Celebrities doing stand-up? That is like Angelina Jolie naming her daughter Jennifer. Not going to happen. That, in fact, was a joke by Karan Johar in the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s One Mic Stand, where celebrities actually do try their hand at stand-up.
Johar was referring to how implausible the plots of his own old movies are. “I literally cringe when I see them,” he said. Celebs, in fact, are at their funniest when they are self-deprecating. That is why Johar’s digs at his penchant for launching star kids or Chetan Bhagat’s jokes about how, as a writer, he spends his time fixing the flush while his banker wife participates in Asia-Pacific strategy meets are actually funny.
After getting the likes of Shashi Tharoor, Richa Chadha and Taapsee Pannu in the first season of the show, the second seemed more subdued, with a line-up that included Sunny Leone, journalist Faye D’Souza, rapper Raftaar, Bhagat and Johar. Bhagat seemed a trifle nervous and occasionally bungled his delivery, but his material was good, except when he deviated from his life into the unfamiliar terrain of hand jobs and cockroaches. Raftaar was mediocre, and the laughter he elicited was mostly polite.
Considering the circus that Indian news channels are, D’Souza, as a former news anchor, had her job cut out. She ended, however, on a pompous note. Leone was not very funny, but her act gave an insight into what life might be for someone like her, from the torrent of nude pictures to the threats of mass suicide that she receives. “My fans take do or die to a whole different level,” she quipped. Whether it is interviewers who ask her if she regrets doing the “p-word” or Bollywood casting directors who promise to change her image—she takes them all on fearlessly and unapologetically.
Other than host Sapan Verma’s act, the best moments of this season were when the celebs got off their high horse. When they tried to be funny, it usually flopped, but when they told us about their flops, they were usually funny. So, who’s ready to go next? Tiger Shroff, we are looking at you!
ONE MIC STAND SEASON 2
Available on Amazon Prime Video
Rating 3/5