It's not everyday that we see a woman stand-up comedian in India. And here's one who defies all norms -Radhika Vaz.
One of the only women stand-up comedians, who is as popular in New York as she is in our country, Radhika likes to get on stage and speak her mind, in a dangerously funny and witty manner, notwithstanding the judgmental crowd that women usually have to endure in a public platform.
She's performing "Older.Angrier.Hairier" in Bengaluru, a city she considers home, this weekend. "Older.Angrier.Hairier" basically touches upon three ideas, the association of femininity with cleanliness, the pressure a city puts upon a woman in her late 30s to have a child, and how the idea of age is skewed against women.
“It always is this way. It never matters if a guy is old. But when a woman stops being a baby machine, it's such a big problem for the society. The society always tells you what you should want and women generally succumb to the pressure. It's not their fault though; it's how the society programmes them," exclaims the gutsy 40-year old.
Having lived in Ooty, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Madras, New York and Gurgaon, her material oozes with varied cultures and well-researched ideas.
She believes that a classy, authentic comedian would mostly speak of true stories. “All the instances I narrate are true stories. In fact, for this particular show, I even interviewed some of my girlfriends to hear their stories. Some stories were so ridiculously hilarious that I just had to add them to the script," says the 'skinny' woman, who even writes extensively about feminism, marriage and social issues on her website.
Ask her where it all began and she jokes saying, “You know, people always used to laugh at me, instead of with me and I didn't mind that. Being a comedian is all about provoking audiences to react."
Speaking about a tough audience, she says, “Initially, I'd totally panic if audiences didn't laugh, but with experience comes confidence. You don't want to tell them 'Hey I made a joke! Laugh!'"she explains.
She aspires to play comic roles in the movie, provided it's realistic and not over-thetop. Funnily enough, she wants to do an item number!
“Can you imagine how hilarious that'll be?" she laughs. She can't be happier about starting this tour in Bengaluru.
“I studied in Mount Carmel College and all my old friends live there and so do my cousins. It's the people who always allure me, be it Mumbai, Bengaluru or New York" she says.
She's performing at B Flat, as part of The Comedy Store on December 7, with a hope that she soon has more womancompany in the comedy circuit in India. She promises to put up more shows here, now that she has moved back to Gurgaon from New York.
