Navi Mumbai's comedy scene gets a boost with new stand-up club

Hello sir Therersquos a comedy show going on Want to joinrdquo a voice answers when we dial comedian Rahul Singh on a weeknight It takes us a second to realise Singh isnrsquot talking to us yet Hersquos pacing through the halls of Raghuleela Mall in Vashi trying to fill seats at his recently cofounded Navi Mumbai Comedy Club an effort to make comedy accessible in the neighbourhood Comedy isnrsquot the easiest thing to sell right now and Singh knows it mdash he was a contestant on Indiarsquos Got Latent IGL the series at the centre of all the controversy right now But more on that in a momentRajesh Murugan Rahul Singh and Gajanan BolewarOver our call which has by now doubled as a live feed of Singh hustling to pack the show the comedian finds a taker Tickets Free mdash like we said comedy isnrsquot the easiest thing to sell right now ldquoIt has become a tad easier after the IGL episode aired to be honest Some of the shoppers recognise my facerdquo Singh admits Their adda is an embodiment of the foundersrsquo hustle itself A music academy by day the space transforms into a comedy club when the curtains fall this curtain sports the clubrsquos logo ldquoHaving a recognisable logo is half the job done when your videos start making the rounds on social mediardquo Singh laughsThe clubrsquos mission mdash more relevant than ever now mdash with the city and its extended suburbs turning into a giant excavation site is to cut the commute time for budding Navi Mumbai comedians who make the pilgrimage to the home of live gigs in Bandra and Andheri every week ldquoDuring one of my crowd interactions at a Bandra venue I asked people where they came from and we had audience members from Ulwe Thane and Belapur If the comedians are from the faroff suburbs and so is the audience just what were we doing in Bandrardquo Singh recalls his lsquoEureka momentrsquoThe space operates as a music academy during the day and transforms into a comedy haunt at night to host the clubrsquos showsAmong the comedians that have more time on their hands now is cofounder Gajanan Bolewar a Vidharbhaborn Kamothebased real estate broker who dons the standup cap after working hours ldquoI would get home from the western suburbs at odd hours like 230 am dreading having to return to work the next morningrdquo he recalls This weekend Bolewar will host an exclusively Marathi standup show at the club featuring budding artistes ldquoThe key is to keep experimenting Wersquore still gauging what the audience here likes and dislikes The new programming will help us test the regional comedy waters hererdquo he addsFunny as these comedians might be a good laugh doesnrsquot pay their rent certainly not in this city Singh explains the math A comedian pays a R100 entry fee for a spot on the show ldquoSince we offer free tickets on weekdays we manage to only break even with the rent On weekends when audiences pay to watch we take home a modest profitrdquo he reveals Itrsquos a good enough deal for Matungabased comedian Rajesh Murugan to make the trip to Navi Mumbai ldquoItrsquos all about stage time The audience might be more enthusiastic at more popular venues but itrsquos tough to find a slot in the first place given the already saturated lineupsrdquo he reasonsAsk the trio how they plan on sustaining the club and they unanimously quote the doubleedged sword hanging over their heads mdash social media virality ldquoEven a few viral videos are enough to put us on the map But more eyes also bring more criticismrdquo Singh admits A good time to address the elephant in the room we reckon ldquoSetting up a new club is undoubtedly a risk in the current climate We make our fair share of sex selfdepreciation and dark jokes At best therersquos roaring laughter at worst we see people get up and leave silently This gives us some faith in the audience to cling on tordquo Singh addsMurugan whose jokes didnrsquot manage to fly under the radar like Singhrsquos tells a different story ldquoI was performing for a mixed crowd at a Mulund pub two years ago One of the interactions didnrsquot sit well with a middleaged gentleman and things escalated to threats of beating us to a pulprdquo he sighs ldquoWe have an internal group discussion before any joke makes it to the stage If we realise it crosses a line or punches down to an already disadvantaged group we discard it right awayrdquo Murugan revealsEverything said and done the trio still believes what they present on stage is merely a mirror to society They leave us with an interesting statistic to ponder upon ldquoIn the past few weeks we have experimented with all kinds of material We run a familyfriendly clean comedy show called Laughter Therapy and an adultsonly show called Love Sex and Dhoka later in the night While the former has been struggling to fill even five seats the latter had people line up outside the venue to catch a punchlinerdquoON Monday to Friday 830 pm Saturday and Sunday 4 pmAT Navi Mumbai Comedy Club next to INOX Raghuleela Mall Vashi LOG ON TO inbookmyshowin ENTRY R99 onwards Laugh around townCheck out these lesserknown spaces that are nurturing fresh talent in and around the citygtgt Sailorsrsquo CafeAT Shop 9 CHS Belle Vista Sector 15 CBD BelapurLOG ON TO sailorscafebelapurgtgt The Laughter Chapter CafeacuteATShanti Bhuvan Sarojini Naidu Road near Mulund College Of Commerce Mulund WestLOG ON TO tlccafeindiagtgt Tankstelle BistroAT Azde Gaon Ganesh Nagar Trimurti Nagar Dombivli EastLOG ON TO tankstelle_bistro_officialgtgt Soul Beats StudioAT Sheesh Mahal opposite Bhakti Vedant Hospital Mahajan Wadi Mira Road EastLOG ON TO zin_monicagtgt Rule 34AT Sector 2 Charkop Industrial Estate Kandivali WestLOG ON TO rule34mumbai