Sex in the city

It’s better when Aakash Mehta talks nineteen to a dozen than when he goes cold turkey. When the latter happens, it’s a sign of a storm brewing inside. Using his voice to assert himself on subjects of social concern is akin to second nature for this 26-year-old law graduate turned comedian.

He has been extremely vocal about sexual taboos and long-held prejudices that shackle Indian society with superstition and dogmas that lack a rationale. And when he really cannot do anything about it, he withdraws into a silent state of brooding. Taking the stage at Akshara Theatre on July 28, he presents Nasty, a show that allows him to talk about societal prejudices towards sex (education, he emphasis) and the way relationships brew in society. 

Just the other day a gentleman walked up to Mehta after watching his show and looked up at him disgustingly. He said ‘how can you talk about blow jobs in public’? Mehta simply asked him, ‘Why can’t I?’ “These occurrences rattle me. If you cannot be comfortable with the basic process of sexual interchange that got you here, what can I say.” 

Nasty is unquestionably the kind of script that transcends cities and nationalities and relates with human thought at its core. It is a four-part show with the remaining editions named clean, dark and wrong. Each one is performed separately with a set of different discussants. This particular show looks at how relationships develop in the presence of tense sexual undertows, it talks about the artistes’ experiences from childhood until now reflecting upon his sexual knowledge, how he has grown to understand it and appreciate it maturely.

It also includes some crude hard facts of sexual life that no matter how much we turn away from, follows us like a stubborn shadow. “We need to address shame. Why can’t we mention sex without a smirk? Why cannot we maturely watch adult shows? Why do we always see sex in a salacious light?” he questions, adding, “I’ve spoken to several women and men about their experiences before concluding what say.”

Disillusioned by the Indian justice system, Mehta began dabbling into comedy in his first year of law. He felt humour would be able to bring changes faster than any legislation in the world in terms of sexual orientation, freedom and expression. So here he is, arguing for the cause of sexual liberation with a few laughs to toss in a bit of fun.  

On: July 28, at 7:00pm and 8:00pm

At: Akshara Theatre, 11-B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg