Sorabh Pant talks Amazon Prime special Make India Great Again, and how his politics affects his comedy

Sorabh Pant’s new Amazon Prime Video India special, Make India Great Again, talks primarily about the not-so-perfect state of affairs in India and what essentially to do about it (or not). Not taking any moralistic stand, Pant’s rant is a social commentary on one and all. Talking about his brand of comedy, Sorabh mentions precisely that. “I consciously make fun of all parties. I know it is easy to label someone’s affiliations very easily these days. Hence, it’s my deliberate effort to break away from that and talk about all of them.”

He seems hopeful of comedy acting as a social vehicle to bring in change, “Regional comedy is our kingpin and it has to be honed from different points of view. Also, one or two voices cannot be talking, it has to be almost everyone.”

The political vigilantism does not seem to affect Pant creatively, “I just think it’s stupid,” he says plainly. “My way of dealing with backlash is also quite simple, I just let them talk and continue doing what I think is funny enough for audiences to come and watch. Comedians are social commentators and politics is the most talked about subject, so why not?”

History is proof of the fact that many comedians have been subjected to severe trolling, and have also faced death threats. “Comedians, like most artists are easy targets,” says Pant. “Especially because there is no unity or union that we belong to. We just happen to do our individual thing every day. No Bharatiya Comedy Part or just to be safe Indian National comedy,” he quips. Pant feels it is way more difficult to shut a politician up for doing far worse in today’s times.

Regionalistic tropes in comedy have been exploited in the Indian scene well enough. Most comedy enthusiasts have heard their share of ‘Delhi vs Bombay’ jokes and some have even started averting the hackneyed content nowadays. Sorabh confesses to have done his fair share of such jokes, especially for quick laughs and quicker money. “I used to do a lot of these jokes when I started off. It worked in the beginning but it’s more difficult to pass off Marwari, Gujarati jokes nowadays. However, if you feel that kind of humour is funny I will not judge you. Some sets, if done properly, can be hilarious. Abhishek Upmanyu’s bit on Delhi vs Bombay was genuinely funny.”

For most comedians, self-censorship has become an important routine within their performances. “I do practice self-censorship, but not when I am working on jokes at open-mics or trial shows,” says the comedian. Pant essentially feels he needs to let it all hang during the testing period as it helps him navigate through his content and decide where the humour lies and how he wants to package it in a veiled, subtle manner.

“Most jokes have been done a lot before, so you need to find a new angle to make it humorous. Once the jokes have evolved, that is when the censorship kicks in. But in the beginning, it’s really strange in which most of what I write just taking shape of a rant or an essay. For example, I think I would get a lot of marks for my rough drafts had they been written for an exam on a socio-political cause.” says Sorabh.

Since most millennials turn to comedy as entertainment these days, being socially responsible citizens off-camera is something comedians are being asked to consider. Pant feels the social media holds most public figures responsible for any of their actions. Quoting comedian John Stewart, he says that for most occasions, comedians are hauled up for being inappropriate but anyone can be a victim to irresponsible behaviour, especially owing to the rich culture of getting offended in the country. “I am responsible though, you see I’m a nice guy, in fact I’m great,” ends the humble Pant.

Make India Great Again is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.