“Maybe if I talked about potholes in Kannada, they may get crammed,” laughs Arun Sriram, speaking in regards to the on-line pelting he obtained for his present Whitefield Tamizhan in December final 12 months. Introduced in Tamil, it did get its share of flak from language purists.

Now, the CA-turned-standup might be presenting his newest set in Kannada, Tamil and English this weekend. “I understand how tolerant the individuals of Bengaluru are; I’m positive they may tolerate my Kannada too,” continues Arun. “I felt the Rajyotsava weekend was an auspicious time to present again to metropolis which is now my residence.”

Initially from Chennai, Arun settled down in Bengaluru over 20 years in the past and like most individuals, he started studying Kannada by conversing with auto drivers.

Speaking about his transfer from company to comedy, Arun says he has at all times been thought-about witty and began out with open mic periods in 2017. “When a few my strains landed, I thought-about taking my humour from a one-on-one method to a one-to-many setting.”

Arun Sriram

He credit fellow comics Kenny Sebastian and Praveen Kumar for his or her steering in his preliminary days. “Praveen gave me a replica of Judy Carter’s Comedy Bible which was a recreation changer. That was three years after I assumed I used to be doing rise up comedy,” he laughs. “It modified the best way I approached my writing. My scripts grew to become sharper, tighter, and my units bought higher.”

“You consider you’ve arrived if you find yourself given a five-minute slot, fairly positive that it’s too much less till you step on stage and obtain silence and quizzical appears to be like in return. My first standup was in 2018, and looking out again on the video, I pity the viewers greater than myself.”

Evidently, Arun’s scripts are “predominantly observational, self deprecatory and experiential” and he performs in “conversational Indian English,” even when in Chennai with the occasional phrase in Tamil thrown in. “After opening for comics who got here from Chennai, I started including a little bit of Tamil to my act and located that if you share the language you assume in and converse in, with an viewers, there’s a pure circulate to your speech.”

Nonetheless, solely after he gave a JOSH Discuss (a platform for uplifting tales and upskilling alternatives) in Kannada about two years in the past, did Arun begin mulling over presenting a set within the language. “That discuss was a single take, 11-minute speech about my journey in comedy. I felt if I may do it with out utilizing a immediate, I may give this a shot as properly.”

Arun Sriram and an ISL interpreter at one in every of his units

He says the upcoming particular, his first standup efficiency in Kannada, revolves round human feelings. “We have now been introduced as much as consider some feelings are good, whereas others corresponding to anger, disappointment or disgust are unhealthy. Nonetheless, they’re all essential, legitimate and share an essential area in our lives. My present touches on the humorous parts of every navarasa or emotion.”

Arun is likely one of the few standups who performs with an Indian Signal Language (ISL) interpreter, providing it as an possibility when he’s presenting. “Usually, people who find themselves deaf can solely view YouTube movies utilizing subtitles. Coaching one eye decrease to learn and the opposite greater to comply with what unfolds could be tiresome. Their trigger is near my coronary heart and I at all times ask if there’s a demand for it at my exhibits,” he says, including that the one this weekend is not going to have an ISL interpreter.

After this present, Arun takes his set to Mumbai the next weekend, the place he’ll current in Tamil and English.

Arun Sriram might be presenting Navarasa in Kannada (3pm), Navarasam in Tamil (5pm) and Epifunny in English (7pm) at Rangasthala on November 2, 2025. Tickets from ₹399 obtainable on Bookmyshow.