Laughing your way to democracy

An unabashedly political play, Aisi Taisi Democracy uses a mix of stories, songs and a generous serving of humour to drive home the point

We live in an absurd world in which people react more strongly to a cricketer retiring than they do to the discovery of the God Particle. It's a world in which fairness creams are sometimes cheaper than water; where the police are inefficient, but moral policing rampant. This is the world that the outrageously irreverent trio - Rahul Ram (band Indian Ocean's frontman) and standup comics Sanjay Rajoura and Varun Grover lampoon in the second season of their widely acclaimed show, Aisi Taisi Democracy. Using a mix of stories, songs and conversation, ATD takes on the Nehru dynasty, Vyapam scam, the government ban on porn and the limp lettuce in wedding buffets with equal gusto, in what is arguably India's first musical standup comedy show.

Its thrust, as evidenced by its name that loosely translates from Hindi to "democracy be damned", is unabashedly political. "Last year, after elections, we poked fun at every single political party," says Ram. From allusions to the Jija who put Gurgaon in his pocket, to lampooning Modi's election speeches and declaring that the Shiv Sena was happiest with the new Mumbai Metro as it gave them something else to burn - ATD has poked at them all. The new season promises to be as crackling, with a song that has already gone viral on Internet. "The two acts I'm most excited about," says Grover, who's also written the screenplay and lyrics for the widely acclaimed film Masaan, "are on the government's Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and the pornography ban!"

ATD came together rather serendipitously last year. It all began when Ram heard Rajoura's standup comic act. "I was blown away, for this guy spoke in Hindi, and his world view seemed so similar to my own," recounts Ram. After the show, Ram casually suggested that if Rajoura ever wanted to add music to his act, he'd do it in a jiffy. "Meanwhile, Grover and I were also thinking of a creative collaboration," says Rajoura. One thing led to another, and after a five-hour skype call (Grover is based out of Mumbai while the other two are in Delhi), ATD was born. Rajoura and Grover write their own acts, while all three collaborate on the songs. The result is a mad blend of scripted and unscripted interactions amongst the three. "There's a lot of improvisation, we keep pulling each other's leg during the show," says Ram. "It's a lot of fun on stage."

Underneath the humour, however, there's a very real sense of disenchantment with modern Indian society. As Ram puts it, "ATD has grown out of a growing concern that while our spaces for dissent are shrinking, the absurdities in our system continue to grow." Adds Rajoura, "We're taught from the time we're young, not to question our fathers. As we grow older, we learn to unquestioningly accept authority, whether it's the politicians or the bureaucrats." But ATD questions every accepted norm; challenges every authority. It is no wonder the, that its brand of humour leaves quite a few in the audience squirming even as they laugh. "So far, however, audiences have reacted very positively to our jokes and our outspokenness," says Grover. "Even though in today's milieu, there are so many fallouts of expressing one's opinions that most people tend to practice self-censorship."

The trio is gearing up for Season Two with performances in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi from September 7 to 10. ATD has signed up with Culture Machine, which runs the Internet channel Being Indian, to market selected videos and songs. On this channel, one of their new songs, "Mere saamne wali sarhad pe (the border in front of me)" has gone viral and has also elicited a musical response from across the border. "At a time when India-Pakistan talks flopped yet again, we managed to create a light-hearted dialogue through our music!" says Rajoura.

Although, however, there clearly is an audience for satire, there hasn't so far been a lot of sponsor interest. In that sense, ATD highlights the biggest obstacle in the path of indie talent and unconventional voices - they just don't make enough money to be commercially viable. "I think we all are perfectly aware that if we choose to stand up for what we believe in; stand by our politics - we aren't likely to earn a lot of money from ATD," says Rajoura."But I'm satisfied, for I'm going on stage with what I truly believe in." The trio plans to take ATD to smaller cities like Varanasi and Lucknow. Grover adds, "we want our performances to reach not just the western educated people from our metros, but audiences across the country."

Aisi Taisi Democracy will perform in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi on September 7, 8, 9 and 10. Tickets available at www.bookmyshow.com