There is so much to love about this city — its many dimensions, people, and vagaries, and what better way to say it all than through comedy?
Chennai, We Have A Problem…And It Is Hilarious, will have six stand-up comedians from the city take the stage as they try to decode, analyse, and most importantly, make light of all that has come to define a day in Chennai’s life. All of this will come together in a comedy concert of sorts, where the audience will be treated to an evening of laughter in celebration of the city as a part of The Hindu Festival of Chennai celebrations, to commemorate 385 years of the city we call home.
“There is a reason why Ravichandran Ashwin, Superstar Rajinikanth, or even I continue to stay in Chennai. Wherever we go, our home is this beautiful city,” says comedian-activist Rajmohan Arumugam. “I will be digging into some of my favourite memories, from my life as an Engineering student and also speak about how college life has changed over the years now,” he adds.
Rajmohan Arumugam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Actor and comedian Badava Gopi says everything about him is Chennai. “From the language to the food, everything about me is from this city. I strongly believe that if you have lived in Chennai, you can live anywhere, given how the city nurtures and brings you up,” he says. The sounds of Chennai, ranging from the traffic to MS Dhoni in Chepauk will all feature in his set. “I have performed in many places abroad, but performing in Chennai is truly special,” he adds.
Mervyn Rozz | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For Mervyn Rozz, the city’s traffic, the different kinds of people one encounters when stuck in a jam, and how it all adds to Chennai’s personality will be the theme of his set. “Despite planning and leaving early, most of us arrive late,” he says. The city has space for everyone and accomodates the way they all want to live, he says, and points to this being true of travel as well.
Ramkumar Natarajan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Drawing inspiration from over 15 years in the IT sector, Ramkumar Natarajan’s set will delve into Chennai’s quintessential IT crowd through his own experiences, and the corporate and IT hustle – chronicling all the highs and lows. “Chennai has been welcoming people from the South into the IT sector for a while now. The city has helped elevate these lives and this is something I will touch upon as well,” he says.
Praveen Kumar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The daily lives in Chennai’s many homes will provide for the laughs in Praveen Kumar, and ‘Vikkals‘ Vikram’s comedy sets. Stories about Chennai’s families, youngsters stepping out into the real world, and all the learning and unlearning that entails will make up Vikram’s set. Praveen, who moved from Bengaluru to Chennai during the pandemic, tackles life in Chennai’s apartment complexes. “There was a big gap between what we were promised and what we ended up with, and several things like this I will speak about will be relatable to the audience,” he says.
‘Vikkals’ Vikram | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
About his fellow stand-up comics and this comedy concert he has curated, Rajmohan says they all have uniquely different memories and experiences of the city, all of which will feature in their set. “So much can be said about the city’s vibrance and this clean, family friendly set is something we as a group are thrilled to come together for.”
The Hindu Festival of Chennai is done in partnership with Greater Chennai Corporation, Namma Marina, CMRL, Mark Metro, Greater Chennai Traffic Police, Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation, Realty Partner: GSquare, Associate partners: Akshayakalpa, UP Tourism, Knowledge and expert partners: Nam veedu nam oor nam kadhai and Madras Photobloggers, Happiness partner: On The Streets of Chennai, Radio partner: Big FM
For the comedy concert Chennai We Have A Problem…And It Is Hilarious, head to The Music Academy at 6pm on August 23. Log onto https://newsth.live/MOC2024SCA for registrations.
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