Life and the incidents that come along with it help you relate to art and even better, they help you make art. What you then decide to put forward, people learn from and relate to and in the process, you also create a little space for yourself and for the people around you. Navin Noronha, a stand-up comic, is quite popular now for doing the same for over a decade. As a queer person, he takes pride in giving a safe space for the queer community to express themselves and have someone to relate to as he takes the world by a storm of laughter, one set at a time. Before he takes to the stage, we get chatty with him to find out more about his new show, Homewrecker.
Tell us about Homewrecker?
In my first show, I talked about coming out and how I ended up dating my partner and currently where I am in life. Now, this show goes a step ahead. Homewrecker is a play on the fact that most queer people are on the sidelines and the idea of a home is always denied to us. Even the Supreme Court said that marriage should be between a man and a woman only. Meanwhile, a lot of married men cheating on their wives are living a dual life. So, if everybody’s dirty secrets came out, then we’d all be a little more honest. But it’s only us queer people always owning up to our reality. With this show, I’m finally saying that, okay, maybe I am not the right person to be the poster child for queer rights, but here’s my life and I have humour around it. I just got back from Europe where I did a version of the show and it did well over there, so I’m very happy to come back and try it out in India as well.
How did stand-up comedy happen to you?
Comedy, for me, was always a crutch. I was always the funny kid in school and college. I believe that’s where it started. Later, I worked as a writer and a podcaster. Mostly, I used to review movies for BookMyShow, after which I used to produce podcasts, which led to me doing my own podcast, Keeping It Queer. From there, things grew and now I’ve been touring and doing comedy full-time.
Where do you get the inspiration for your sets?
I think, my life itself. I believe so much of my life is untapped material. Like we comics always say, “things happen to people, but comedians happen to things.” So, even when I’ve had the worst things happen to me, I always wonder if maybe there’ll be material I can use at the end of it (laughs).
What are your up to next?
For now, I’m touring this show for a bit. I’m also starting a roast battle in Mumbai and further, I really need to go and target a wider international audience because, there they have a real yearning to be like, “Oh, what’s a brown queer boy’s perspective?”
INR 349 onwards. April 28, 8 pm. At The Underground Comedy Club, Koramangala.
(Written by Shambhavi Ranjan)
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