Daniel Fernandes and Lucknow’s tryst with comedy

Lucknow: Daniel Fernandes has left an indelible mark with his brand of comedy which stems from an acute observation of things that happen around us. His sharp wit elicits not only laughter but a worthy thought. His sets on marital rape and death penalty have earned him accolades across demographics. A comedian of both national and international repute, he is bringing his stand up comedy to the capital city of Lucknow, for the first time, as a part of special tour ‘Shadows’.

Shadows is his first comedy special which is a 90 plus minutes show focusing on the 6 critical years of his life. “Unlike the material on YouTube, this show is very personal minus the social commentary, and has a lot of stories and experiences that the audience will connect to”, Daniel told newstrack.com. His inspiration behind the show was to try something different. Not merely relying on the formula of dissecting news and making jokes on it, he wanted to push himself into unknown waters and hence made it about stuff that's real”. The fans have something to look forward to as he claims it is 'brutally honest and at some points, really dark'.

Daniel has already played a role in representing the Indian comic fraternity outside the country, and will be taking Shadows abroad as well. As foreign audiences have been exposed to quality stand-up for a considerable period he finds them less giving.

"You have to understand what's important to them, what they find funny and then deliver your material accordingly”, he explains after having performed in places like Queensland and Victoria as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Since his stand up revolves heavily around ‘social commentary’, the disagreements can often be unsavoury. Mincing no words he calls trolls to be bitter, insecure and unloved who lack the traits required to qualify as a decent human being while being a waste of oxygen. He feels there are politicians that get away with far worse and the people should rather channelize their anger towards the same. “I'm just a comedian. Nothing I say or do shapes policies or affects real lives on ground. I think it's extremely foolish to get mad at a comedian”. Highlighting the absurdity of offense he takes a dig at the current socio-political climate, “All we have is jokes. Jokes can't kill you. Jokes can't make you poor. Jokes can't cause INR 11,000 Cr of your money to disappear from banks”.

In the recent time many comedians have turned to Lucknow which has been crucial in cultivating a comedy culture in the city. Being a prominent performer in places like Canvas Laugh Club in Mumbai, his advice to the young and upcoming comedians of Lucknow is simple “Just get on stage as often as you can. Keep your head down and write. Don't pay attention to what other people are doing or saying about you. Your career is your own personal journey. Don't get caught up in the comedy rat race”. And he calls upon people to set up and run a comedy store to provide that very stage. The audience feedback can subsequently help curate better content.

One of his objectives was to take the tour to cities he has never performed in before and is looking forward to the response. He is also excited to try the Tunday Kebab and other culinary offerings. Is delicious food for great jokes a fair reward? Let’s find out.

He is performing at the International Institute of Buddhist Studies, Gomti Nagar on March 9^th.

You can follow him on Twitter- @absolutelydanny and Facebook- Daniel Fernandes

Written by- Amil Bhatnagar