Raunaq Rajani, Indian standup comedy’s self-appointed godfather, released the first part of his debut standup special Manchild on YouTube on 25 July. Titled Kohinoor, the 25-minute clip is a glimpse into Rajani’s first trip to London. Obviously, there are references to our beloved Kohinoor diamond, uncles who hate the “pizza-burger” generation and an important PSA about ordering à la carte in foreign countries.

Rajani had been touring and working on the show for almost two years and it shows in his performance. His energy is high and he’s backing it up by dishing out punchlines at breakneck speed. He’s saying some inane things in earnest, making the jokes hit even harder. If you’ve seen Rajani’s work, you know that’s his stronghold and he’s doubled down on it here.

When we had spoken with the comedian before his taping, Rajani was not sure how he was going to release his special. “I still have to decide whether it will be the entire set or a couple of shorter videos,” he had told us at the time. He’s opted for the latter now, with the second and third parts of the special expected to drop in August.

The taping was also extra special for Rajani because it was always his dream to perform at Sophia Bhabha Auditorium. “Before comedy started for me, I used to work as an understudy in a theatre company that used to put up shows at Sophia’s,” Rajani had told us. “And your job as an understudy is to quickly change the set on stage so when the lights come back on it’s a new visual. I got fired from that job because I kept running up on stage and instead of quickly picking up the props, I used to stare at the audience. And my director used to get so angry at me because the audience could see the lights glare in my glasses. But I always had that hunger that, “Oh, it’s a full house. I want them to see me once.” And I involuntarily would do it again and again. When I got fired from that job, I told myself that one day I’ll get to show my face on stage here. And now I am fulfilling that dream of mine.”