Anirban Dasgupta on his love-hate relationship with hometown Kolkata and Amazon special Take It Easy

Anirban Dasgupta has an opinion on Kolkata. Like any Calcuttan, his outlook is passionate and established after years of observation.  But being one of the few faces to have made it big from the ‘City of Joy’, Dasgupta’s disgruntled take on the city, wrapped up in casual, laid-back humour may have you fooled. He feels for the city but wants it to change. Dasgupta says, “My Amazon (Prime Video India) special, Take It Easy is much more than Kolkata bashing. I talk about my experiences in the city and crack jokes on them.” [caption id=“attachment_4695431” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Anirban Dasgupta’s Amazon special. All images from Facebook[/caption] A closer look into the routine, and you understand this quite well. His not-so-subtle tirade on how disinterested comedy audiences in the city are, may well be a comment on the industrial future of Kolkata, or its lack thereof. “My main audience were Marwari aunties at weddings.”, Anirban quips in his special. “Because the young, have all left the city.” But Dasgupta’s assurance to a budding Kolkata comedian is to take note of. “It’s important that they remain patient, despite frustrating times. Comedians there have to remain focused and keep on doing comedy for the right reasons,” he says. “That I feel, will make you survive.” The comedian, who tasted success with his videos on marriage and kids, feels his comic process is continuous. “Earlier, I used to write almost every line. Now, I am more inclined to developing jokes on stage. Like, for Take It Easy, I found myself writing more jokes on stage and figuring out material during shows instead of before them.” That way, Dasgupta feels he evolves better. But does he have an off-stage personality which draws from ‘insecurity’ and ‘vulnerability’ in order to produce content? Dasgupta agrees. “Comedians are very insecure beings and I am no different. I generally like keeping to myself off-stage and prefer chilling with friends at home. You see, we are constantly toeing the line between self-awareness and delusion, and that sneaks into your material and work at some level.” This may often lead to pressure wherein comedians feel the need to opt for therapy. For example, fellow comedian, Kenny Sebastian’s Instagram story on mental health surprised many. Most expect comedians to remain happy by default. “Comedians face mental health issues just like any other person,” says Dasgupta. He mainly attributes such issues to a constant social media scrutiny. (Also Read: AIB's video on how Indians perceive mental illness makes a hard-hitting point; watch it here ) Anirban’s rant on Bengali bhadralok’s  (gentlemen) has always garnered loud laughs. But it has also brought him a fair share of trolling. His video on the return of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose received enormous backlash. “I was alarmed at the joblessness of a section of the people. I have simply started ignoring negativity nowadays as there is no point trying to instill logic in such scenarios.” But was that somehow responsible in making him steer clear of political comedy?  “It is not like I am intentionally staying away from it. I do it quite often when I feel I have enough jokes to deal with a certain subject. At other times, I am happily joking about very different and non-political premises.” [caption id=“attachment_4695521” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Anirban Dasgupta is the second comedian from Kolkata to get his own special on Amazon[/caption] As a matter of fact, Take It Easy has a considerable political undertone, especially with Dasgupta reprising his set on Bose. “This one-hour set is probably my favourite material. I really enjoyed the writing stage, figuring out how to do long sets, then touring around the country where the material kept getting slicker. I am quite happy with the final special.” An ardent fan of comedian Norm MacDonald, Anirban loves Kanan Gill’s brand of stand-up comedy within the Indian circuit. “Kanan’s Keep It Real was very funny, well-crafted and classy, and will work anywhere around the world.” But what does Indian stand-up comedy’s future look like to Dasgupta? Do comedy reality shows actually help in honing natural talent?  Dasgupta feels it is too early to say anything, “Comedy reality shows is an opportunity for a lot of people to showcase their stuff, especially people who live outside Mumbai and Delhi where the main scene is. They need to grab this opportunity well. It’s a good thing for them.” With that, this new bhadralok in the Mumbai-comedy-scene, signs off but not before a final whine about his love-hate relationship with Kolkata. “Oh man, the Maa flyover took forever to take shape. Throughout my school, college and four years of work-life, I saw it being built. Only to come out of the city and discover that the now-completed construction is a one-way flyover. The story of this simple flyover is also the story of Kolkata.” (Also Read: Comicstaan: Tanmay Bhat, Kanan Gill, Kaneez Surka on Amazon's upcoming show and all things comedy )