PRESS
Indian Express: What To Watch Out For In Mumbai This Week: A Workshop For Budding Standup Comedians
Co-founder of East India Comedy Kunal Rao has put together a two-day stand-up comedy workshop for budding comedians and writers. Titled ‘Zero To 60’, it will see Rao teach the attendees the basics of structuring a joke, tapping into their style as well as equipping them with tools that come in handy on stage. Available for those aged 18 and above, the attendees would also be receiving a Level 1 completion certificate from DeadAnt upon completing the workshop.
Where: DeadAnt, 14th Road, Bandra West
When: December 9 and 10, 4 pm to 7 pm
Price: Rs 3,000 plus taxes
To register: deadant.co/workshop
Read here.
TheSarcasticPage: Last few tix left for the Laughing Dead Festival by DeadAnt happening this weekend!
See more here | March 2023
RecommendationCommunity: Laughing Dead Festival brings us all a treat this weekend!
See more here | March 2023
Chuism: Imagine having all these comedians under one roof! It would be a laughing dead situation!
See more here | March 2023
Event FAQs: DeadAnt announces the debut edition of The Laughing Dead Comedy Festival in Mumbai
Taking place at Mumbai’s iconic Mehboob Studios from 18-19 March, this one is for everyone who uses humour as a coping mechanism in these increasingly absurd times. Produced by DeadAnt, India’s leading voice in comedy, Laughing Dead is a celebration of the beginning of the end.
Read more here | March 2023
Mid-day: Mehboob Studios set to host a comedy festival this weekend
DeadAnt is celebrating 4 years in the comedy business by hosting their debut Laughing Dead Festival this weekend with a studded lineup on Indian comedians and more.
Read more here | March 2023
Curly Tales: Time To Laugh Out Loud As Scottish Comedian Daniel Sloss Is Making His India Debut This March!
The famous comedian Daniel Sloss is on tour for his ‘Can’t’ show. As part of the Indian leg of the tour, he will make a stop at the Laughing Dead Comedy Festival, in Mumbai this March.
Read more here | February 2023
AdGully: BookMyShow brings Daniel Sloss for his first ever India outing
I look forward to seeing you all very soon and to being part of India’s very first Laughing Dead Comedy Festival. See you on March 16th, 17th and 18th!”
Read more here | February 2023
Mint: Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss to begin India tour
The final performance of his “Daniel Sloss: CAN’T” India Tour will end with the Laughing Dead Comedy Festival in Mumbai, which will include stand-up comedy performers in India such as Aditi Mittal, Amit Tandon, Varun Thakur, Daniel Fernandes and many more!
Read more here | February 2023
The Hindu: Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss to tour India in March
Sloss will perform his global tour show ‘Daniel Sloss: CAN’T’ in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai. The final performance of his Daniel Sloss: CAN’T India Tour will end with the show headlining the much-awaited Laughing Dead Comedy Festival in Mumbai (March 18 and 19).
Read more here | February 2023
First Post: Scottish comedy superstar Daniel Sloss all set to make his India debut of his world tour, ‘Daniel Sloss: CAN’T’
The final performance of his “DanielSloss: CAN’T” India Tour will end with the show headlining the much-awaited Laughing Dead Comedy Festival in Mumbai (March 18th-19th), a star-studded showcase of the biggest, baddest and silliest voices in Indian comedy, produced by Dead Ant Media along with BookMyShow as the official and exclusive ticketing partner.
Read more here | February 2023
BestMediaInfo: Hungama Play to showcase regional stand-up comedy following tie-up between Hungama Artist Aloud, DeadAnt
Hungama Artist Aloud, the platform that supports and promotes independent artists and content, has partnered with DeadAnt to curate, acquire and distribute regional stand-up comedy content on its OTT platform Hungama Play and also in the podcast format.
Read more here | January 2022
StirWorld: Artists explore Mumbai’s critical ecosystem with #biodiversitybythebay
Responding to a petition to preserve the metropolitan city’s fragile ecosystem, nine Indian imagemakers visualise their perspectives on why this movement is important. With inputs from DeadAnt founder and editor in chief, Ravina Rawal.
Read more here | November 2020
Architectural Digest: This digital festival celebrating Mumbai’s biodiversity brings the art community together
Biodiversity By The Bayhas been put together by Ministry of Mumbai’s Magic, a collective raising awareness about Mumbai’s climate issues and DeadAnt, a company dedicated to entertainment, news and new-media dedicated to comedy.
Read more here | October 2020
The Juggernaut: Sumukhi Suresh Turns Complexity Into Comedy Gold
The comedian gets candid on her rise from food scientist to creator of the cult- favorite TV series Pushpavalli. With inputs from DeadAnt’s founder and editor, Ravina Rawal.
Read the story here. | 11 September 2020
Scroll: Why have Hindutva online armies launched a concerted attack on India’s stand-up comedians?
Read more here | July 2020
Newslaundry: [TMR Dispatches 3] Mumbai’s Lutyens: Is Entertainment Journalism all about Access?
The third session of #TheMediaRumble – Dispatches focuses on the art of access and its significance in entertainment journalism. In the session ‘Mumbai’s Lutyens: Is Entertainment Journalism all about access?’, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by film critic Anupama Chopra; Mayank Shekhar, an author, film critic and entertainment head at Mid-day; Sowmya Rajendran, deputy news editor at The News Minute; and Ravina Rawal, founder and editor of DeadAnt. The session focuses on the significance of having star access as a film journalist, the limitations of this access, and how bigger stories, like Bollywood’s underworld connections, remain untapped. The panel also discusses why the #MeToo movement fizzled out in Bollywood, and the vulnerability of comedians and their lack of faith in the mainstream media.
Watch the session:
Deccan Herald: Roasting back in focus as YouTube acts against ‘offensive’ video
The key to the insult-comedy genre is to go far enough to be funny but stop just short of being nasty
The format, made popular by the TV channel Comedy Central, was first introduced in India through the infamous AIB Knockout roast. AIB is one of India’s most popular YouTube comedy channels, now on hiatus. “It created such an uproar that no one has dared to dip a toe in those waters since. So it never really got a chance to evolve,” says Ravina Rawal, founder and editor-in-chief of DeadAnt, an online publication that tracks India’s comedy scene.
During a roast, the performers and the audience are temporarily allowed to be cheeky, even badly behaved; your conscience is allowed a quick break in this space, she says. When asked whether CarryMinati’s videos can be considered roast, Ravina says they feel more like the diss battles on the hip-hop scene. “I take you down, then you take me down, and we go back and forth while our fans watch in morbid fascination and decide which side they’re on,” she says, describing these videos.
Rules of roasting
While a roast is insult comedy, the key is to go far enough to be funny, but stop just short of being nasty. “The environment on the whole should feel safe; your roastee and even fellow roasters need to be able to trust your motivations,” Ravina explains.
“The most popular roasts are the ones in which things are being said in a public forum that would otherwise be restricted to your living room. You thought it too, but the vicarious pleasure of seeing someone have the guts to say it out loud in public, even worse, to the person’s face, articulated for you with a punchline. That’s what’s keeping people hooked,” concludes Ravina.
Read more here | May 2020
Deccan Herald: Laughing in your language
Hindi and English dominate the stand-up scene in India but a slow and steady shift to regional comedy is now pretty evident.
Read more here | March 2020
Interview with Ishq FM
Listen to the interview:
Podcast: Advertising is Dead
On this week’s episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Ravina Rawal, Founder, and Editor of DeadAnt. Ravina talks about the evolution of the Indian comedy scene and the growth of regional comedy. She talks about how the name Dead Ant is inspired by a lame 90s joke and the future of her venture.
Audio file: