Kaneez Surka on bringing improv to mainstream comedy, and if streaming services have helped gender parity

Amazon Prime Video India’s new offering in the comedy genre is Improv All Stars: Games Night. Hosted by Kaneez Surka, the comedy special specifically focuses on Improv comedy. One look at the sets and structure, and viewers will realise that Surka’s lighthearted fluff has actually taken a lot of effort to build. Having worked for 12 years in the circuit, Surka feels ‘appreciation’ and ‘visibility’ for the genre grew gradually. “I carefully developed this show in a way that was more digestible and easier to follow. I was also very conscious about the fact that I wanted something light, fun and happy — and you can see that in the choices we made for the set and costume.” says the comedienne.

Though Indian audiences were initially hesitant to this form, the present scene seem promising. The tag of ‘Improv’ alone is successful in selling out shows. “ Comicstaan , and now a full-fledged special on this comedy form have gone a considerable way in legitimising the genre,” states Kaneez.

The players in her special are fresh faces and not the usual suspects. Surka has been joined by comics Rahul Subramaniam, Jahnvi Dave, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Danish Sait, Radhika Vaz and Aadar Malik. Having a month to prepare for the final show, the team underwent frequent rehearsals. Surka says she is more than glad with the team’s collective efforts. “I was so lucky to have these people — it could easily have taken a different turn.”

The neighbourhood-like stage set up gives audiences a feeling of immediate connect, as if all of this were happening just next door to them. The show’s format essentially consists of two teams— ‘Cutting Chai’ and ‘Filter Coffee’ — who compete with each other on contemporary games within the improv format.  These include narrative building; often, the audience call out suggestions and character traits which the performers then have to build on. The impromptu nature of it all often adds to the comic chaos, even if a particular act is by definition, ’tanking’.

Much of  Improv All Stars: Games Night is based on audience interaction, where the premise that performers deal with begin with, “yes, and…”. While the actors develop it, the audience also needs to contribute by believing the often bizarre scenarios that the spontaneous acts often climax into. Rather than garnering loud laughs every minute, the improv format is heavily dependent on building the scene and remaining committed to it till the end.

Improv or otherwise, the Indian comedy scene is being bolstered considerably by streaming services, with specials and fully fleshed out fictional comedy narratives. But do all of this make for a better male: female ratio in terms of comedians?

Surka disagrees. “No, but it’s getting there — I have faith that in the next few years there will be enough female comedians to at least normalise our presence in a male dominated industry.”

Performing comedy on stage in India has never been easy, especially since the market of varied audiences (in terms of economy or culture) makes the probability of offending sentiments quite high. Many comics have often confessed to consciously practicing self-censorship while others have stated that their principle is to punch up to privilege. Surka does not overthink or intellectualise (as she prefers terming it) the concept much. “For me, some things feel right and some things don’t, and I trust my intuition when its comes to this. But that’s just me,” she says plainly. But the ’line’ that comedians are often hesitant to cross keeps changing in the comedy circuit, feels Surka, “And it changes very quickly nowadays — I just make sure I’m aware of these changes.”

Channel promotions aside, a comedian’s popularity is often dependent on his/her visibility. Social media consolidates that. Surka has an interesting take on it. Unlike most Western countries, states Kaneez, the Indian comedy scene developed alongside the entrance of digital platforms. Hence, the growth of the field has been different as compared to other nations. “The process of becoming a comedian is different (in India) — a lot of it happens through the visibility in our YouTube videos, or Instagram or Snapchat characters and content.”

However, this online dependency must surely make Surka a target for online trolling? She emphatically agrees. From her accent to her comedy, everything is commented upon. But the comedienne feels that most of the online trolling is because she is a woman functioning within a male dominated set up. She copes with it by not reading most comments or blocking unnecessarily negative people.

Surka ends it with a funny anecdote on her troll management skills. “I recently indulged in one hater, where he was like —

Hater: I hate Kaneez I will only watch the Improv All Stars for the others and will fast forward through her parts Kaneez: As long as you watch it Hater: Yes but not for you, I’ll be watching it for the others Kaneez: Again as long as you watch it - enjoy Hater: Fine you’ve convinced me I’ll watch you too”

This is followed by a hearty laugh. “I think sometimes they also just want attention, they want you to interact with them - that’s it.”

Improv All Stars: Games Night is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.