos first performance in the city in the last three years The standup comic with a theatre background is thrilled to face a live audience after a long pause He shares with a laugh ldquoI was in the United Kingdom for a couple of years but now that I am back people inform me of new developments The government is reading our messages I only hope it replies on my behalf toordquo Palrsquos set comes with a fresh series of jokes and will include a fair bit about the pandemic As our chat digresses we discuss the growing prominence of censorship to which Pal adds ldquoFiguring out a way to write for a particular audience is tricky One has to do thatrdquo He elaborates in a bid to not attract notice for the wrong reasons a creator canrsquot dish out inaccessible content it is a doubleedged swordPal who shuttles between Kolkata and Mumbai for shows has an lsquointerestingrsquo take on their audiences ldquoIf tickets for a jokes night in Kolkata are priced on the higher side you wonrsquot have an eager betterread audience On the contrary the Bombay audience is more broadbased and doesnrsquot directly fluctuate to price alterationsrdquoThe twominute lagBeing up and about on stage is a relief for comedian Aishwarya Mohanraj who is not sure if she will be presenting her set on dating or crime shows ldquoYou calling me is a sign that I should decide on one soon I have been doing both for sometime now I havenrsquot decided on my piece in its entiretyrdquo We are slowly getting back to some semblance of normalcy mdash to that she says ldquoIt is 100 per cent better than having to connect with people on Zoom I absolutely enjoy doing live shows Itrsquos nice to see a physical audience as you can interact and donrsquot have to hear laughs after a twominute lagrdquo Even the halfstrength rule works for Mohanraj as tickets are mostly sold out ldquoAs a regular at That Comedy Club Irsquod say having even 25 addressees at the most can help in testing your materialrdquo she maintainsKaneez Surka PicInstagramApart from Pal the first night of the show will present comedians Biswa Kalyan Rath Anirban Dasgupta Urooj Ashfaq and Sonali Thakker The carnival that will keep laughdiggers hooked for a month will also witness solo sets by comics Kaneez Surka Prashasti Singh Sapan Verma Shashwat Maheshwari and Masoom Rajwani among others In light of Munawar Farooquirsquos show being recently cancelled in Bengaluru for no legit motive Ashfaq adds ldquoIt is difficult to write honestly in these times without fearing for your safetyrdquo She will be cracking jokes on herself random everyday things that spur her and on therapy From December 3 to January 2At NCPA Nariman Point and St Andrewrsquos Auditorium and That Comedy Club BandraLog on to inbookmyshowcomCost Rs 299 onwards