Stand-up for some mischief - Deccan Herald


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Deccan Herald = =C2=BB = Fine=20 Art / Culture =C2=BB Detailed Story =

Stand-up for some mischief =

Michael Patrao speaks = with=20 Kannada theatre star Sihi Kahi Chandru, the man behind the = success=20 of =E2=80=98Keetale,=E2=80=99a stand-up comedy act in = =E2=80=98Kanglish=E2=80=99- a combination of=20 Kannada and English, that amounts to experimental theatre.=20

=20

The concept of stand up comedy = is not new=20 to Kannada theatre. However, the staging of = =E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 (Mischief) at=20 Ranga Shankara in Bangalore recently, was not only a bold = attempt to=20 bring back a time-tested theatrical format, but it also = experimented=20 with the conventional format.

Playing the one-man = show is=20 Sihi Kahi Chandru, well known for his comic portrayals in = Kannada=20 movies and television sitcoms like =E2=80=98Silli = Lalli=E2=80=99 and =E2=80=98Paapa Pandu=E2=80=99.=20

Explains Chandru, =E2=80=9CIt is a sort of stand-up = comedy show like=20 a =E2=80=98Drew Carey show=E2=80=99 or Shekhar = Suman=E2=80=99s, =E2=80=98Movers and Shakers.=E2=80=99 It=E2=80=99s a=20 one- man show on the theme of =E2=80=98Games people = play.=E2=80=99 It is an=20 interactive comedy in which I invite members of the audience = on the=20 stage. There is improvisation in the given framework of the = script=E2=80=9D.=20

Stand-ups have=20 a tradition which goes back to hundreds of centuries. There = was an=20 African pygmy tribe called Danga who performed in the = Pharaoh=E2=80=99s=20 court in ancient Egypt dating back to 2000 BC. the Vidushaks = of our=20 kings and kingdoms, Birbal in Akbar=E2=80=99s court and = Tenali Raman in=20 Krishnadevaraya=E2=80=99s court are all a variations of = stand-up comedy.=20

The folk form Harikatha (Story of Lord Hari) uses = music,=20 dance and narration to audiences. The entire Dasa sahitya is = derived=20 from this particular style of musical narration.

In = fact,=20 =E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 is supported by a team of = musicians and makes use of songs=20 from movies, plays and samples of Harikatha.

America = saw the=20 boom of stand up comedy starting in the 1950s in the period=20 following the Second World War. The development of good = quality=20 microphones and the advent of television led to more = intimate and=20 less robust approaches to live comedy.

The American = legal=20 system, race relations and sexual humour provided most of = the=20 stand-up comedians with their wits.

Some names in = the=20 stand-up comedy hall of fame include Jim Carrey, Eddie = Murphy, Robin=20 Williams, Jamie Foxx, Benny Hill, Drew Carey, Ray Romano, = Tony=20 Allen, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, = Chris=20 Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Crosby, Steve Allen and Tim = Allen.=20

=E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 is a 90-minute play in two = parts. The script of=20 the play is woven around our lives and is a comical look at=20 ourselves and the drama in our lives. The comic scenes from = daily=20 life are presented by Chandru with his sense of timing and = narration=20 style.

Says Chandru, =E2=80=9CThe play was a test = for me. I had to=20 memorise my lines and keep the audience engaged for = one-and-a-half=20 hour. The language used is =E2=80=98Kanglish=E2=80=99 (a = combination of Kannada and=20 English).=E2=80=9D

Says P D Satish Chandra, director = of the play,=20 =E2=80=9CIt is like feedback theatre. No two shows will be = the same. There=20 is a trend towards such experimental theatre in Bangalore = like the=20 staging of Hasyotsava (humour festival).=E2=80=9D =

The script for=20 =E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 is written by M S Narasimha = Murthy, whose books =E2=80=98Swayam=20 Vadhu=E2=80=99 and =E2=80=98Vargavari=E2=80=99 have bagged = the Karnataka State Sahitya=20 Academy award in 1974 and 1992 respectively.

His = claim to=20 fame is however scripts for television serials such as = =E2=80=98Paapa=20 Pandu.=E2=80=99 =E2=80=98Silli Lalli,=E2=80=99 = =E2=80=98Crazy Colonel,=E2=80=99 =E2=80=98Mr Nirudyogi,=E2=80=99 = =E2=80=98Nagu=20 Nagutha Nali,=E2=80=99 =E2=80=98Conductor = Kariyappa,=E2=80=99 =E2=80=98Sabina=E2=80=99 and =E2=80=98Uncle = Illappa=E2=80=99.=20

The music by Gajanana T Naik for = =E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 matches with the=20 timing of the performer, which is very crucial in a stand-up = comedy=20 show. =E2=80=9CGaja,=E2=80=9D as he is known in theatre = circles has more than 50=20 plays under his belt.

Similar experiment theatre has = been=20 done by actor-director Yeshwanth Sirdeshpande in his one-may = show=20 =E2=80=98Rashi Kathe=E2=80=99 in which he narrates stories = based on the Zodiac=20 signs. However, it is not an interactive play. The audience = are open=20 to innovations in theatre and =E2=80=98Keetale=E2=80=99 = should do well in its future=20 shows.

Comment=20 on this=20 = article

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