Why should boys have all the fun?

Manpriya Singh

There is nothing off limits—sarcasm, satire, humour, pun (intended or unintended), bring it on! Language is not a bar either. The only thing barring the jokes on Queens of Comedy is the gender of the person they come from. Queens of Comedy, the soon-to-be-aired female comedy show on TLC, invites all the girl power in full force to take on the male-dominated world of stand-up comedy.

“This is to give women not just a footplate to be themselves but also that little push, which is often lacking for them. It’s about that little nudge asking them to step out, come forward and show us their talent,” says Kaneez Surka, one of the three judges. While Varun Thakur of Struggling Actor Vicky Malhotra fame will be hosting the show, Rohan Joshi (AIB) and actor Richa Chadha will be the co-judges.

Why we need it?

There is no denying the comedy clubs sprouting all over the country and comedians achieving celebrity status, but more than half-a-dozen comedy shows have only sprung a few names in the country, namely Bharti and Sugandha Mishra. Opines Rohan, “Men have an upper hand because there are a lot of factors at play. We’ve seen situations like leaving out female comedians because they’d have to organise a separate room for girl while the men can be stacked together.”

As for why an all-female comedy show will not have all-female judges, shares Rohan, “I am not out there as a man. I am there as a comedian and yes, I am the diversity on the show.”

Please don’t intellectualize

No offence, but at the end of the day, it’s about a few good laughs. That’s where the parameters of judging start and end. Opines Rohan Joshi, of AIB fame, on the parameters of judging, “I don’t believe in intellectualizing it. It’s comedy, you see it, you laugh at it and it’s done.”

There can be no tips

While no one can teach wit or comic timing, there is just a little something that Kaneez would like to share with all the aspiring girls. “Try something new, be yourself and just do it. All I am looking at is eight really funny people starting and continuing their careers in the world of stand-up comedy.”

Send in your entries

For the girls who have often had to restrict their wit to all girls’ night-out or college hostel rooms, it’s time to take a step forward, even if a hesitant one. All the entries will be uploaded on the show’s website, of which the 50 shortlisted entries will be open for voting. Adds Kaneez, on the show adopting digital format of entries, “It could be in Hindi or it could be in English, we are not even making language a bar. Digital format coupled with no language restrictions is to make sure that we are open to as many women as possible out there.”

The top eight short-listed contestants will battle against each other and feature in the reality show in their quest to be India’s next female comedy sensation.

(The show premieres on September 24 and will air on weekends at 10 pm on TLC)

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