B’luru comics recall gigs at The Habitat

Stand-up comics from Bengaluru have fond memories of performing at The Habitat, the Mumbai venue vandalised by Shiv Sena workers late Sunday night.

The mob was furious that comedian Kunal Kamra had mocked Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde at a gig there. Kamra had not named Shinde.

According to city comics, before the pandemic, The Habitat was the only studio offering end-to-end services for recording live performances such as comedy and poetry. It shut down after Sunday’s violence amid allegations of municipal bylaw violations.

Though similar studios have since emerged in Bengaluru and Delhi, Bengalurean comedians say performing at The Habitat was a rite of passage. “It was like getting knighted as a professional comedian in India,” says Anand Rathnam, who filmed ‘Marriage is a Scam’ and ‘How I Offended a Girl on Bumble’ at the venue in 2019 and 2022.

Popular names like Abish Mathew, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Rohan Joshi, Munawar Faruqui, Zakir Khan, Rahul Subramanian, Kanan Gill, and Kamra have performed at The Habitat stage, famously recognised by the H logo in the background. Thus, performing on this stage meant giving their very best, these standup artistes recall.

Although an intimate space, competition to perform or record there was once fierce and comics such as Ashwin Srinivas would try to book a spot a month in advance. Besides taping his sketch ‘Bachelors and Relationships’, he has been a part of many line-ups here. “The audience was exceptional. They came looking for quality comedy,” he recalls.

Booking a slot and traveling to Mumbai came at a cost, but comics like Rupen Paul viewed it as an investment. “A professionally shot video brings traction and more shows. It has helped many careers,” he says. He performed there seven times and filmed a gig once, but didn’t upload it. “I thought my content wasn’t refined enough,” he says.

Artistes such as Gokul Sharma filmed their first live show there. He recorded ‘Adulting & Taxes!’, a sketch about moving out of his parents’ house, in April 2024 as part of a line-up. “It was the biggest venue I had ever performed at, and I was nervous,” he recalls.

Ramya Ramapriya lauded The Habitat’s “plug-and-play model”, which benefited both upcoming and outstation artistes by providing venue, sound, lighting, and cameras without the scramble. “It made shooting accessible and standardised,” she says. Ramya recorded two shows there — ‘Mumbai Locals and Dating Apps’ and ‘Sexual Compliments’ — which garnered over 80 lakh and 20 lakh views respectively.

Beyond its in-house recording services, comics praised owner Balraj Singh Ghai for his constructive criticism and commitment to freedom of speech. The controversial ‘India’s Got Latent’ episode featuring Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia was also filmed at this Khar address.