Actor, commentator, TV personality, and mimicry artiste Badava Gopi is all set to bring the house down this weekend with his new stand-up comedy show, Gopi Funchurian.
When asked why he named the show, Gopi Funchurian, he responds in his trademark quick-witted style, “If there is one dish that is ubiquitous to India, it is Manchurian. It’s tasty and appeals to everyone. My comedy is like Manchurian. It will strike a chord with audiences of all age groups.”
So, what would be the highlight of the show? “Well, I will be melding my flair for mimicry with comedy. And that makes me a rare product!”
Talking about his experience performing in the first edition of the Big Mouth series, the Accidental Farmer & Co actor says, “I found it easy to perform to a ticketed audience because the crowd predominantly comprised people who liked me for my work and wanted to watch me perform live.” He adds, “When it comes to standup gigs, there is a set format. We tend to throw the latest occurrences into the mix. Arachcha maava vera maathiri arakkanum!”
Quiz him about the state of the Tamil stand-up comedy scene today, and pat comes the reply, “It has immense scope to evolve, but it has to make inroads into smaller towns to reach a wide audience. As of now, it is restricted to big cities like Chennai or Coimbatore, and it is thriving there. I believe one needs to be associated with a movie or television to penetrate smaller markets. And that’s where a face like mine comes into the picture!”
Given a choice between mimicry, acting, or stand-up, what would be his preference? “I would pick mimicry and stand-up because here I am the person in control. When you perform in front of a packed audience, you tend to reinvent yourself. Though you improvise in movies as well, to see the end product, you have to wait until the film’s release,” says Badava Gopi, who aspires to do some subtle comedy like his screen idol, veteran actor VK Ramasamy.
With the attention span among the audience diminishing by the day, how does he manage to keep the audience engaged? “When you do a live programme, your act should be less than seven minutes. If you go beyond that, the audience will fish out their phones and start fidgeting with them. I change my act every seven minutes.”
He adds, “I steer clear of three subjects: politics, body shaming, and religion. I never crack jokes that are below the belt. I usually rely on self-deprecating humour as I don’t mind people laughing at my expense.”
On a parting note, we ask him about his film projects and he says, “I have Kuruvikkaran, which has Yogi Babu in the lead, lined up for release. This is the first time that I have played a negative role in my career, and it was challenging and exciting at the same time. I also have in my kitty, KT Kunjumon's Gentleman 2, Nakkhul's Vasco da Gama, and a film with GV Prakash and Siddharth respectively.
Tickets start at `299. March 16, 7 pm.
At Krishna Gana Sabha, T Nagar
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