LIFESTYLE COLUMN: MAHARAJAS OF COMEDY

Kunal Nayyar Hosts Showcase of South Asian Comedians in NYC

By: Parimal M. Rohit

February 12, 2013

New York City’s Mason Hall will be rocking with laughter Valentine’s Day weekend as the Maharajas of Comedy invade one of the East Coast’s premier venues with a live performance featuring some of the world's top comedians of South Asian origin. The event is set to take place on Friday, February 15th and Saturday, February 16th, at Mason Hall in New York City and will be filmed in front of a live audience. Headlining the show are Anish Shah, Dan Nainan, Kabir “Kabeezy” Singh, and Paul Singh. Kunal Nayyar, who currently portrays Rajesh Koothrappali on CBS’s Big Bang Theory, will host the weekend performances. Also joining the New York shows via tape from India is Papa CJ.

Maharajas of Comedy will, according to organizers, provide comedic yet substantive perspectives of being a South Asian in the United States.

One of the headliners, Mr. Shah, told Buzzine the Maharajas of Comedy show is timed perfectly due to increasing interest in the diverse world of South Asian culture and talent.

“You see lots of different types of comedy come together,” he said. “This just seems like the perfect opportunity.”

With the Maharajas of Comedy positioning itself to be a traveling tour of South Asian comedians, Mr. Shah described the 1,200-seat Mason Hall as an ideal venue to launch what could be a national or even worldwide show.

“It will be a great launching pad for our tour, a great circumstance to launch this thing,” Mr. Shah, a Yale MBA graduate and former McKenzie consultant, stated. “I think you’re going to see a wide variety of comedic styles. Some are more risqué, some are more family values, but the common thread … is personal perspectives.”

The challenge of each comedian: “How is what I have to say different,” Mr. Shah says.

Another interesting challenge: performing for a television audience. The one-hour live show will be recorded and later aired on network television come the Spring. Mr. Shah says the fact Maharajas of Comedy will be televised to a large Western audience changes the dynamic of each comedian’s set.

“On TV you do the stuff you know is good. It’ll be stuff I know will be really good,” he told Buzzine. “This is my first exposure (via television) to an American audiences. It’s a huge opportunity for me.”

It is an opportunity that will have a healthy dose of live audiences taking in three performances in a two-day stretch before taking to the road across North America and eventually overseas to showcase “an Indian perspective in America from many hilarious viewpoints.”

For more information on Maharajas of Comedy and ticket availability, fans may visit www.maharajas-of-comedy.com.

The first show takes place February 15th, followed up by two shows February 16th. Maharajas of Comedy follows up the previously successful South Asian comedian show “No Laughing Matter.”

You can follow the comedy show on Twitter (@maharajasoc) and on Facebook.

Also performing will be Mark Saldana and a "Special Guest."

Mason Hall is located at 17 Lexington Avenue, at the corner of East 23rd Street and Lexington in New York City.