I had already attended Kala Gala 5.0 so I was naturally curious to see how Siri Siri Siri 9.0 would pan out.  The first thing which struck me was the ambience and the performing space.  A small space with a full house ensured that every joke landed.  The laughter was contagious and the minor blemishes were nullified.  In short, it was a perfect space for a wonderful evening.

The ensemble itself was perfect with the right mix of new comers and experienced comics. The show started off with Aaquib and the usual Name related jokes and slowly took a diversion towards double meaning jokes. Thankfully there was a healthy balance of Naughty and Nice which kept the audience engaged. His huge frame was another major plus. There are some comics who are blessed with the ability to make the audience laugh just by being there and Aaquib is one of them.

The next on stage was Gurumurthy.  He surprised us with a brand new perspective on  Dasavatharam. Though there was a slight lag when he started off he was in his elements once the many Kamals of Dasavatharam started clashing with each other. It was refreshingly original and funny.

The next comic was Aravind.  There was the Chinnama effect which most of us had experienced in school, CA woes and the long but subtle dig on people who are hell bent on finding fault with the reviewers especially those who review movies. It was a perfect stretch of interesting jokes which brought the house down consistently.

And then it was the turn of the lone woman comic Praveshika who picked out one of her own traits to bring laughs. It was the sort of self-depreciating humour I have been yearning to see for a long time. It is always a good practice to laugh at ourselves before the world laughs at us. I loved the way she brought nepotism into the equation. It was a perfect start to a long journey ahead.

The next on stage was Soda. I loved how the way he cracked a joke at the expense of one the performers. But the best part was his willingness to create awareness on the flip side of the now infamous blue whale game through his humour.  Humour, if done well, is the right form to drive home a message

Sriram’s act sounded almost like the death knell of newspapers.  His set was about the dwindling interest in reading newspapers. From Editorials to Obituaries he covered the things that we often overlook while reading the newspapers. It was smartly presented and neatly done.

The last of the evening was Mervyn Rozz. The most important act in a comedy ensemble usually comes right at the end. The role of the last stand up comic is of utmost importance. You have to ensure that the audience leaves the room smiling. And the act has to be very different from the acts that preceded the finale. When the show started I was eager to see who was going to be the man for the finale.  Who was going to be the Jagan of today’s show?

Mervyn on his part was relentless, precise and spot on.  Mervyn has this remarkable ability to manufacture jokes out of thin air. Most of the jokes were spontaneous jokes based on the audience and the participants. He consistently engaged everyone in the room and had his own version of School and Marriage Paridhabangal. It was a perfect finale.  For me, it was another well spent evening.