Loud nights, busking and rolling lineups. That’s what comedy in India was all about.
From Dubai to India, six of us Dubai comedians suddenly dropped into a comedy scene that moves as fast as lightning. From the first night, we rolled up our sleeves and got straight into business, talking to producers, chasing spots and getting through Bangalore traffic.
India’s comedy scene is huge, Bangalore alone runs about twelve mics a night, starting early until midnight. It’s mic after mic, laugh after laugh, new audience everytime. For us, that meant spending our days comedy-hopping from one room to the next, checking where we could get spots, finishing one set and already thinking about where we needed to be next.
The system was fascinating to watch because it’s very different from what we’re used to in Dubai. You arrive at a venue, head into the green room, check your name on the lineup and wait for your turn. The first comic on is usually the most senior. He does a few jokes, works the crowd a bit, introduces the next act and from there the night becomes a rolling lineup. One comedian hands the room to another, who hands it to another, and the show just keeps moving.
Coming from Dubai, where comedy nights tend to be much more structured, we had to adjust quickly. In Bangalore, you could feel that comedy definitely consumed their time. It’s less of a hobby and more of a full time thing for most comics there. There was always another mic somewhere. Another room to fill. Another set to test.
And then came the biggest difference from Dubai: busking.
In Dubai we’re spoiled brats. You sign up, send your headshot, get a poster and the producers fill the room. You arrive, perform and go home.
In India, if you wanna be a comedian, it’s a full package! We met so many comics who do this full time. They busk on the street, jump from one mic to the next and grind it every night. They’re not sitting around waiting for an audience to magically appear. They go out and find one, test jokes daily and really get that stage time.
And very quickly, we ended up doing the same. We’d be walking to a show and bump into a comic standing on the street trying to convince people to come inside. He’d go, “Hey guys, we’re having a comedy show,” and next thing you know, the six of us are standing there with him selling the night. We’d start doing crowd work with people passing by, trying to convince them that maybe spending the next hour watching us isn’t such a terrible idea.
It’s a joy selling the idea of comedy to people. It’s basically a sales pitch on the street, except the product is you. You have to earn your audience before you’ve even stepped on stage.
Some of the comics even tried to sell the idea of me being white as the reason people should come. It was like I was the exotic special of the night. Let me tell you, theThe only exotic thing about me was me trying to turn full Indian by the end of that trip. I’m out here chasing brown privilege and they’re advertising me as a foreign product.
But there was something addictive about it. You’d watch someone walk past completely uninterested, throw something at them, get a reaction and suddenly they’d stop, buy tickets on the spot and go into the comedy room. Then another person would stop. Then you’d convince a few of them to come inside. Eventually there’s a room full of people and you know that some of those people are sitting there because you literally pulled them in off the street.
That changes the relationship you have with an audience. You earned them before you even told your first joke. Another thing that surprised me about comedy in India is that all the rooms are sober. Your audience is there all ears for you, a sober room really puts you in the spotlight, with no distractions, no side conversations, no bartenders with shakers adding sound effects to your set. These people showed up to listen to you and it’s even harder when it’s just you and the audience without the comedians in the background supporting you. It’s like your first day at work, you either make a good first impression or you lose your chance. Every joke lands or it doesn’t. Every reaction is real. Every silence is very, very real. It forces a different kind of focus. You either hold the room or you don’t. Then you walk back into the green room and everyone is basically like, “How did it go?” If it didn’t work, it was rewriting time before heading to the next show.
Some would say performing in a sober room is challenging, but that’s where I saw growth in myself, I saw my confidence grow each time I went behind the mic. You really become aware of everything: your timing, your pauses, the moments where you rush because you’re nervous. You can feel the room breathing with you. And if something doesn’t work, there’s nowhere to hide. That pressure made me tighter, sharper and much more present than I usually am back home. I guess sometimes working under pressure is not so bad, aye?
We also had the privilege of performing at some of the biggest rooms in Bangalore: Comedy Underground and The Comedy Theatre and many other rooms. These are places where you walk in and the walls are basically the wall of fame of Indian comedy. Kanan Gill, Urooj Ashfaq, Kunal Kamra, Anirban Dasgupta and so many others have been through those rooms.
There’s something strange about seeing all those names and then realising, okay, now I have to go up there and impress these people! Pressure! But also excitement!
At Underground, we had a full lineup of only Dubai comics, which felt special as hell. Our little crew had travelled from Dubai, spent our days running around Bangalore looking for spots and suddenly all of us were on the lineup together in one of the city’s most respected comedy rooms. We were representing the scene we came from while simultaneously trying to absorb everything we could from theirs.
Comedy became less of an event we were attending and more like the thing our entire day revolved around. Wake up. Find the spots. Eat. Get through Bangalore traffic. Perform. Run somewhere else. Perform again. Somewhere in between, try to have a life and enjoy the city.
And we definitely tried! We did karaoke, sang songs and danced the night away. We did a little shopping, because what’s a trip without shopping? And we ate. A lot.
The food scene in Bangalore is insanely good. Every corner felt like there was something else we needed to try, from Dosas to Tawas and even burgers, everything was so mouthwatering. But beyond the food, I loved the city itself. I can proudly say I would move to Bangalore. It’s bustling, creative and full of interesting people. The mix of energy, comedy, food, people
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