Why Shubham Shandilya's Badtameez is the stand-up show you actually need

There is a specific kind of comedian who doesn't give you jokes so much as he gives you permission. Permission to find your corporate hellhole funny. Permission to laugh at the politics everyone pretends not to notice. Permission to say, out loud in a room full of strangers, yes, this is exactly what my life feels like.

Shubham Shandilya is that kind of comedian. And he's coming to Chennai.

Unfiltered, unapologetic, and arriving in Chennai

His solo show Badtameez — which roughly translates to "ill-mannered," "without decorum" — by Shubham's own description, is raw. And that rawness is precisely the point.

What's worth knowing before you book your seat is where this man started. Not at a comedy club. Not at an open mic, nervously clutching a notepad of half-formed bits. He started at an office fest at Fujitsu in June 2017, where he noticed a gap in the signup sheet and thought — why not. "It was the first time I had ever stepped onto a stage," he says, "and for me, it was about proving something to myself."

The set pulls from corporate culture, middle-class anxieties, relationships, political observation, and the specific chaos of just being a person in India in 2025. None of those categories are new territory for stand-up. But the texture here is different. These aren't setups you see coming. His favourite moments as a performer are the ones where the audience is already reacting before the punchline lands, where a delayed twist hits a whole room at exactly the same second. "Watching an entire room suddenly connect the dots together," he says, "is one of the best feelings in stand-up comedy."

One bit that audiences on this tour have apparently been losing their minds over is a segment about a real driving case. His own. The specifics are being kept close. But if a comedian is willing to mine actual legal trouble for material and calls it one of the most entertaining parts of the set, you are in safe hands. That kind of self-exposure is something you can't fake.

"The humour is honest, relatable, and a little unapologetic," he says, "which is exactly why the show is called Badtameez."

This will be his first time performing in the city. Which means Chennai audiences won't be seeing a version of the show that's been tamed by familiarity. There's a particular energy in a comedian's first performance somewhere new, something slightly unpredictable, slightly alive. He's curious about the audience here. And if you know anything about Chennai crowds, there's good reason to be curious right back.

He's also, for what it's worth, already planning to eat his way through the city after the show. "The first thing on my list is definitely exploring a lot of local cuisines — that's a priority!" Fair enough. Some preparation is research. Some of it is just being a person genuinely excited to be somewhere new. Both bode well for the room.

Beyond the laughs, what he says he actually wants is for something to stick. Not the punchlines exactly — the feeling of recognition. The show is built on the idea that the funniest moments in life are hiding in plain sight. The things everyone goes through but nobody names. The maa ke taane. The office politics. The social awkwardness that never fully disappears no matter how old you get. "I want people to leave feeling lighter, happier, and connected through shared experiences and humour."

Rs 299 onwards. On May 31. At Punch-The Unpaid Therapist.

Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya

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