Standup has enjoyed a rapid rise in India over the last decade, and now its leading lights are conquering the Edinburgh fringe and packing out the Royal Albert Hall. Where better to take aim at the legacy of Empire \u2026<\/p>\n
In the summer of 2010, Anuvab Pal was writing an article about the opening of the Comedy Store in Mumbai, impresario Don Ward\u2019s attempt to introduce British-style standup to India. Pal, then working primarily as a screenwriter, went to interview Ward, whose storied London venue was a cradle of alternative comedy in the 1980s. He told Pal that press coverage was all well and good, but what he really needed was performers. The initial plan \u2013 flying British comics out to India \u2013 would be too costly to maintain long-term, which meant he had to find talent, fast. Would Pal audition for him?<\/p>\n
Pal agreed but remained sceptical. \u201cI remember telling my family: \u2018This is just a little hobby, I don\u2019t think English comedy\u2019s going to pick up in India,\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cFourteen years later here we are chatting. I still wake up every morning thinking: \u2018This is going to end, obviously.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n