Comedian Shamik Chakraborty started his journey in an open mike on Thursday in a pub in Bengaluru in 2016, six months after returning from Northern Carolina to the US, where he worked as an engineer. He came across the open mic on social media. And after attending a MIC in the audience, Shamik dared to perform there next week. That was the 15th and final task of the night – performing in front of four drunken people, managing them just once, he remembers.
However, Shamik was not discouraged that evening. Instead, he expanded that he worked with his bit in Bangalore and participated in the open mix. He attracted nationwide attention as a participant in the third edition in 2022. ComicstanWith your dedication style of delivery and spontaneous writing. And now he is ready for his stand-up comedy special, ‘despite showing’, Edinburgh Festival fringe, one of the biggest festivals for performing arts in the world.
“I consider myself a joke a writer who reaches a comedy with a central subject instead of a person.” Despite showing “it is my second or third attempt to behave. However, for years, it has developed in an hour -old special with a half joke and the second story that is a connection to the title,” I say a zoom call from Mumbai.
A unique voice
“I started displaying a stand-up without reading a lot about my dos and dons. I was a person who only saw stand-up and used to recite jokes in schools and colleges,” says Shamik, who himself believes in being on stage.
“I usually do not jump or shout in real life,” he comments on his on-stage personality, which is hinged on the relatives distributed with the actute observation and a simultaneous attitude simultaneously. Comedian says, “I have always performed in this way. I believe the performance should feel natural and not feel like performance.”
His early inspirations include comedians Russell Peters and Conan O’Brien. “In Late night with Conan O’BrienI came to a lot of stand-up comedians who came to the show to set my set. I also discovered David Letterman, Legendary Talk-Show Host and Comedian on the show, ”he says.
As a postgraduate student, working there during his time and later in the US, the engineer searched for parts of his performance online and discovered a comedian like Demetry Martin and Brian Regan.
“During my time in the US, I was completely focusing on my studies and jobs because you are on a visa. As an Indian student, you have to find a way to create a life first. So even though I was always in comedy, I never thought I would do anything with it,” Shimik says.
For an international crowd
Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a three -week festival with theater, comedy, dance, music and more, which was established in 1947 with the aim of making art more democratic. In recent years, India’s comedians have performed in several versions of the fringe.
“The fringe is like a boot camp for comedy. You perform every day for almost a month, see other artists from all over the world, and hope to be inspired,” Shimi says. “Usually you do three nights of comedy in a row over the weekend, but it is going to be 25 days in the middle.”
Earlier this year, Shamik performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia and Soho Theater in London, UK.
Shumik chakravarti
“My show had a mixture of Indian and locals in London. Therefore, you should explain some references that are not universal. For example, I talk about the PAN card as part of my story, so I add a quick, fun explanation about it.”
“The stand-up comedy in its current situation is a form of an old art in the west in its current position. Since they have been doing this for so many years, you have no disturbance from the crowd. There is a pin-drop silence before the punchline, and there is a big part of the silent comedy. The ideal stand-up is a viewer that hears for your jokes.”
Comedians are also excited to take Uros Ashfaq and India from India on stage in Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “It is good to be a casual from India. I have seen their particular bits, but not a full show, and it would be exciting to see them.”
Moving forward
Shumik is planning to visit the country with ‘despite the presence’ from September to December. He expects to do more sketch comedy besides stand-up. He is currently working on Cricades Podcast with comedian Siddharth Dudeja and breaking the studio podcast with comedian Gautham Govindan.
“My sole purpose is to make people laugh and make themselves laugh,” they say.
From July 30 to August 24, see despite the appearance by Shamik Chakraborty at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Published – July 30, 2025 05:00 PM IST
