For stand-up comedians, bad days will likely continue even after lifting of lockdown

The coronavirus isn’t funny — as India’s comedy circuit has realised all too well.

For comedians who counted on stand-up to make a living, the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic has been huge. With the country in lockdown, the only revenue is from heavily discounted Zoom shows for corporate houses, open mics on Google Hangouts, Instagram Live and other experiments. But not everyone is doing these, and even for those trying to utilise the virtual means, earnings are down 80-90%.

What is even more worrying is uncertainty. Even when the lockdown is lifted, social-distancing measures will remain the norm and that will mean no live events for a some more time, say comedy circuit insiders. They expect the dry spell to continue for the next 6-8 months, at least.


“Live comics won’t be getting shows for at least six months,” says stand-up comedian Raghav Mandava. “I don’t see people getting comfortable in a place with more than 10 people for some time.”

Mandava, who says he currently has no income to speak of, isn’t comfortable with the online medium. He’s living off his savings for now. “Maybe I’ll take to writing content for shows,” he says.

Only Much Louder, an artist and event management company, is now relying more on digital events, says chief operating officer Dhruv Sheth.

Some comics like Sahil Shah at Only Much Louder are doing open mics on Google Hangouts, where a limited number of fans are invited. Another artist, Tanmay Bhat, has been doing livestreaming on YouTube, where he calls comics on his show.

A few companies have started to reach out to them to do live shows via the Zoom video application for their employees.

But there is a catch. Companies are offering only about 20-30% of regular rates. That apart, say comedians, interaction with the audience doesn’t work very well online.

“You don’t get the feel of a live audience in an online show,” says Vipul Goyal. There are no live gigs this year; only virtual shows, he says, adding: “Aesthetics gets affected.”

“Ninety percent of income is from live shows. And that’s dropped to zero,” says Goyal. He isn’t too inclined to make content for the Internet, because that doesn’t bring much money.

“Why should I make content if I can’t monetise it? Everyone is active on Instagram now because that’s the only way to get noticed by brands now,” he says.

While ticket sales are often zero for digital shows, even YouTube rates have come down, say those in the business.

For Sunil Pal, online shows don’t bring work satisfaction as it does during a live interaction with people. “Everyone is very sad that this sort of misfortune is upon us. All the work is now happening on social media or on news channels,” he says.

Kishore Dayani, who owns two comedy clubs in Delhi and Gurgaon, says the Zoom shows are asking for rate cuts of 70-80%. “Most comedians are not opting for them; they’re scared it’ll become a culture,” he says.

Dayani is, however, planning ahead. When clubs are allowed to start again, he says he will operate at half the capacity and take precautions. “I’m thinking optimistically; hoping some might come for entertainment.”