THE BIG STORY
TRUE
LIES
feel like I’ve always been
funny. Even in school,
I was the funny guy,
though, not the typical
classclown.I loved to amuse myself, so
I’dnotedown funny incidents around
me. That’s just always been my style, and
it’s translated into my stand-up.
I remember once in English class the
teacher was taking us through a short
story that alternated between pictures
and text. It was the story of a girl. On
one page she was dancing with her
father, in the next, she was dancing with
her boyfriend. After we read it, I asked
the teacher, who was only too happy
with what she thought was a genuine
query, ‘Ma’am, on page 57 she’s wearing
blue boots; on page 58 she’s wearing
red stilettos. When did she have time to
change?’ The entire class, including my
teacher, burst out laughing.
I discovered stand-up in college at
BITS (Pilani). I didn’t know if anyone
was doing stand-up in India at the time.It wasonlytheestablishedinternational
comediansI’dheardof,andoneofthem
wasLouisCK.Watchinghimmade
mewanttodostand-upprofessionally.
Aroundthen,someonetoldmeabout
comedianPraveenKumar,a BITS
alumnus.I reachedouttohimandhe
toldmeabouttheopenmicshappening
inDelhi.Formyfirstopenmic,I went
toDelhifromKanpur.Theresponsewas
great,sothenextday,I didanotherone.
Afterthat,I wassoldandknewthat
I couldkeepdoingit.
Myparentsalreadyknewthat
I havefollowedmyheart,sotheylet
mebe.I quitmyfirstjobbecauseI felt
completelyoutofplace,despitetheir
‘FunCommando’engagementactivities,
theirmandatoryFunFridaysessions
fornewemployees.I wouldditch
thesessiontoplaytabletennisinthe
cafeteria,soit wasa clearmisfit.
I stillneededtopaythebills,sowhile
workingwitha portalinGurgaon,
I participatedinmanyopenmics.
I latermovedtoMumbaifora stint
withFilterCopy,anddelvedintothe
scenethere.But,wouldyoubelievethat
theonethingI gotreallygoodatwas
quittingjobs?Infact,I’dliketotakethis
opportunitytoquitmycurrentproject.
Sir,if you’rereadingthis,I resign.
WhatI lovemostaboutstand-upis
thatI canfabricatestories.Peopledon’t
knowthatallmymaterialis basedon
lies.Butthat’sprobablybecauselifeis
boringingeneral.So,I makeit upand
passit offasrealexperiences.Buthey,it
getsmelaughs,soI’mnotcomplaining!
Apartfromfabricatingmorelies,
I’mworkingona podcastforthose
interestedinmyeverydayboringlife,
andit mayormaynotfeatureguests.
It’llprobablybebestif youtunein.
—AstoldtoAninditaGhoshLOVESTOKEEP
THE AUDIENCE ON
THEIR TOES, TELLING
HIS JOKES WITH
AN UNMATCHED
STRAIGHT-
FACED DELIVERY.
EVERYBODY LIES,
AND MAHESHWARI
CERTAINLY TAKES
ADVANTAGE OF
THAT FACTSHASHWAT
Maheshwari
I
What I love
most about stand-up
is that I can fabricate
stories. People don’t
know that all
my material is based
on lies.PHOTOGRAPH: KARIMA KHAN