bpb’s guest Scouter and stand up comedian Padmini Harchandrai reviews the newly-launched Comedy Store at Palladium.

Get Up, Stand Up

After much delay and speculation, the UK based Comedy Store is finally in Mumbai, and located in what’s quickly becoming a lifestyle hub. It might be good business to set up shop in the swish Palladium mall, but quite honestly, the traffic and parking situation in the area is such a nightmare that by the time I'm in the Store, I feel like I'm hung over. And then you have to fight the rip-out-your-eyes-irritatingly slow walking shoppers to get to the place. I'm thinking a flyover directly to the Store would be nice. Although, some singers might have a problem with this.

This Little Shop is Serious Business

I have to say it – The Comedy Store could be my new favourite hang out in the city. Think about it: it packs a full service bar (the beer was to my surprise, pretty cheap), a fun food counter, and most importantly, certified and branded ‘funny’ men (or women) entertaining you for a good hour and a half in a tricked out auditorium. No joke!

Also, the big thing that struck me was that the crowd here is pretty diverse. You have the expats from expected places like England to unexpected places like Nigeria; regular Mumbai kids; and women in traditional Indian attire and abayas. What I loved most was that everyone was there to see, not to be seen. A refreshing change from a usual Saturday night in Mumbai.

Driving Comedians to the City

The venue is built exclusively for live stand up acts, and the organisers teased us with a little preview this past weekend featuring Paul Tonkinson, Micky Flanagan and Craig Campbell. Tonkinson hosted, while doing bits of his own. He talked about his experiences on Mumbai streets, highlighting every Indian’s obsession with the car horn... Flanagan also incorporated Mumbai’s driving habits into his jokes. I liked that within three days of being in the city, these guys came up with Mumbai material that went beyond impersonations and mimicking.

Between the three comedians, there was an interesting range in the material itself, going from conceptual to punch lines to the physical.

The Funny Business of Import-Export

The Comedy Store wants to accommodate Indian stand up acts and quite honestly, I’m getting pretty excited thinking about how an Indian comedian can potentially go from doing a five minute set at The Comedy Store, Mumbai, to a full forty minute set somewhere else in the world.

The place is still imaking a couple of new additions, including an under-construction restaurant called Canvas and a line up of merchandise to keep you shopping for laughs. For now, forgive the lingering scent of turpentine and wake up and smell the funny!

Getting there: 3rd floor, Palladium, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, opens June 17, tickets range from Rs 500 to Rs 700, book on www.bookmyshow.com or call Book My Show on 39895050. The Store is also holding auditions on June 19 to find a funny Mumbaikar (no professional experience required) who’ll get to perform a 5 minute act at the grand opening. To register, visit www.thecomedystore.in or call 43485010.

About Padmini Harchandrai: She loves to see, hear, taste but gets a bit weirded out by smell and touch. Her weapon of choice is a video camera (and editing machine!) and likes writing silly songs such as 'The STD Song'. She is one of those Amreeka returns and when she's not kickin' it on a comedy stage, she's kickin' butt at taekwondo.

bpb Alert: Cinnabon opens this evening at Pali Naka, next to Basilico, Bandra (W). Watch out for the bpb review!