Shaking and Stirring!- Neeti Palta
Aishwarya Shrivastav
If Professor Utonium added a twist of quirk and wit into his mix, we’d have a new kind of desi Powerpuff Girl! Describing herself as one to bring what the comedy scene in India sorely lacks — A female perspective, Neeti Palta has come a long way in her comic odyssey and has made a mark.
Palta comes from a writing background in advertising and TV — ex-Senior Creative Director, JWT, ex-Head Writer for Sesame Street USA’s Indian venture, Galli Galli Sim Sim and her first full-blown Bollywood screenplay ‘O Teri’ (produced by Atul Agnihotri) among other feathers in her cap of unlimited jest!
We got to talking with the comic superstar…
What’s your comic origin story?
I’ve been a writer all my life — from advertising (was a Senior Creative Director with JWT) to writing for Sesame Street (India) and have largely used humour to get a point across.
Turning point would be when I went to see Collin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of the “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” fame perform in Delhi. They have a round in which they enact a situation on stage and get volunteers from the audience to provide sound effects for them on the mike. I was one such volunteer. Initially I dutifully made sounds that matched their story. But after some point I decided to have fun and started randomly yelping like a dog and making crazy sound effects. Brad & Colin had to keep weaving their story around my sound effects. The audience too was having a ball. At the end of the round Colin said they normally never picked female volunteers for this round since females tend to be reticent. But he thanked me for a good job and said I was really funny and should try my hand at stand up comedy.
Some people who were running the open mic circuit in Delhi were at The Colin & Brad show and offered to give me an open spot.
Why do you think there is a derth of female comedians? Do you have any favourites (what do you like in their style of Comedy)
I guess social approval plays a large part. Women tend to judge themselves a lot. Plus we also tend to be judged more than men by all and sundry. So I suppose it’s harder to put ourselves on stage to be judged by a bunch of strangers on a regular basis!
I like Hannah Gadsby as I relate to her style of comedy — sharp and clever and heartfelt. Sharul Channa — completely in your face and unapologetic. Wanda Sykes — Intelligent
Describe your process. Do you include personal experiences as well?
I talk a lot about my experiences and observations and the hilarity of being a girl in India. But I also talk a lot about my upbringing, parents, the way people react to me for being a little different and not following their idea of living a complete life by ticking all the boxes society lay out for me.
Since my dad was in the army, I have travelled all across the country and am not rooted in one state or culture (fortunately for me!) So a lot of it is specific to how I’ve lived rather than where I’ve lived.
The fun part is I don’t have to deal with me not ticking all the boxes society sets out for me. They have to deal with it
If you had to describe your style in a word/line, what it would be?
One liner for my style of comedy would be tongue-in-cheek
Indian stage; Male vs Female comic. Elaborate.
People are a lot more open to accepting that a male comic will be funny. With a female comic they do take time to warm up. We have to first prove we are funny by battling against an assumption they have in their mind, so we start from a negative. Also, speaking from personal experience, with a female comedian people tend to see what she looks like, what she’s wearing, etc before they actually start focusing on what she’s saying.
Often after the show people walk up to us to express their appreciation. Except, the male comedian on the line up is often compliment with “you were funny” and I get “you were really bold”. Even when they mean it as a compliment it just makes you feel like you’re not on a level playing ground.
Describe your pet-peeves.
I don’t like it when a comedian talks down to his audience for laughs. Pull their leg by all means. But keep in mind that these people have spent time and money to come and watch you, so don’t cross that certain line that’ll leave a bad taste in their mouth.
What has your journey been like as a female comic?
I genuinely believe there are pros and cons to being any gender. In comedy, I got noticed because of my gender first and then thankfully enough I was funny. If nothing people are at least curious about you. However I am far more fussy about the gigs I accept than my male counterparts. Sometimes the reason someone wants to hire you as an artiste are suspect. Is it for mere titillation of inebriated men at a gathering or are they genuinely interested in your comedy?
I have had to listen to silly event people say oh you should charge us less because you won’t even share a room as all the other artistes are male. Or ironically someone hiring me for a women’s day gig has inadvertently blurted out — “but I thought female comedians charged lesser than men!”
A guy had once said to me in some other context — Don’t take advantage of the fact that you’re a woman. My response — “Why not? Someone will. Might as well be me!”
See link (all true!)
I’ll admit that it does take me a little bit of extra effort to put myself up on a public platform. But then, I have something to say, so I do. Ours is still a conservative society with clearly defined (at least in their heads!) gender roles and some people find it harder to deal with a female comedian being outspoken. But the response I have received so far across the country has surprised me rather pleasantly.
Also, as a woman I am in a unique position to be able to call women out on their bullshit as well without immediately being branded a ‘misogynist” or a “sexist” (I hope!). After all we should be able to take as good as we give.
I hate it when people mindlessly brand a female comedian’s stuff as “chick comedy”. That right there is blatant sexism. I talk about hospitals and funerals and phones and doctors and all the other topics that any male comedian might talk about as well. How come a male comedian’s comedy never gets branded “stud comedy”?
Guys talk about stuff in their life and that’s fine. But a female talks about periods, eyes are rolled in judgement — “oho! Typical female! What else will she talk about”. Same goes for cursing on stage. A juicy abuse form a male comic will elicit a laugh but a female comic gets to hear “tch! Tch!”
Does politics influence your comedy?
Yes to a certain extent. But I use it in conjunction with my pet topics. So if I’m talking about women safety, I crack a joke about how the government did deliver on its promise to make India safer for women, but only women of the bovine species.
Best advice you have ever received?
“Don’t let your gender hold you back because others feel it should”.
Women are brought up to be reticent or self-conscious. We are brought up to dress ad behave in a way so as to not draw attention to ourselves. Not sure if we are born with it or conditioning over the years makes us have this inner voice that constantly tells us we can’t. It constantly makes us self-doubt.
My advise to aspiring female comedians is the same — if you treat your gender like an albatross around your neck, there’s not very far that you can go. Tell that negative inner voice to STFU and bash on regardless.
What does the future for female comedy look like?
I do see more women joining in or at least starting to take an interest. And now that comedy is slowly being seen as a legit profession hopefully they’ll face less objections to them joining than I had to.
You would’ve seen the show Queens of Comedy on TLC. There’s a lot of encouragement being given to women to take stage. There are a host of “all female” open mics being held in different cities. Though if you ask me personally, I am not entirely comfortable with the idea of “women exclusive” shows because they only add to the stereotype that our comedy is different or needs help. It is not a test of strength that we can’t be pitted against men. It’s a test of wit and humour and I think women are just as capable. But if the newcomers are actually more comfortable this way then who am I to object?
Women in India are changing. They are more empowered and have more freedom to make their own choices. More of them are stepping forward in all fields — be it in the army or as a pilot, so why not comedy? It’s all happening. And it’s happening here!
About our writer: Aishwarya Shrivastav is a history graduate from University of Delhi. A spoken word poet, she likes to describe herself as a woman taking up more space than she was allotted by the society. Raging through words.
