Comedian Neeti Palta is on an Ulta Palta tour and after tickling funny bones in Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur, she will be performing in the city today at Topcat Retired Comedy Club. Known for her cuttingly sarcastic and irrepressibly tongue-in-cheek wit, Neeti will be performing in the city after a decade and she expects to experience the same love and warmth that she has got for an intelligent and well-read Calcutta audience. A chat with the comic.
What new are you bringing with Ulta Palta and how different is it from your earlier sets?
Ulta Palta is basically a show where I am talking about life as it happens to me but a world that seems to have gone ulta or upside down. So this is Palta experiencing things that are changing too fast; there are trends that I don’t understand. What is different is as we mature as a comic we delve deeper into our own psyche and past and share our stories. So, it’s storytelling, a mix of observational social commentary from my life.
Where do you derive your sense of humour from?
My dad. He has this very weird sense of humour and we laugh at all the things all the time. Other than that it’s the world! You think the world is not funny enough? The fun part is when people take offence and say how can you joke about this and that. There’s an element of truth in all my jokes. In fact, jokes in general are about poking fun at something or someone. So, people should get offended by reality and not jokes.
You have toured the world with your act. How do you adapt your comedy according to the region?
With all the touring, the interesting discovery is like music humour is a universal language. For instance, our parents may be a little different from parents in other parts of the world but the basic nature of a parent doesn’t change. Similarly, there are so many topics and things that have a universal connection. Of course, you go to the local place and do your basic research to add a local flavour to your content. Also, people in a foreign land come to the show to experience the original flavour of a comic. So instead of customising your comedy according to them you do your original comedy and explain so that they follow.
Any comedian that you look up to?
I look up to a lot of comedians. There’s Anubhav Singh Bassi and Zakir Khan. Their storytelling is just unparalleled. Zakir can just tell any boring story and make it come alive by the way he tells it. Bassi’s story has a punchline in every line. I really look up to Varun Grover because the simplicity of his comedy and the hard-hitting jokes that he manages to deliver by just standing there with no dramatics, is beautiful. I also look up to Amit Tandon for how relatable his jokes are. While I have been in his audience, I have noticed people nodding, shaking their heads as they have lived through what he is talking about. That’s beautiful.
I equally love Prashasti’s madness, energy and physicality on the stage. I love Gurleen’s comedy. She is so funny and the way she exaggerates and makes people believe that it has happened is insane.
How challenging is it to stand out among the melee of comedians out there?
Honestly, I don’t even know if I am trying to stand out among the melee of comedians because everyone has their own style, strength and voice. I have my own style and for some reason without even trying social messaging comes naturally into my comedy.
What are your expectations from Calcutta this time?
I performed in Calcutta maybe 11 years ago. They were very warm and giving and the beauty of Calcutta’s audience is that they were getting all my jokes and were with me throughout. I am performing in Calcutta after so long that I want the same warmth this time. Another beauty of the audience here is they’re sharp and well-read.
What is it that inspired you to take up stand-up comedy?
More than me choosing comedy, comedy choose me. I was in the audience when Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood were performing in Delhi about 13-14 years ago. I was volunteering for their rounds for improv and when they called me on stage, I had so much fun that Colin suggested I try comedy. Luckily, Cheese Monkey Mafia were there in the audience and they gave me a chance to perform a week later. I just love making people laugh. It’s such a high.
