The pun in every line they speak!

The Pundits, a standup comedy ensemble, was born out of four theatre artistes’ dream of making it big in the city’s laughter circles against their families’ wishes. They performed in Chennai recently to packed houses and say that all the content they deliver on their shows is 85% real and 15% exaggeration.

CHENNAI: Humour and laughter have always had a huge fan following in the city. The Pundits would know... after their house-full show this weekend, the three-year-old stand-up comedy collective are pumped about their future prospects. CE chats with the team on the evolution of stand-up comedy, their working style and more.

“When we began, stand-up comedy was almost non-existent in Chennai. We were brand new and we just wanted to do this, and took a leap of faith,” recalls Smarabh. The Pundits was born out of four theatre artistes’ dream to make themselves heard as stand-up comedians in Chennai. He along with Murali, Vaidhya and Abishek, all members of Crea-Shakthi theatre group, started bouncing ideas off each other, and decided to head straight for their first show without any trial.

“Theatre to stand-up comedy was a natural transition for us. I remember our first show was packed and huge success! There was no looking back after that,” says Murali. The theatre background helped them with body language and performing on-stage, and their long-standing friendship give them a natural chemistry that’s undeniable.

The Pundits have so far performed all across south India and they also invite guest comedians. “As a collective, all of us can get a packed-house for our shows together, which is difficult to do alone. The key is to identify the few people you can perform with,” explains Murali.
Blowing up instances from one’s life to make it more hilarious is a common practice among all stand-up comics, and the Pundits don’t deny it. “What we say on-stage is 85% real, and only 15% exaggeration,” smiles Smarabh,

They also have to keep updating their jokes, relevant to current times and to each audience. Each show begins with first deciphering the audience, getting to know more about them, so that they can be involved in the set. “Every comedian has that first joke in their set that they believe will get the audience laughing. We depend on that for the audience to be with us throughout. If that takes a longer than a minute-and-a-half, we’re thrown off a lot. We need that first laughter in the first 10-15 seconds,” says Murali. And if that first laugh doesn’t come, what next? “That’s called bombing!” explains Smarabh. “It has happened a lot, in open mics, where sometimes a deathly silence greets you. And sometimes we’ll be pushing for laughter.”

All four are based out of Chennai, and how they made their families accept their sons as stand-up comedian is a funny story in itself. “I never in my life thought my parents would be okay with me doing this. My mom is now turning this whole stand-up thing on me. She’s like ‘I saw a guy doing stand-up comedy about cleaning his room. Why don’t you do that?!’” laughs Smarabh.

Do their parents ever come for any shows? “My parents try to never miss any of my shows. Even when I joke about them, my mom just laughs it off there,” says Vaidhya, adding that parental support is very important in such creative fields.   Abishek concurs saying “I get the best feedback form my parents, and my dad gives me brutal criticism that helps. They’ve been supportive,” he says.

Rapid fire
Best place to perform:
Home town, Chennai. Using Tamil references is most comfortable!
Best compliment
Our first show, someone told us our lineup was perfect and organised
Difference between theatre and stand-up
In standup you’ll know if it worked right away. In theatre you’ll know only in the end.
The name Pundits?
There is literally a ‘pun’ in it. We just got the name in like, half a minute!

Follow them on Facebook page, The Pundits