Anshita Koul first popped up in the Indian standup comedy scene when she appeared on TLC’s comedy reality-show Queens of Comedy in 2017. In the seven years since, Koul has been regularly performing in Berlin and hosting queer comedy nights, occasionally returning to the motherland to do what she enjoys the most—perform in Hindi. She’s been doing just that this month while on tour with Navin Noronha. The duo are headlining the Double Bill(iyan) shows, an off-shoot of Queer Rated Comedy, that features a rotating cast of local comedians.
With three more shows in Mumbai, Thane and Goa on the schedule, we caught up with Koul to know more about her standup journey, what she is looking forward to the most while on tour and the major difference between the European and Indian standup comedy scene. Edited excerpts below.
Tell us a bit about your standup journey. When did you begin performing in Germany?
I started doing standup in 2017. That’s when I started performing in Germany as well as India. I did the TV show Queens of Comedy that aired on TLC and was available on Netflix for a while. That was my first break. When I returned to Germany after that show I decided I wanted to pursue standup. Initially it was a little challenging. I couldn’t leverage the TV show exposure in Germany. But the perk of performing overseas was I didn’t need to censor myself on stage.
There were some hurdles along the way like overcoming the language barrier. Comedy came naturally to me in Hindi so performing in English took some getting used to. It’s been seven years to that and I’ve been doing standup full-time since 2022. I perform the most in Berlin which has the most diverse scene in Germany in terms of comedy. I perform all over the city and host two monthly shows for which I curate the lineups as well.
What’s the biggest difference between the comedy scene in Germany and India’s?
The most evident difference is the diversity in the lineups. We have people from all walks of life in Berlin take the stage. In fact, producers and comedians are extremely mindful that there is representation across the board while curating shows. The audience is also evolved in the sense that they don’t want to hear similar material and opinions from the comics.
Another thing, that is constantly evolving, is the content. Personally, I don’t feel completely confident to poke fun at topics that are sort of taboo in India. I know some comedians do but I feel like I can’t talk about certain topics in India and censor my own material.
What are you looking forward to the most on this tour of India?
I’m looking forward to doing comedy in Hindi. I’ve missed that. When I started performing in Hindi or Hinglish in India, I was quite confident from the get-go because I was comfortable with the language. It took me a little while to be as confident in English. It’s not a problem anymore but it’s just slightly more fun in Hindi, I think. When I came to India during the summer and performed in Bengaluru and Mumbai it was just so much fun. I did the same jokes that I do in Berlin but adding tags in Hindi punched up the overall performance. The banter and crowd work aspect of the performance is more seamless in Hindi. It’s just more me, I guess?
Other than that, I’m extremely excited to be a part of this kind of queer comedy show. It hasn’t really been done in India and I’m happy I get to be a part of it. It feels incredibly rewarding to help Navin [Noronha] create what might be the first queer comedy collective in India. The entire experience is going to be very thrilling and liberating.
Are there any Indian comedians you’re excited to see on stage during the ‘Double Bill(iyan)’ shows?
I’m very excited to see Joshua [Trott] in Thane. I caught Mahima [Gad] during a Queer Rated show the last time I was here. I’m looking forward to seeing her again. Aayushi [Jagad] and I were together on Queens of Comedy. So it’s going to be fun to reunite on a queer lineup show. I haven’t really performed in India for a long time so I’m overall excited to see some new comedians take the stage.
What’s the one thing that the Indian comedy scene should adopt from Europe?
Firstly, we need to get rid of the VIP treatment of certain comedians in India. Very often you’ll see a certain comic blow up and then everyone wants to attach themselves to them to get a piece of the pie. That’s great for that specific comedian but the scene doesn’t really benefit from it as a whole in my opinion. I feel like producers and venue owners should focus on building a tighter community that doesn’t rely on specific names. The onus can’t be squarely on one or two people. This culture of going viral to contribute to the scene is not something I’m very fond of. They focus on becoming famous rather than funny.
Another thing is, to hone your craft and become funnier you need access to open mics. That means you need compensation for your time and effort. When I’m doing shows in Berlin I pay the comics on my lineup. It might not be a lot and depends on ticket sales but at least it’s an incentive for the artists to write better material and keep coming back to open mics. The craft and the process should take centre-stage and be appreciated a little more in India.
You can pick up tickets for Double Bill(iyan) here.
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