Harshit Mahawar's journey in stand-up comes to Hyderabad
Stand-up comedy in India has grown into a vibrant space where personal stories meet sharp observations about everyday life. One comedian bringing that blend to the stage is Harshit Mahawar with his show, Natkhat. Through his storytelling, he explores the humorous side of moving to a big city, navigating loneliness in the age of social media, adjusting to modern dating culture as a small-town boy, and even the awkward journey of trying therapy as a middle-class man.
Tell us a bit about your show?
My show Natkhat has jokes about moving to a metro city and living alone with your inner voice, adjusting to hookup culture as a small-town boy, dealing with loneliness in the age of Instagram, and trying therapy as a middle-class man.
What is your comedy based on?
I find humans charming. My comedy comes from observations about society, including myself. A lot of it also comes from the parallel universe inside my head. I often imagine how reality would look if it were slightly different, or I deliberately misread situations around me. That’s where most of the humour comes from.
What are the things should a standup comedian keep in mind for the live audience?
Early on, I was very conscious about structure: The order of jokes, transitions, how a set starts and ends. Over time it becomes instinctive. A good comedian remembers that the audience is always diverse: in age, gender, religion, etc.. The job is to make something funny, not just to yourself but to as many people in the room as possible. Also, I make sure I’m audible to the last row and deliver more than what the audience paid for.
What are the things you find different or challenging or even fun from the time you started to now?
When you start, you usually get five minutes on lineup shows. If you do that well consistently for months, that slowly becomes eight or ten minutes, sometimes fifteen. Now with solo shows, I get around ninety minutes on stage. The challenge is very different because the entire show depends on you. Earlier, you were the Sarpanch of a gram panchayat, which is not an easy job, but then you mastered it, and then you became the MLA, and then the chief minister. And now you’re the Prime Minister. You have the entire country for you, and you have to manage every single gram panchayat, and state, inside it properly because you are responsible for it, no one else. There is no other minister, by the way, in this country to blame and no other party. It's just you on stage. But it is also fun because you can build longer setups, explore jokes from multiple angles, and take your time with the storytelling.
What element do you think your comedy and delivery is based on?
My humour mostly relies on wordplay, satire, wit, and juxtaposition. Some relatives say I sound a lot like my father and may have borrowed my humor from him. I’m not sure, though. Eyes cannot see themselves.
When you write a joke might seem really funny but when you perform do you have this fear of it falling flat and if you do how do you manage that?
That is what open mics are for. When I get a funny thought, I test it on stage. Rarely does it work perfectly the first time. Usually it needs sharpening and refining. Over time a small idea can grow into a longer bit. By the time a joke reaches my solo show, it is already tested and is statistically likely to work. Humour is subjective, so I keep performing jokes in different cities and keep improving them.
How do you merge the performance and the writing aspect of comedy?
Time is the most important ingredient. A joke usually starts as a written idea. When it works on stage, I begin adding layers like timing, vocal variation, body language, and stage movement. Over months, the joke develops into a polished bit.
If you're going through a period of low feelings, how do you bring forth the humour if it doesn't seem to come naturally?
Being on stage feels like stepping into a different person. In the premise of the joke, you are the character in that joke, not exactly the same person as in real life. That separation often helps. Sometimes if I am feeling different emotionally, the delivery of the joke changes and new lines emerge on stage. It happens rarely, but it can lead to interesting variations.
What is your approach towards the audience, how do you read the room?
In the first few minutes of a solo show you usually understand the audience’s rhythm and sense of humour. If it doesn’t match yours, you adjust the context and guide them into the world of your jokes. Sometimes there are hecklers, but I see that as a challenge. The goal is to handle them without being offensive while keeping the show fun for everyone, (including yourself).
What is your philosophy as a stand-up comedian?
I like comedy too much to have a single philosophy. Every art has a ‘what’ and a ‘how’. What is the message, and How is the format. And I’m still experimenting with both. But the basic goal is simple: be funny. If it’s not funny, it becomes a speech. Beyond that, the goal is to create something that’s meaningful for both you and the audience. There has to be a balance between the usefulness of art and its uselessness. It should be meaningful and meaningless in the right proportions.
Why Hyderabad and what do you think of its stand-up comedy scene?
My home base is Bengaluru, where I have been active in the comedy scene for years. But Hyderabad is one of the best cities in India for comedy. Every time I perform here, I love the audience’s energy. They are responsive, warm, and very open to comedy. The scene is growing with good venues and a regular lineup culture. I try to perform there often and usually do an open mic after my show to spend more time with the audience
Tickets at Rs 249.
March 15, 6 pm.
At Aaromale - Cafe and Creative Community, Film Nagar.