The newest entrants in the Indian stand-up comedy scene are the winners of Amazon Prime Video’s show, Comicstaan. After battling through seven different genres, Aashish Solanki and Gurleen Pannu emerged as the winner and first runners-up, respectively.
The new and upcoming concept of the show has been lauded by many, the third edition of the programme also comprised of different genres of comedy, mentored by renowned comedians which gave every participant a level playing field. On being asked about their favourite genre, the winners had separate choices for their second preference but chose sketch comedy as their first choice. “My strength was anecdote and I knew I would excel in it but I was pleasantly surprised because I enjoyed sketch comedy the most because I played a character completely different from me.” said Ashish.
As much as the show is about encouraging new talent, it also brings the entire comedy fraternity together. On being asked about their favourite mentor, the two echoed in unison “Kanan Gill”. “Kanan Gill was my favourite mentor and am a big fan as well. I asked Kanan Gill if he can talk in Punjabi, so that I could vibe with him. Even, Rahul Subramanian because he goes beyond stand-up for me and we both share the same birthday, so there is a bias.” Gurleen said.
Coincidentally, three out of four winners of the show were based out of Delhi. Upon asking about the reason, Aashish replied, “There’s something in Delhi’s water. To be honest, there’s a difference in culture, in our culture we have to be on our toes all the time. Another thing is that Delhi is a place where there are a lot of open mics and opportunities to help us train.”
The two were overwhelmed with the amount of love they received after the show ended. Within a matter of five days their DM’s were flooded with messages and in some cases emotional voice notes as well. “As a comic you don’t expect that, you don’t see the other side how people get affected by your performance. Just so overwhelmed right now.” Gurleen candidly elucidated her experience.
The third season of Comicstaan is now available on Amazon Prime Video. Hosted by Kusha Kapila and Abish Mathew, the judges for this year include Neeti Palta, Kenny Sebastian, Zakir Khan and Sumukhi Suresh. The contestants are mentored by Rahul Subramanian, Sapan Verma, Aadar Malik, Anu Menon, Rohan Joshi, Prashasti Singh, and Kanan Gill.
