From showroom to stage: Ilyas Khatri's 'Caaarnaame' brings car sales tales to life in Hyderabad

For Ilyas Khatri, the road from selling cars to selling jokes was paved with stories too funny to keep to himself. After spending over 13 years in the automobile industry, he had collected enough tales of bizarre buyers, impossible targets and eccentric colleagues to fill an entire garage of laughter. “I had this habit of noting things down,” he says, recalling the everyday absurdities that later became the material for his shows.

Ilyas Khatri transforms car sales into comedy gold with 'Caaarnaame'

“When YouTube started booming, I thought, ‘why not?’ Slowly I moved into stand-up, began performing in Mumbai and one day, the stories just found their stage.” That stage is now Caaarnaame, a storytelling-comedy hybrid that drives straight through the lanes of truth, chaos and humour through the character of a car salesman created by Ilyas. He explains, “The idea was always to keep the character of the salesman real, people usually think salesmen lie — but I am a black and white person.

The grey area becomes my setup and the punchline lives there.” The name Caaarnaame itself comes from his therapist, who suggested it after hearing his misadventures. “She said, ‘this is perfect for someone who sells cars’,” he laughs.

Unlike traditional stand up shows, Caaarnaame is built like a cinematic road trip of stories and moments. Some of it comes from Ilyas’ own life, some from random chats on public transportations like buses and others from real customer encounters stitched cleverly into fiction.

“I might hear a funny line, remember something that happened years ago, and blend both into one story,” he says. Each city adds a little newness to the show — the same chassis, but a different polish. “I tweak the nuances for the crowd. In Hyderabad, I love slipping into the Hyderabadi slang — people don’t expect that from a through and through Mumbai guy and when I do, the laughter just doubles.”

Through the seven to eight years of performing, Ilyas has also developed another show called The Stupid Salesman, but Caaarnaame remains closer to his heart. “This one’s more storytelling, more emotion, more honesty,” he admits. And that honesty is what he hopes audiences take home. “If people leave remembering the story or even just the one line that hits them later — that’s enough. Storytelling is powerful when it’s real.”

As he gears up for his Hyderabad show, Ilyas can’t wait to surprise the crowd. “When I talk in Hyderabadi and they look shocked — that’s my favourite part,” he grins. “It’s like making the best sale of my life — except this time, it’s laughter.”

Tickets start at INR 199.

October 18, 7 pm.

At The Street Comedy Club, Madhapur.

(Story by Isha Parvatiyar)

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