Why shows in Dubai feel like broadway musicals?

"Middle aged balding" were three words Anuvab Pal chose to best describe himself.

"Well, it's either that or 'Way past hope!'" added the MIT graduate, playwright, comedian and screenplay writer.

Anuvab's self-depracting humour, a natural skill,  takes him to many places. Selling out shows internationally, the funny man will be tickling Dubai’s funny bone with his one-man show 'Anuvab Pal vs The Empire' this weekend at Ductac.

The comedy act is lightly based on the history of India under British rule.

Listed by 'Times Of India' as one of India's top five comedians, Anuvab told ‘Emirates 24|7’: "A lot of my shows are about how the world sees Indians, and Indians travelling the world, and the ridiculousness of Indians around the world, and sometimes that works with well-travelled audiences, mainly from cosmopolitan cities."

They include Dubai, a city that Anuvab loves performing in.

"What I love about Dubai is that  even the smallest comedy show produced, feels like a broadway musical, unlike New York City."

He added:"I've just completed a tour of the US, and  what I realised is, since comedy has been around for so long, comedy clubs are mostly in basements, where you see part of the ceiling is falling, the paint is peeling, the feeling is old."

"But in Dubai, on the other hand, before you do the show, you ask yourself ‘is this for me or for Tom Cruise!?’' Because the stage is beautiful, it's in a five-star hotel, they’ve blocked the rooftop, and you see the city skyline, Its beautiful, I love it!"

Then again, any sort of order and direction can send Anuvab into disarray.

"As an Indian, I think any kind of functioning makes us uncomfortable," he said.

Anuvab explained:"When I go to Dubai or Singapore everyone's standing in lines, the roads are functioning, the streets are clean, things happen on time, people show up for meetings on time, it drives me mad and I think ”Someone do something!"

But then, that’s exactly the common trait of comedians, highlighting the funny things about their own country and other cultures.

He added: "I like that about us, we're a little bit treacherous, when we say 'Yes' It can mean anything!"

"I think that from a comedian's point of view, Indians are lucky people, but they're also beautifully deceitful, although they're not violent people!" he joked.

But with that in mind, he still advised on approaching certain topics with his fellow Indians with caution.

"Everyone in India is very opinionated about everything, but Biryani in particular, and every Indian knows where to get the best Biryani," he said.

He continued: "You can't even suggest you had a biryani better than the other guy, and if you do then he will say 'that's impossible, the best biryani is from some place cooked by some guy called 'Aslam', and when you ask where Aslam is, they’ll tell you he's dead. "

After pointing out that Anuvab had a lingering English accent throughout the interview, he replied: "Yes, that's correct, and I mention that not with a sense of pride, but with a sense of disappointment."

He continued: "Because 10 years ago, I would have said thank you very much, that’s wonderful, and you would think it’s an advantage, but in India it's actually a disadvantage, because when I talk like that, people think 'who is this character? Has he stepped out of the audition of the movie Gandhi? Who is he!?"

Well, he is the one and only Anuvab Pal, not to be compared with other comedians, as he often does.

He explained: "I get a lot of comparisons with Eddie Izzard, and Louis C.K., because I'm older than a lot of Indian comedians and I talk about the young India."

"But neither am I divorced with children, nor am I a cross-dresser or transvestite, like Eddie, so I think  to myself 'what are you comparing me to!?"

Anuvab’s comedy act has earned him the titles of  'India's most intelligent stand-up comic’ by the New York Times, as well as "India's answer to PG Wodehouse" by the BBC.

And having worked on hugely popular TV shows such as Frasier and Goodness Gracious Me, Anuvab will be delighting Dubai’s audience with his one-man show 'Anuvab Pal vs The Empire' this weekend at the Ductac stage at 8 pm tomorrow and Friday May 8.

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