For over a decade, Aadar Malik, Varun Thakur and Kautuk Srivastava have built a reputation for turning conversations into comedy. Through improv shows, podcasts and countless hours on stage together, the trio has developed the kind of chemistry that only comes from years of collaboration. Their latest outing, Bollywood Postmortem, channels that dynamic into a sharp, funny examination of Bollywood’s quirks, clichés and recurring patterns. Ahead of the show’s Hyderabad stop, Aadar spoke to Indulge about its origins, life on tour and the unique shorthand he shares with his longtime collaborators.
Excerpts:
Bollywood Postmortem is such a dramatic title. How did the idea for the show come about?
The idea came from the fact that Bollywood genuinely needed us to find patterns and figure out why things are going wrong. The easiest way to do that was by listing problems one by one and dissecting them. The title actually started with a podcast where we were breaking down really bad films. We began calling those discussions a ‘postmortem’, and eventually that evolved into a live show. Now it’s become this pattern-recognition machine that’s constantly trying to understand what went wrong.
The chemistry between you, Varun and Kautuk feels effortless. How has that evolved over the years?
We’ve been working together for more than 10 years now. Between improv shows, podcasts and live performances, we’ve spent hundreds of hours on stage together. Of course, there are rehearsals because this is a fully scripted show, which is very different from the looser improv formats we’ve done before. But the chemistry comes from all those years of working together.
How much of what audiences see is spontaneous?
A lot of it is. We’ve done podcasts where we planned 10 topics and only managed to discuss three because we got fascinated by a tangent and ended up researching it while recording. We’ve never had to force spontaneity; that would be an oxymoron. The difference with Bollywood Postmortem is that it’s a much more chiselled and carefully scripted show than anything we’ve done before.
Given all three of you love improvisation, does anyone ever derail the show for a laugh?
Not really. If someone takes a detour for a joke, the other two naturally bring the conversation back. Most of the time, the person making the joke gets it back on track themselves. True derailments are very rare unless an audience member unexpectedly takes things in a completely different direction.
What is touring together actually like?
Honestly, it’s one of the most fun things I’ve done. We’ve travelled across India, Europe and Canada, and what we remember most aren’t the fancy hotels. We remember the terrible hotels, the awful restaurants we ended up in at one in the morning, bad car rides, airport naps and moments where the others debated whether they should wake someone up before a flight. Those are the stories that stay with you.
What can Hyderabad audiences expect from the show?
We’re very comfortable with crowd interaction. Even in a scripted show, if the audience gets involved, we’ll respond. The only downside is that the more people shout things out, the longer the show gets.
After all these years, can you predict each other’s punchlines?
Completely. If I set up a joke that I know will work perfectly for Varun, I don’t even need to tell him where I’m going. I’ll just look at him and he knows. It’s the same with Kautuk. 90 per cent of the time they understand exactly what I’m setting up. That’s what happens after years of performing together.
Tickets start at ₹799. June 7, 6 pm onwards. At district150 by QUORUM, Madhapur.