Naked: Papa CJ’s bare-all act

An autobiographical piece of work, Naked delves deep into the life of stand-up comic Papa CJ. The revelations, he claims, will strike a chord with everyone in the audience and push one to smile, laugh, cry and cringe at some point through what he calls a ‘multi-genre theatrical production’.

If you’ve been to any of his shows in the past, you know better than to expect an evening of introspection or serious talk. But in his upcoming offering Naked, Papa CJ means no funny business. A far cry from his usual body of work, Naked is the first ever show from an Indian comedian that has been invited to premiere at the Soho Theatre in London and Edinburgh Fringe Festival apart from premiering at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

How is Naked different from what you’ve done before on stage Naked is very different to anything I have done before. While comedy forms the bulk of the show, I prefer to call it a ‘multi-genre theatrical production’. Unlike the stand-up I’ve done in the past, Naked has a narrative. Drama, poetry, storytelling, music, dancing, comedy, tragedy and hope are some of the elements that comprise this show.

Naked seems like a risqué experiment of sorts Comedians early in their career try and please everyone. We start with the easy jokes and observational comedy. We tell jokes that have ‘shock value’ and might get people to think of us as ‘edgy’. We improve our crowd working skills and learn how to work a room. And then somewhere along the way we start looking for a little bit more. As we mature and find our own voices and no longer try to keep everybody happy. We do what we find funny and talk about the things that matter to us. And our audience, which by then knows what our brand of humour is, finds us. I’ve gone through and am still going through the same process and Naked is a part of that evolution. The boundary that we comedians are slow to cross are the boundaries that exist within our own minds i.e. talking about things that make us uncomfortable. That is what I’m enjoying doing with Naked. Looking inwards and delving deep into chapters of my own life has allowed me to create a show that makes my audience emotionally connect with me in a way that I’ve never witnessed before. Audiences personally identify with the narrative of Naked and while all of them laugh, some of them cry and a few even walk out looking at their own lives with fresh eyes.

Like many stand-up comics, you love picking on your audiences. Will Naked restrict that Unlike my usual stand-up where I am susceptible to getting carried away with audience interaction for ages, in Naked I have to curb that natural instinct because I have a story that I’m there to tell. I still chat with the audience of course, but not with reckless abandon.

How difficult/easy was it to script Naked Naked is an autobiographical tale, which through the vehicle of my life describes various facets, emotions, trials and tribulations of the human experience. It is not the kind of show you conceptualise — it comes to you when you are ready for it. Parts of Naked involve talking about deeply intense and personal experiences and yet as a performer require me to be entertaining, interesting and funny without trivialising the issues or misrepresenting emotions. That is a very, very fine line. I doubt I would have had the skills or emotional ability to do justice to a show like Naked five years ago even if I had conceptualised it then.

Will one get a glimpse of the man behind ‘Papa CJ’ this time around Most definitely! In this autobiographical journey, one brick at a time I remove the walls that most human beings keep between themselves and others, exposing myself with all my vulnerabilities and all my pain. For me it is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time and by the end, while I am completely naked, I am also completely free.

Most stand-up comics these days are seen venturing into web series, ads etc. You’ve always been a one-man show in that regard. Why so Thus far it hasn’t made sense for me to leave the corporate rat race and get into a creative field only to join a creative rat race. I do what I do for the love of the game and my passion is working with live audiences. I don’t like to chase after things because they constitute somebody else’s definition of ‘success’. That being said, I’m not saying I’ll never do these things. If opportunities that I feel I will enjoy doing or might be fun to try just for the experience come my way, I’m completely open to exploring them. I’ve never marketed myself either and I get almost 100% of my work from people who have seen me at shows.

You mention in an interview that a woman tried to slip a $100 bill down your pants at the show. Also, that you were spanked by a lady in Chennai — in Chennai! Whatever led to that That is something that ticket-purchasing members of Papa CJ: Naked will find out during the show!

What do you want the audience to take away from the show Me—naked. Jokes apart though, I don’t have anything specific that I want them to take away besides an appreciation of my work.

Naked will play at NCPA at 7.30 pm on Sunday January 17. Tickets are on bookmyshow.