Aalas Motaapa Ghabraahat: Karunesh Talwar's new stand-up special is an honest attempt at bad comedy

1.5/5

What's it about:

Aalas Motaapa Ghabraahat is all that we home-bound, isolated recent college grads need to feel. Despite the fact that comic Karunesh Talwar's new Amazon Prime Video Special checks in less than 60 minutes, it's anything but a hilaire-a-thon; however, he does manage to put up a special about his non-existent awareness of what's actually funny.

What's hot:

Establishing the vibe of his special. He admits to being pointless, directly at the start of his set. You've got to give him credit for being self-aware. Considering individuals are getting outraged without a moment's notice, there are just three-four subjects left for him to ridicule. Consequently, his folks endure the worst.

In this special, Talwar truly feels his parents have been more than (accidentally) liberal with giving content to him to mine during these distressing COVID times.

What's not:

What Talwar does is honest comedy. For someone who's known for being politically correct, this special is an unpleasant surprise for fans. Not to give too much away but the special is just not very special.

It's therapeutic to go in front of an audience and talk about yourself, and Talwar, like his contemporaries, has mastered it. However, there is a saving grace about this special. The title along with its content is honest. Aalas Motaapa Ghabraahat. These three words have summarised our pandemic experience too.

The Special is promising in moments, but is also intrinsically centered around him and how he contemplates things. Talwar hits on the pulsating sore spot (yet with touches of amusing tales) of an artist's inescapable predicament to 'pick the right subject.' His folks are both pleased and angry with him for making a name, he tells a cheering crowd.

Be that as it may, even in his alleged tirade on parents and the counsel they give to him, it is obvious Talwar respects them. Yet, his affection for them doesn't make him any less of a critic. He tells his young crowd that they should defy their folks' silly suggestions at times. There are just two reasons why we are paying attention to them, according to Talwar. Firstly, because they are older than us and secondly because we're monetarily reliant upon them. This oversimplification of complex relationships is what Talwar's comedy has always been.

Since most recent college grads go to watch comedy as a diversion nowadays, Talwar doesn't feel the strain to continually believe and articulate his thoughts. Evidently, it reflects in this special. It's lazy and boring, with a few gags here and there. He's figured out how to not treat anything with importance except if there is individual gain.

He is good at separating himself from a culture that is constantly anxious and burnt out in its own voice. However, he does need to develop before he goes out there mouthing off things which he might not have the best thought regarding.

The Special distinctly tries not to overarch social discourse or political languages. Similar to his off-screen persona, the comic is more than happy to pick apart his own life and how that has shifted over the pandemic, from a fledgling to a brand in himself.

The dubiously friendly Talwar does nothing new in this Special. Having lived inside during the pandemic, Talwar is just attempting to vent, at best. It must've been hard to not perform and test his sets during open mics without feedback from the room but he's got to work more diligently if he wants some actual laughs.

Having not sharpened the ability of mockery, Talwar's second Amazon Special is by all accounts proof of stagnancy in his profession, where the comic seems to be content and surprisingly secure with being redundant.

From a voice that took up the most benevolent realities and flipped them completely around to extract humour out, Talwar seems to have hit a roadblock.

Verdict:

Aalas Motaapa Ghabraahat is nothing great, but Talwar himself admits 'dhandha chalte rehna chahiye'. The special is streaming on Amazon Prime Video India.