Touching new heights in Tanglish comedy

What does a Math teacher do when he runs out of formulas? Well, he thinks out of the box! Annamalai Lakshmanan, who has been grinding numbers and formulae into school children for over 12 years is also a well-known comedian who has been leaving people in splits for the past seven years.

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Ahead of his upcoming show ‘AnnaMala Vandhuttaan Da!!!’ scheduled to take place this weekend, we catch up with ‘Mala’ (meaning mountain) to know about his life moonlighting as a person committed to making people laugh.

Excerpts:

Q: Your show’s name instantly reminds one of Superstar Rajinikanth. Is that a coincidence?

A: This title actually comes from one of the lines of my act in Comicstaan Tamil and is based on how my friends address me. For example, they say "Dei Mala vandhuttaan da" (Hey, Mala has arrived). There is no reference to Superstar Rajinikanth here. But, I am a big fan of his and Kamal Haasan.

Q: Tell us about the inception of your solo shows.

A: I launched my show ‘Mala Vandhuttaan Daa’ online in October 2020. I did three shows and then took 12-18 months off to build on my material. When the pandemic went away, I launched my live show. For the past year, I've been doing one show every month. I've performed in Chennai and in Puducherry.

Q: What would you say is your core forte?

A: One is definitely audience interaction/engagement. It is a little more than just crowd work. I want my audience to be more involved and participative. The second is anecdotes, which is my style and it is conversational as well. A lot of wordplay will be there as well.

Q: How has the reception from the audience evolved over the years when it comes to stand-up comedy?

A: Many senior comedians feel that to this day there is some distance to go with respect to the audience enjoying a joke with openness. We have to also acknowledge that some audiences are really good and are open to enjoying all genres of comedy. At the same time, there are audiences who are really sensitive to topics which are deemed offensive and taboo, which ends up being problematic for all comedians to try and delve into.

Q: How is Chennai performing as a centre for stand-up comedy?

A: We are doing really well with the number of comedians, quality of jokes, the way we've occupied the online space. Tamil is naturally a very flexible language and works well for stand-up comedy. Which is why in 2016, I founded a platform for Tamil stand-up comedy, Tanglish Comedy.

Q: There is a large Tamil diaspora around the world. How does it help comedians from Tamil Nadu?

A: Definitely, as we can see it as a market, from a business point of view. But Tamils who live abroad miss their language, their culture and the people a lot. So, when we perform there, we deliver a package of their homeland to them so to speak.

Q: About messages in comedy....

A: A social message will overpower comedy if the dosage is even a bit high. It should be delivered casually. Direct messaging is not comedy. it has to be a little indirect, not on the face, yet it has to be impactful. That's the quality of a great joke that carries something valuable inside.

Q: Which genre is the most difficult to take up given the current situation?

A: Without a doubt it is topical/satirical. Anybody can be offended by such jokes for it may involve taboo topics and one will have to be ready to face the consequences. It boils down to the guts and the bravery of the comedian, how strong their voice is and how compelled they feel to share it with the society. Since it is the most difficult, very few are venturing into it and fewer people still are successful in it.

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Q: What are your immediate goals?

A: I want to reach a certain level of quality and I am working toward it. I want to reach a variety of audiences through my live shows. I want audiences to come and experience a show that offers them an experience which cannot be got online.

INR 200 onwards. On August 26, 4-6 pm. At Backyard.