From Thane’s Central Park to Virar’s dolphins: How standup comic Siddhartha Shetty celebrates middle-class Mumbaikars

Mumbai's vastness is what makes it unique because every neighbourhood is a world in itself, often becoming the subject of films and even sketches by Mumbai's comics over the years. As much as they share their take on what makes them different, they also take the opportunity to dive into the communities and culture in various parts including South Mumbai, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali and Malad. However, there are not many who go beyond and that is where Mumbai comic Siddhartha Shetty's sketches are refreshing as it brings in the unique flavour. He boasts about Thane and its newly opened Central Park and more recently even the real estate in Mira Road and or the dolphins in Virar's Arnala thus connecting with people in those areas almost instantly and even taking it a step further by doing his first standup gig in Virar earlier this week.

Making comedy more accessible in Mumbai
More than that, Shetty, who goes by @siddyshetty on Instagram, celebrates middle class Mumbaikars and their habits. With his most recent video about split ACs crossing over 2.5 million views, as he dived into how Mumbai's middle-class are still stuck to their window ACs which work on just one temperature, relating to most people almost instantly. Another one has him talking about the famous Delhi vada pav lady, how Delhi is obsessed with it, and why Mumbaikars love the simple dish; it has got close to 1.4 million views. It also started out with a reel about mangoes going viral last year, ever since then, his reels about mangoes are also unique as he delves into a video adding a dramatic element of having "internal fights within the family with Langda during season".

Inspired by this very fandom for mangoes, the name for his gig in Virar on May 12, which he calls ‘Wakanda of Mumbai', was titled ‘Phak You Avocado Return of the Mango'. This is only the start as he plans to do more in north Mumbai apart from the rest of the city. "I did a show in Mira Road recently and I want to do a show in Vasai soon because there is a great chunk of population that is being left out in these places. For a person to come from Nallasopara and Virar to even Andheri for a show is a lot because even Malad, Kandivali and Borivali don't have as many shows." It is more than just doing shows for him because Shetty feels that apart from talking about Virar in his sketches, he wants to do shows at places he talks about because the people there can relate to it the most. "I want to make it more accessible. If you have a room and mic, the event can happen," he shares, as his comments section wants him to do a show in Thane soon, after the Virar announcement.

Also Read: Anuvab Pal: ‘There is intolerance towards everything. Laughing is what makes it tolerable'

The need for accessibility for the audience may come from a special 34-year-old who started doing comedy in 2017, after being a member in the crowd attending these shows. "I started with open mics and used to watch a lot of live standups. I was an audience member who turned into a standup comic. I used to always be this funny guy and my childhood friend registered me for the first open mic."

Soon enough, Shetty started putting out videos in 2018 but things took form during the pandemic when Instagram reels came out. "I started experimenting with my humour because I think it is something absurd and has a lot of characters. For me, humour doesn't fall into a particular section because for me anything and everything is funny because I used to always tell jokes ever since I was a kid. I used to make it funny in front of my friends and teachers and see if I could get a reaction out of them. From there, it translated to Instagram and YouTube where I got a platform," adds the Mumbaikar.

While he explores different subjects, Shetty also grows in different ways as an artist and that also comes across in the different types of topics he explores on stage. He explains, "After some time, you like to talk about yourself, your perspective about life and that is much funnier and that comes from a place of experience and truth. There are a lot of things you go through in life and a lot of catharsis comes out on stage. I talk about a lot of my own life experiences. As a comic, I am still not happy. I feel I can do so much better."

Even though the elections are here, Shetty will not jump on the bandwagon because he believes there is more to it. "I believe I am not that well-read. I believe political satire requires you to be well-read. You have to be very articulate. I don't want to do jokes just for the sake of it." Shetty says he did a video on Indian news anchor Arnab Goswami and that comes from a place of satire, but believes that he needs to get better at it but will not mind experimenting with it in the future.

Interestingly, standup comedy is part-time, as he also has a regular day job which has led him to roam the length and breadth of the city. This has, in turn, led him to know the nooks and crannies of the city, which is often known only to locals.

Also Read: Meet this 15-year-old Mumbai sailor who is making India proud around the world

Celebrating Mumbai
Armed with his knack of bringing out the funny side of things and being a Mumbaikar, Shetty brings out a very local flavour in his accent, sounds and broken English as well as Hinglish - all are signature mannerisms of every middle-class Mumbaikar. What is this inspiration? He shares, "This is the third generation of my family in Mumbai, so I have a lot of friends and myself am a Maharashtrian. I grew up in Dombivali and have now moved to the Western line. With Dombivali being a Maharashtrian-dominated locality, I try to imbibe the local culture into my standup." At the same time, the idea has always been to make comedy palatable and simple, and one that everyone will relate to. "The undertone has always been what happens to a middle-class guy because I belong to a middle-class family. A lot of these experiences are common experiences," he adds.

Even as he goes out doing these videos in different ways, Shetty celebrates Mumbai in more ways than one not only through its neighbourhood but also its people. "There is a divide in Mumbai beyond the (Bandra Worli) sea link and on the other side of the sea link â€" even if you talk about real estate. I will try to talk about that. Then I will try to talk about how Mumbai is very basic. We are simple people, and we just need to get our job done. It is kind of a comic relief to a lot of Mumbaikars who are busy with their daily lives," he concludes.

Also Read: Gazpacho to Smoke Salmon Rolls: Unique cucumber-based recipes to try in summer