Standup comedian Avinash Agarwal will take a humorous walk down memory lane, covering everything from his childhood antics and college love affairs to the influence of Bollywood and the extravagance of Indian weddings at his upcoming show, Aur Karo Shaadi!. However, these anecdotes are just a warm-up.
He underlines the reality of it all which unfolds only after one gets married — the journey of living together through happiness, sorrows, arguments and the like. Although five years into marriage, something or the other still clicks inside him — like his chakras opening up, as he tells us.
It might sound a bit mystical, even if it’s the best way to describe his life after marriage. “In beliefs, chakras are energy centres in our body, and when they ‘open’, you are seeing the world with new eyes. That’s what has happened to me. Marriage wasn’t just about sharing a home or daily routines; it became a journey of personal growth, a deeper understanding of myself and my partner,” Avinash shares. One can guess that his comedy is all about relatability — the living example of Yin and Yang: Two halves of a whole. It’s something people agree upon — that relatability eventually becomes a comfort zone.
The comedian makes his set as interactive and spontaneous as it can get. You can expect anecdotes of comfort, altering pieces of furniture in the house, growing together, constantly living in a state of argument and later, resolving the same with a cup of tea, or at least pretending to have done so. “Arguments never end,” the artiste laughs. Avinash, once a troublemaker known for hanging around and passing comments, found his true calling in theatre during his school days, also nurturing a passion for the stage that eventually led him to represent India at the USA World Championships in 2013 with Toastmasters.
The stage showed him that the line between a troublemaker and a storyteller is just a matter of narration. “Every performance is a chance to connect to everyone in the room; on stage, everything revolves around that magical, interactive spontaneity of the moment,” he adds. With over 10 years in the field, the artiste has seen it all — from packed ticketed events to corporate shows with a serious atmosphere, and even intimate private gigs like wedding parties.
Each type of show brings its own set of quirks. But even then as a comedian, Avinash feels that he is being tested every few seconds. “Take cor porate shows, for example. They’re a different game altogether. You’re often dealing with a more formal, uptight crowd that might not laugh as freely as a typical comedy club audience. Plus, you’re at the mercy of the venue’s sound system and other technical aspects, which aren’t ideal. Here, the real test is whether your material is strong enough to cut through these barriers.”
Tickets at `299. February 4. 8 pm. At Aaromale, Jubilee Hills.