If you have been tormented by a nosy, middle-aged uncle who doesn’t understand the concept of personal space or worked with an awkward boss full of bad ideas, you may relate to Naveen Richard. The 29-year-old lawyer-turned-comedian rose to fame with Comedy Central’s Indian Comedy Festival in 2012 and is now an important name in India’s stand-up scene—as a writer, stage performer and actor. His hour-
long show in Kochi this weekend, named Relatively Relatable, will include a lot of observational material, which he assures is going to take an interesting turn towards absurdity. “The act will have a lot of characters, and stories from my life. People are definitely going to relate to it on some level, but some of it is really awkward,” says Naveen with a laugh.
Top of the act
Naveen’s YouTube channel Them Boxer Shorts with comediansMani Prasad, Aravind Anil Kumar, and Rahul Hota has both situational and observational elements that target everything from train toilets to start-up companies. But despite his edge on stage, he believes that it is more challenging than being on a
scripted show. “When you do stand-up, you can never be sure if something is amusing because you cannot measure how much that particular set of the audience would relate to what you are saying. But when I am writing a joke, I always know when something is funny,” he adds. The audience at his Kochi show can expect to get conversational with Naveen who is known for his crowd-work skills. Relatively Relatable is currently touring the country and has covered major cities including Manipal, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru.
Rapid-fire
1. What is your biggest pet-peeve?
A loud chewer in a quiet room.
2. First thing you do once you wake up?
Drink water. Jokes apart, it is important to stay hydrated through our sufferings.
3. An unusual app on your phone?
Tik Tok (Repeats that he is not proud of this choice).
4. An awkward direct message you received on social media?
“My mother will cook food for you, please let me deliver it to your home”.
5. Top of your watchlist now?
The Good Place.
On October 20 at 7 pm.
At French Toast Kacheripady.