In 2015, with All India Bakchod’s Knockout Indian comedy audiences were introduced to the roast format for the first time. Things didn’t go down well in its aftermath and comedians steered clear of dishing out disses for a long time. But roast comedy is making a big comeback now. Aashish Solanki began hosting the Pretty Good Roast Show in Delhi since January this year and has started uploading those recordings to his YouTube channel. And now, Mumbai has it’s very own roast format show titled Dost Ka Roast, hosted by Navin Noronha.

The comedian made the announcement on Instagram on 10 May, revealing the 3 versus 3 lineup for the show that includes Aakash Mehta, Tarang Hardikar and Aayushi Jagad taking on Mohammed Hussain, Supriya Joshi and Sumedh Natu. “Always wanted to do this, and now it’s happening for real!” Noronha wrote in the caption. “Every month at J-Spot we’ll be hosting a 3 vs 3 comedy roast battle, and one team gets to be the winner at the end of it!”

The first show happens this evening at 8pm. Here’s what Noronha had to say leading up to the show.

How did this idea come about? What pushed you to do a roast show?

I’ve personally always been a fan of roast formats and wanted to do something around that. In the past few years, we’ve done a few experiments but they didn’t really stick. This time I thought I’ll try this approach. I got the roster together and J-Spot was in as well. The need to have different formats in any comedy scene is very important. I’ve felt this especially after coming back from Europe. All our shows are very similar—it’s a lineup of comedians who hand the mic to each other. The concept of hosting is also kinda lost now. A lot of things have taken a backseat to sell tickets. So this is my little contribution to changing that.

What’s the format going to be like beyond being a typical roast?

So, we aren’t doing everybody roasting one person and then each other. We’re doing one-on-one battles. So they’ll begin with me and then we’ll introduce the teams. Each team has three comics who go head-to-head and we’ll do an audience poll at the end of each round. Whichever team gets majority votes will win. Next time I would like to call another group and maybe do a tournament. Lots of comics have expressed their interest in being a part of this show.

As roastmaster, what are you looking forward to the most?

I look forward to being fully uninhibited. I think some of the best roasts you’ll ever see on the internet are the ones that go deep and say things that nobody would ever say, but that’s also a way of alleviating a lot of things. A lot of people who have come to my shows have been like ‘if we’re in the front row, will you be mean to us?’ But that’s not the rule of sitting ahead at a venue. So I’m also looking forward to setting a decent atmosphere for the audience as well.

Are there any worries playing at the back of your head? Considering it’s a roast and things can sometimes go a little overboard?

I don’t think so. I even asked the comics to discuss among themselves if there are some topics that are off limits. But we know each other so well, I made sure that I pick comics who are comfortable with each other. I even asked them who they would ideally like to go up against. So, everyone who’s battling today is aware of each other’s insecurities and achievements. That’s also something people don’t realise, but in a roast you can also mention someone’s wins and call them out in a weird and funny way. Anything goes as long as there’s nothing mean spirited about it.

Is this going to be recorded for online release?

We’re not planning to record it for the first edition at least because some of the comics didn’t feel like they were fully there yet. But yes, as a property obviously we would like to invest and grow it bigger. The Delhi scene has Aashish Solanki’s roast show that I saw on YouTube. It’s the classic roast format. The Mumbai comedians have their own vibe so we would like to tap into that as we expand.

Are you going to announce more shows?

Yes, this is going to be a monthly property. J-Spot is also one of those venues that likes to experiment with different formats and alternative comedy. We do our queer lineup shows there and now this is a new thing as well. It’s exciting when a venue also backs you up.

If you had to roast one non-comedian celebrity, dead or alive, who would it be?

I would love to roast James Franco. I don’t why but I just don’t like the guy. I never liked his vibe. But then does that make me a good roastmaster or just a petty person? Only time will tell.