Stand-up comics Abish Mathew, Sumukhi Suresh, Kusha Kapila and Aadar Malik decode Comicstaan Season 3

Comicstaan the much loved franchise that made stand-up comedy aspirational is all set to return after three years with a new format and a bunch of both, established as well as fresh new comics as contestants who will compete in the hunt for India’s next best stand-up comedian The cult comedy series will have ace comedians Zakir Khan, Sumukhi Suresh, Neeti Palta and Kenny Sebastian on the judge’s panel while the internet sensation Kusha Kapila will join Abish Mathew as co-host.  “The show is coming after a long gap but surprisingly it has not affected the energy. We are very excited for the audience to experience these eight comedians who are participating. There are new mentors in every round, and if you don’t like any one of us, you have different options to enjoy,” says Sumukhi Suresh, stand-up comedian, actor-writer-director. The eight-episode comedy series is all set to stream on Amazon Prime Video from 15 July.

Suresh says the mixed bag of contestants, both experienced and raw will make the third instalment far more exciting as compared to the previous seasons. “The first season was new for everybody, so there was a bit of everything that everyone was learning. Second season was meant for everyone to know that this is a funny show and there were established comics who were participating. But the current season has a bit of both, there are experienced comics looking to reinvent themselves and there are fresh comics with an untouched and innocent voice. They are not scared, they are not editing their sets, and they are honest and super raw,” says Suresh, who also reveals about a different format in the upcoming season. “This time there are seven new mentors; every round is being mentored by a new comic. There are four judges this season. There is a new round which is the ‘Roast’ round. This time the mentors also get to give points to their favourite contestants, one point, half point really makes a difference,” she adds.

Lot of effort and research goes into selecting the right contestants without any biases, say Team Comicstaan. ”If the show wants the best comedians in India to offer, you need to really go deep. The team makes sure that they are doing the groundwork; they get a lot of material. You can’t have preferences, so they keep the judges and hosts out when they are making the selection. My mind was blown this season because there are voices that I haven’t heard before. I was really taken by surprise,” says Abish Mathew, one of the most recognised faces of Indian comedy.

And there has been a humongous rise in the stand-up comedy scene in India, the game changers being Internet and OTT platforms. It is no longer about elite Indians laughing at Russell Peters’ jokes, or a niche segment privy to kavi sammelans. “The business and growth of comedy can be easily understood by looking at how many open mics now run in a city. Just look at how many comedians are running to many comedy venues, shout out to all the cafes, libraries, barber shops …these places are where your contestants are coming from. When is the next season happening kind of conversations have already started brewing,” says Mathew.

Not just that, the stand-up comedy acts have over the years gathered momentum beyond the metros with artists often travelling to several small towns and cities for live shows. Hence, the third installment of Comicstaan is rooted in many different cultures, say the team members. “We are bringing all kinds of humour on the table and not just urban because that is limiting humour. There are many layers to it. Humor that we are bringing on Comicstaan season 3 is rooted in many different cultures. Artists from different places are coming to the hub, coming to the hotspot where the scene is really thriving for comedy. The idea is to get humour rooted in different cultures, different experiences, different perspectives, different grammar, different language... Every contestant brings something different. Overall people will get different perspectives. Humour is no longer limited and it is not just urban comedy. We started from there but thanks to shows like Comicstaan now it has roots in so many different places,” says Kusha Kapila, one of the most popular Internet breakout stars in the country. "Comedy families are growing, we started from Delhi, then I shifted to the Mumbai scene and now I find stand-up thriving even in Kolkata, Goa, Jaipur...What you are getting to see with Comicstaan is just the tip of the ice-berg," adds Mathew.

Hosting a live show comes with a lot of challenges and Kapila hopes she doesn’t disappoint on stage. “I have been a fan of Comicstaan, I watched both the seasons and I know most of the comics who have come out of it. I have also been to their live shows. Hosting a comedy show is not an easy feat, it is actually a very serious business. Besides, hosting the show also has a legitimate live audience, they are not plants. I couldn’t have asked for a better co-host than Abish. It was an enriching experience. Abish comes with so much knowledge, he has been performing for about a decade. If you do a certain joke and he would like to educate me on that. He intellectualises things for you. I have an institution with me and there were the showrunners who were most incredible. Despite being a new person on the show it was an equal playground,” says Kapila.

For Aadar Malik, stand-up comedian and actor this is the first season of Comicstaan where he will be mentoring aspiring comic artists.  “I have always had a lot of reservations teaching comedy. Before doing this I was a little worried and was trying to come up with a plan but now I am in a much better place. You get attached to contestants when you spend a lot of time with them training and they really made it so easy. I am so impressed. There is that weird feeling of being proud at the end of the show when I was watching the finale. I have seen them overcome hurdles, they ended up taking control of their performance and truly enjoying themselves on stage. That is what I am trying to help them reach. The challenge for me was how do I make them comfortable on stage so that they don’t have any obstacles when they are trying to come up with jokes on stage. They had to be reminded that it is just about performing rather than how it is looking, who is watching, who is laughing… I had to keep telling them that if a joke doesn’t land, don't let it affect you because there are 10 more jokes that you have. They are starting out but I need to probably multiply their experience because they are going through so many things together. I would also let them be in the tanking place around their peers and then push through it. It is like putting them through this horrible boot camp,” concludes Malik.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.

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