4 stand-up comics have desi tips for Justin Trudeau ahead of his Mumbai visit

Justin Trudeau

Stand-up comics in India have been laughing their way to the bank over the past few years, ever since the scene became legitimate enough to draw in regular audiences. New talent keeps cropping up at open-mic sessions held almost every week at venues across the city, and some people have even started giving up steady day jobs to concentrate full-time on a comedy career, something that was unthinkable even five years ago.

And within the circuit, some names are bigger than the others thanks to the sheer weight of their humour and often because they also have the early-starter advantage. Ten of the more popular stand-up artistes will now share the stage at a comedy night scheduled for this weekend, which promises to pack in the laughs thanks to the heavyweight line-up. They include Atul Khatri, Abish Mathew, Tanmay Bhat, Kaneez Surka, Neville Shah, Rajiv Satyal, Sapan Verma, Sumaira Shaikh, Sonali Thakker and Vaibhav Sethia.

But before that happens, the city is also gearing up to lay the red carpet for a high-profile visitor from a far-flung corner of the world. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives in Mumbai with his family today as part of his week-long visit to the country. His itinerary includes staple events for foreign dignitaries, such as meeting industrialists and Bollywood personalities, apart from taking part in a business forum.

So, we decided to ask four of the comics performing at the gig one question: What is the one desi secret they would divulge to Trudeau to give him a better understanding of India? Here's what they came up with.

Atul Khatri
Having crossed the age of 40, Khatri is among the older practitioners of comedy in the Indian circuit. He is one of those gutsy people who packed up a business to devote all his energies to a stand-up career. The funnyman is keeping a close watch on Trudeau's movements in India, having already tweeted a photo of the Canadian PM and his family at the Taj Mahal with the caption, "With so much negativity all around, please absorb this positive family picture of the day." But what tip does he have for the foreign dignitary? "Justin has come with his family. So, he should always order his soup here, two by five," he tells us.

Sonali Thakker
Thakker is a relatively new entrant to the scene compared to most others in the show's line-up. She describes herself as "a part-time stockbroker and full-time Gujju", and her roots form a large part of her comic material. And the message she has for Trudeau applies to every foreigner visiting the country. It is, "You need three things to survive in India: visa, Odomos and Kayam churan."

Sapan Verma
Verma took up a career in comedy after writing scripts for TV and award shows. He eventually went on to co-found East India Comedy, one of the country's biggest comedy collectives, and has performed all over the world. His advice for Trudeau is, "If Justin wants to travel short distances in Mumbai with his family, he should use a kaali-peeli instead of a BEST bus since the cost of five bus tickets is the same as minimum cab fare."

Abish Mathew
Mathew is a Malayali who is now a mainstay on the Mumbai comedy circuit, collaborating regularly with the AIB crew and hosting his own online talk show, Son of Abish. But it seems that a part of his native state is still rooted deep inside him, because when we asked him about one desi secret he'd whisper into Trudeau's ears, he said, "I'd tell him about the parota erchi [a stuffed meat paratha] that you get in Kerala."
ON: February 23, 6.30 pm
AT: Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Sion.
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