Way back, when he was still in college, Manoj Prabakar bought a black ticket for the Tamil film Kireedam for Rs 400. But that’s not the beginning and end of this story. “There is a whole story behind it,” standup comedian Manoj tells us, “They sold me a balcony ticket for black. But when I went to the theatre, it didn’t even have a balcony!”
These are the kind of experiences one can expect from the show titled Black Ticket, which will see Manoj as the host and three comedians — Guna Kannan, Praveen Kumar and Yogesh Jaganathan — sharing their experiences of growing up with Tamil cinema. One of those is the desperation to buy a black ticket. “There was an instance in the first episode of our show where one guy said he had bought a black ticket to watch Sivaji. And the point of the movie was to eradicate black money!” shares Manoj.
Black Ticket is Guna’s brainchild and the upcoming show is the fourth edition. While Guna and Manoj remain a constant in all the editions, two different comedians join them in every show. The comedians touch upon different topics from the film world; the topics, Manoj informs us, is decided upon only a few hours before the show. “This is not a scripted show like a standup where one is prepared and rehearsed with the material and punchlines. We engage the audience to discuss along with us what cinema means to them. We are not reviewing films, we are only talking about our lives around films and the memories they leave. As comics, of course, we always will try to add some funny anecdotes.”
Guna has worked as an assistant director, and wanted to make films. But he is a stand up artiste now. “In India, at least in Tamil Nadu, when you want to become an artiste, the first option is to be in movies. So basically here, people just tend to connect everything with movies. That’s how our culture itself is; somehow you want to be a part of a movie,” he says, and we ask if he harboured the same dream. Pat comes the reply, “Obviously! I did give a few auditions but now I’m not very sincerely trying; I am happy doing standup. But if some opportunity comes my way, if someone thinks that only I fit a part, then why not?”
Tickets at Rs 299.
April 7, 8 pm.
At Offbeat Music Ventures,
Raja Annamalai Puram.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
X: @rupsjain
