Few takers for the comedy show

Just Kidding’, an evening of stand-up comedy organised by Rajesh Hinduja, a comedian himself, was held at Nahar Heritage Hotel on St Mark’s Road recently. 

The line-up also included popular City comedians Sundeep Rao and Praveen Kumar. 

The performers put up an entertaining show for the small but responsive crowd. 

 

Praveen Kumar, the host for the evening, was his usual funny self. Seeing less youngsters in the crowd, he took the liberty to excessively joke about being married, being a parent and everything in between. 

Speaking about the show, Praveen said, “We performed at Bangalore Club the previous night in front of 1,200 people and at ‘Just Kidding’, we performed for nine people.But those nine people were so energetic and supportive that it made me feel like I was performing to a bigger audience.Since most of the audience was of a slightly older age group, they could relate to my marriage jokes and other material.” 

 

Asked why he thought the crowd didn’t show up, he answered, “To be honest, the choice of venue may have one been one reason as the hotel isn’t known as a comedy venue nor is it known to most people. Another factor was the pricing. I’ve been to shows that have charged way more but offered a lot lesser but somehow, this didn’t work.”

Comedian Sundeep Rao, whose set was about the inner workings of alcohol and the external effects of it alongside hilarious insights being a Bangalorean, was a hit with the small crowd. 

When asked about his experience after the show, he said, “It was an entertaining evening for the comedians. The audience were few but friendly. However, the venue was as suited to comedy as running shoes are to an amputee.”

Vamsidhar Bhogaraju, who was also supposed to perform, was unable to make it. In his place, the audience was treated to a 15-minute set by the equally funny Ahmed Shariff. 

A short ten-minute slot was also given to Vishal, a young and up-and-coming comedian who had come to attend the show but got a chance to perform instead.

Despite the low turnout, organiser Rajesh Hinduja was not deterred. 

“This is the third show I’ve organised and I plan to organise many more. What I’ve learnt is that Bangaloreans aren’t willing to spend for the whole package – we charged Rs 1,000 for four comedians, a welcome drink, starters and dinner but some people just want to pay for the comedy, and that I have learnt from this experience,” said Rajesh, whose set poked fun at the Sindhi community, his school days and drunken driving.