"Somebody's gonna get hurt real bad. Somebody". This is the only line that one of my friend showed me in the entire video and I was laughing like hell. I had been exposed to different kinds of comedies like slapstick, pun, witty, irony, sarcasm, satire, double entendres, insult etc through books, movies, serials and dramas. But, this was one of a kind comedy which I was seeing and experiencing for the first time. My friend informed me that it's a stand up comedy and its a big profession by itself. It has been more than 7 years since I have been seeing Russel Peters with his priceless wry and entertaining humor on observational comedy covering extensive areas like multi cultures, stereotypes etc thereby making me to go into a hysterical states of barrels of laughter. It was indeed a pity that I couldn't catch up with his show when he toured Chennai in 2015. Though the show was on a weekday, it would still have been impossible for me to have gone and enjoyed his remarkable piece of art as the ticket price was more than exorbitant - at least to me! It was not only costing an arm and leg but also eyes, ears, nose, kidneys and heart! I was very much disappointed that I had to beat a retreat after checking out the prices. Nevertheless, I was patiently waiting for the right opportunity to soak in the live experience of a stand-up comedy.
The golden moment presented itself to me through an TOI ad. There was a stand up comedy by Papa CJ to be held in Chennai at SMVCH. I was very excited that I can be a part of the show as the live action was on a weekend and also the outlay from my wallet was well within my budget. Immediately, I rang up one of my few unmarried friends to know whether he was interested to attend the show. I got a message later in the day ,exactly 15 minutes to be precise after the call to my friend, stating that 2 tickets were confirmed for the gig from eventjini.com.
I have never ever heard of Papa CJ in my life. All I cared about was to have a good laugh in a live killingly funny performance by a comedian. Still the curious cat in me wanted to know more about this Papa CJ before attending the event. A quick search in Google provided me with a lot of information especially the much needed confidence that this guy is indeed worth my time and money. Papa CJ has been in the business for more than 10 years, travelled extensively by performing gigs in several countries and has won many accolades from top jury. I felt I was going to an Russel Peters Indian substitute!
The D-day arrived. It was well past the show time. The event organizers mumbled a swift apology for the delay and proclaimed that the comedy piece would commence at 8pm. In the mean time, my friend and I were having an informal tete-a-tete discussion despite being within earshot of our neighbours! Our serious yet light conversation was fantastically interrupted by the loud cheers and chants from the audience who were hooting " Papa CJ" with animated vigour. There he was. In his black and black coat suit attire with specs and long hair - the internationally renowned Papa CJ was right in front of our eyes.
He started with a few insulting ironical jokes thrown at the audience for always coming late ! The stage was set and the show had officially started. For the first 50 minutes, he had us spellbound in complete boisterous guffaws with his adult-oriented yet unadulterated comedy suiting the Indian audience to perfection. He gave anecdotes from his personal life and made fun of several incidents that we had encountered in the 90s like audio cassettes, multiple telephone lines, soaps as shampoo etc. Simultaneously, he was also undressing one piece at a time by starting with his shoes, socks, shirt and pant to go with the title NAKED! The ladies in the audience were thoroughly enjoying and waiting for the final boxer to come off from his body. Then, there was a reversal of fortune!
Suddenly things became very serious and sober when he started to narrate his personal incidents where he was beyond devastated and shattered to pieces before he began his career as full fledged comedian. He relived the mental trauma and psychological angst that he had undergone in the worst phase of his life when his marriage broke apart and how his 6 month old son had to be in the custody of his wife on the court's orders. Despite such a terrible ordeal, he began highlighting the importance of staying positive in life in spite of all the negative episodes that can literally suck up the hope and faith out of a person. Even in this highly emotion choked and a pin drop silent environment that ensued in the last 20 minutes of the show, Papa CJ ensured that the mood was not unsmiling and dour. He peppered his grave storyline with jokes by consistently engaging considerably with the front row audience. I was amazed at his improvisations and his ability to think on his feet at the speed of light!
By 915pm, the show came to an end. However, his boxers were still in tact. He finished the program by saying that he was completely naked in front of the audience though his boxers were still on!
------to be concluded-----
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