Imagine writing a special where nobody wants to take credit. Nobody directed it, nobody was behind the camera, nobody edited it. Masoom Rajwani has managed to achieve this. His latest YouTube release, the first part of his special Taboo Talk (part two will be available shortly) was “manifested out of thin air” he claims in the description. “Like GDP growth.” It’s this type of unfiltered political comedy that put Rajwani on the Indian comedy map, and the reason nobody wants their names attached to it. His comedy is ballsy. It’s honest. It’s raw. It’s everything that people are getting offended by in our country today.
Leading up to the release of his special, we had invited Rajwani to the DeadAnt headquarters to chat about the special, his standup comedy journey and what he’s been up to. Read on to know more about Rajwani’s new high stakes show Beta Male, Beta Show, where his love for doing political comedy comes from and why he knows the emergency exits at every comedy venue in the country.
Your special is called ‘Taboo Talk’. Can you tell us a little about the material?
It’s just all things that I was told I can’t joke about. Just not as many sex jokes, I feel. But yes, lots of political jokes, questioning authority, parents, societal norms like arranged marriages, respecting teachers. You’ll have to watch it to get the complete lowdown.
I remember catching the show when you were still working on it and even then there was a lot of bitingly satirical material. What were the early performances like? Were there any upset audience members?
I honestly couldn’t care lesser about that. Being upset is your prerogative and doing jokes is mine. If my way of articulating thoughts is words and jokes and your way of expression is violence, we have a common ground which is the constitution. We should stick to that if you’re upset. So those people don’t really bother me.
It’s just that, if the law says that something I’ve said isn’t defensible—which my lawyer advises me on—I remove it. And honestly, I had to remove like a good 20 minutes. Because you need money to defend yourself. It wasn’t worth risking it.
You might not want to risk it but people can get upset about anything. How are political comedians like yourself skirting this perpetual backlash?
Nobody can really skirt these instances. It’s a ticking time bomb for anybody who is giving their opinion. Eventually they will get to everyone. They have figured out a blueprint to get the attention by creating a big ruckus. It’s not about who’s saying what, it’s about who can be attacked. Just because you are not being targeted right now doesn’t mean you’re going to be safe forever, which is something that comedians need to realise. Just because Samay [Raina] is in trouble, you being quiet doesn’t shield you from future backlash.
They’re looking for the next person to shut down now. That’s how they are functioning. Just like telling jokes is our job, breaking venues and creating this ruckus is theirs.
Do you take this into consideration while writing your jokes?
It depends on how much a specific issue is bothering me. I know that me vocally supporting Kamra will not be received well but that’s just the right thing to do. There are some subjects for which I just will take a stand and face the consequences. But other than that there are some guidelines in place. For example, I avoid mentioning certain political and religious figures and cultural references unless I have a valid criticism to make.
A lot of your comedy is very self-referential. You call out your parents’ actions on stage to make a point sometimes. How have they reacted to your comedy?
Honestly, it’s the easiest for me to do jokes on my parents, and get the audience to think that the same thing happens in their household. That way they don’t feel attacked. Whatever I’ve said on stage, rarely has happened in my house. [Laughs] My parents are very much aware that I’m just putting up an act. It’s just the easiest way to communicate with the the crowd.
Also, just by virtue of this, my parents end up keeping themselves in check. There are certain things that people should just not do but it happens subconsciously. They’re very aware of these things now. And I’d be lying if I say they never had a problem with some of the things I said. But it was already out there so I couldn’t do much about that.
You began your comedy career in 2016. At what point did you feel like you should be addressing certain political and societal issues with your humour?
It wasn’t an active decision. I just ended up doing some jokes that were socio-political that worked. And when you’re new in standup, the main objective is getting the laughs. So I came from the angle of ‘very few people are talking about these topics, let me try’. It was me, [Kunal] Kamra, [Siddharth] Dudeja who were doing this material about questioning authority.
Taking offence is not dictated by how big the artist is, it’s the person’s sensibility.
It worked well for a while. Then I got backlash for it. That’s when I started doing it actively because how dare you stop me from saying things? That’s when I realised that my jokes have real consequences. Till then I was just going up on stage and saying things to get the laugh. I thought consequences were limited to big comedians. But taking offence is not dictated by how big the artist is, it’s the person’s sensibility. That’s when I started thinking about why we are such easy targets and when I dug deep I realised it’s very politically driven. So I like to make fun of those things, get them more angry. And then run away from venues. I know the emergency exits at most venues. [Laughs]
When you got your first taste of political backlash, did you think of pivoting away from political comedy?
Note: Rajwani was reprimanded by BJP leader Paras Rajput for allegedly making fun of Hinduism during a show at Canvas Laugh Club on 15 April, 2018. Rajput then uploaded a video in which Rajwani and comedian Kunal Kamra can be seen apologising for a joke.
I didn’t know anything else. It happened when I was 22-23. I wasn’t able to understand why it happened or what could be done about it. My routine is such that I get up on stage almost every day. So if I’m performing the very next day of this incident, it’s not like I have written new material overnight. I tried censoring myself as much as possible so it doesn’t happen again. But I was still questioning things, just hopefully without offending people. I didn’t change the way I looked at comedy though. But yes, for a week I tried doing much tamer material but it was just disgusting. [Laughs]
But today, the backlash is not limited to the comedian anymore. Comedy venues and producers are also facing the brunt of it. In this climate, do you find it difficult to find stage time?
There are venues who are like—mat aao idhar. They want to protect their business and that’s fine. I don’t want them to take a stand at my cost. If there’s a businessman who is as politically inclined as I am and is willing to face whatever comes their way, I’m okay. I know such people. It’s just sad that they aren’t comedy club owners. But there are people who have allowed to me to try my material at their establishments that might not be conventional comedy venues.
I don’t expect it from comedy venues and producers though and I won’t shame them for it either. But I will shame them for not paying comedians. Because it can’t be that we say what is in line with the producers and then we don’t get paid for it. If you are controlling what I’m saying, it’s a paid gig. I don’t get to try my own material so at least compensate me.
Where did this political zeal come from? Who were some comedians who inspired you?
Like it is for most Indian comedians, the main inspiration was Varun Grover. I remember watching a clip of his at some event where he makes fun of Congress politicians in one joke. To get such a big platform and to call out politicians over there was extremely interesting.
Beyond that, when I started there was Dudeja who was already questioning things. Kamra was becoming political as I was trying to write jokes. Daniel [Fernandes] was very political also. I felt like these were the few comedians who were attempting to do something different. I wanted to see if I could do it as well. I tried and luckily I found interest in it.
What made you go up on stage to begin with?
It was all the cool guys doing this back then. I remember, AIB used to do a show called Royal Turds, EIC did the Ghanta Awards, SnG did Thursday nights at Canvas Laugh Club. And beyond these three collectives, there were other comedians who would pop up. And I was amazed that you could go up on stage and talk about smoking, drinking. The job has no dress code.
I consumed standup like a proper student. At that point there were maybe 30-40 comedians in the country. I saw all their material, I knew all their jokes. And I quit college for this because I didn’t want a backup. So I decided to give it two years and by the end of that time I ended up writing for AIB. That made me feel like I should stick with it.
Along with the release of your special, you’re also going on the road with your new hour ‘Beta Male, Beta Show’. Tell us about that.
I’ve just started writing this so I don’t really know how different it is from my previous work. But there’s a set theme to this. The way I want this show to finally look is this—I’ll have six ten-minute bits that I’ll name and write on chits and distribute those in the audience. And then they’ll tell me which order to do it in. So every show is different. And in this way, every bit will be written as a strong opening or closing. That way I’ll have so many segues, I’ll break the monotony and I’ll be constantly present. It also means that any show could be a disaster.
The first time I did it, it was a disaster. I almost wanted to give a refund. But I’ll hopefully figure it out.
How and more importantly why did you come up with this concept?
Some risk has to be involved other than being beaten up by the audience. Craft-wise this is more challenging and I enjoy that.
And why are you calling the show ‘Beta Male, Beta Show’?
Because everyone is trying to be alpha and I don’t want to be that. Also, it’s better to call it a beta show rather than a trial show. The audience is out there for a night out. They like you, they’ve come out to watch you. Tum trial show bol ke apne upar se responsibility hatao mat. Sure, you can price is differently but don’t use it as a cop out for a bad set. Otherwise just do lineup shows and figure out your material.
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