Women comedians take centre stage

When Aditi Mittal got up on stage and voiced her hilarious take on sex, society, and women, she received a lot of appreciation but then an elderly man walked towards her and curiously asked: 'beta comedy toh accha kar leti ho par tumse Shaadi kaun karega?' This sort of question still resonates with all the other patriarchal slaves. And it's not just our society which thinks like that but others too. A woman talking about sex is forbidden and is a myth, but a woman doing comedy? Well, that's a joke.

Since a woman being a stand-up comedian is a relatively new phenomenon in the Indian society, people share a common conception: Oh! Is she a stand-up comedian? She will make the same point about her periods, bra size, and vagina over and over.

Neeti Palta, a well-known 'female' stand-up comedian has also faced such discrimination. "I remember that somebody had tagged someone in the comments section in one of my videos which say let's go for this show and the response was, 'no, chick comedy is not my cuppa.' I was really pissed off. I do all types of topics and so do other female comedians, so if a guy talks about their problems and experiences, why can't women do the same without being judged," she said.

She further added, "There is a general perception that women are not funny. And that even if they talk, they will only talk about how oppressed they are by the society."

There are numerous aspects to why a woman is not really considered as a comedian or even a professional, but one thing remains same in every statement – few number of female comedians and how they are taught to suppress their sense of humour during their formative years.

According to Aditi Mittal, there are two reasons to it: "One reason is that women are stuck in a paradox. Because we live in a man's world, the number of female comedians is less. And because numbers are less, potential artists hesitate to even try. The second reason is that we were always taught to take ourselves, as women, very seriously. We are constantly told: Haww! besharam hai and tumse shaadi kaun karega."

In Mona Ambegaonkar's experience not a lot of women have had the kind of upbringing that encourages or allows them to be able to stand up on stage. So naturally, men are perceived to be able to address a wider range of subjects, women on the other hand, not because they are not intelligent but because in the past they genuinely did not have exposure to the areas which they could have spoken about.

An equal sense of stature can only be attained when presented with equal opportunities but brands and companies don't function like that. They will present the safest and profitable option available. When Amazon Prime came up with their one-hour special episodes of stand-up comedy, out of 11-13 Indian comedians, not a single one out of them was a woman.

"Women don't get adequate exposure, and then people think female comics either don't exist or are not funny in India," said Vasu Primlani. She added, "There are more women comedians now, but aside of women's day, I don't see equality for women in the comedy space."

Talking about getting equal space, Neeti Palta took a more practical approach and said, "Amazon was all about putting out a one hour special and I think only 3-4 of all female comedians have the one-hour material ready. And honestly, I'd get a special or a deal as a comedian rather than my gender. I don't want to be in the special category of 'acha isko show de dete hai because ye ladki hai', I want isko ye show de dete hai because ye funny hai.' I don't want any reservation quota."

Basically, a woman who speaks up and talks about her problems is an inconvenience to our society. We live in a world where a woman's body is ruled by many other illogical things. So, when we see someone trying to take control, then she is immediately a threat, then it's against culture and that person is breaking the status quo.

If men put out their videos jumping around in absurd dresses or trying to do comedy, at most, they will be ignored or laughed at. But, if a woman dares to get up on stage and tries to do genuine comedy, she is objectified. Period. No comments on how good or bad her comedy was but instead, hundreds of comments about her body.

"When some of my guy friends shared their videos of stand-up comedy, the most they would get was 'kya bakwas comedy hai' but I am getting comments on my looks, on my sex life, butt size and so on. Just imagine how much these people zoomed in. Clearly, they are watching the video on mute. What's going on? I need some comments on my comedy. I didn't put up the video to marry you," said Neeti.

When the whole of society needs a mental change about women and their choices, not many options are available to keep doing what you want to do. After doing stand-up for seven years, Aditi Mittal learned that the only way around anything is through it. "When you feel low, go back to whatever that is you were doing. The only way we can give a solution is being a solution," she said.

Gradually, situations are changing. Now, when Neeti calls up the audience for the feminists to cheer, even boys cheer. "Earlier, guys used to think that only girls can be feminists," she laughed while adding, "I have seen a lot of change, obviously in my little bubble, about how mothers are now raising their sons. I am just saying to moms to raise your sons better. If he is doing something wrong, if he is talking badly about a woman or even eve teasing, then don't protect him, slap the shit out of him because that's the only way." Not all is bad in the comedy space, people are accepting females as comedians and after watching their videos, smashing lakhs of likes on social media, people of all ages are coming to watch them perform live. Just because there are fewer women in this field don't mean we are not funny, it just means we are breaking all the barriers and taking the centre stage.