Comedian Kanan Gill has been making me (and many other people) laugh for years through his YouTube show, Pretentious Movie Reviews, with fellow comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath. But I wasn’t sure what to expect at his All Correct Opinions stand-up event on February 17 at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, which is part of the Laugh-a-thon comedy series.
Little did I know I was in for more than an hour of almost non-stop belly laughs.
The show kicked off with an opening set by Dubai comedian Sundeep Fernandes. It was the most awkward, but weirdly funny set I have ever seen. Some of Fernandes’ material bordered on dad jokes (or uncle jokes, if you’re desi), but his serious deadpan look made them hilarious.
Gill didn’t take too much time getting onto the stage after Fernandes’ set, and he immediately got the audience’s spirits up.
His set was relatable and done so naturally that it felt like a friend telling you a funny story, complete with exaggerated movements and expressions. One of those funny stories was about getting mugged in Bengaluru, his hometown — not at knifepoint, but at machete-point. He poked fun of himself trying to ride his slow scooter away from the criminals to little success, and then recounted his ensuing visit to the police station complete with the Bengaluru accent and mannerism. This part probably had audience members from the South Indian city laughing harder than others because of how true to life it was.
That’s the thing about Gill — he makes everything so personal and straightforward, it’s hard not to like him intensely and want to listen to more of his jokes.
He compared fighting with his girlfriend to an ultra-risky game of Jenga, which could have been a tired ‘fighting-with-my-girlfriend’ set of jokes, but him actually acting out the fight and pulling out imaginary Jenga bricks from thin air turned it into an exciting display of emotions.
Gill ended his set by playing two songs on his guitar — yes, this guy can sing too — which were absurdly funny and a perfect way to round off a great show.
Don’t miss it!
The Laugh-a-thon series will continue with comic Kenny Sebastian on March 9, Biswa Kalyan Rath on April 1 and Abish Mathew on May 13. Tickets start at Dh150 on ductac.org and platinumlist.net.
