Tamil comedian Alexander Babu to showcase his new ‘Alexperience’ in Dubai: 'It’s going to surprise viewers'

Tamil stand-up comedian Alexander Babu is set to give the ‘Alexperience (The Experience)’ to Dubai fans when he returns to the UAE after a four-year gap on November 12.

“When the show happens in Dubai, the title takes a different meaning, a new dimension. It certainly looks like ‘The Experience’. ‘Alexperience’ has a deeper and purposeful meaning, which I will reveal in the climax of the show. In Dubai it has an additional layer, three in all to this particular title,” Alex, as he is popularly known, told Gulf News in an exclusive chat from Chennai.

Alex, an engineer with a Master’s Degree from the US, accidentally made the transition to a stand-up comedian in 2014 after working as a software developer for 15 years in America. He had performed a musical ‘Alex in Wonderland’ in Dubai in 2018.

From music, to religious harmony, to politics, to philosophy, to yoga, to road safety and to social and contemporary issues, ‘Alex in Wonderland’ took us through a fun-filled roller-coaster ride.

Talking about ‘Alexperience’, organised by HobNob Connect at Gems Modern Academy in Dubai, Alex said this show is similar to ‘Alex in Wonderland’ in some ways and completely different in many ways.

“The similarity is ‘Alexperience’ is also a musical, but in terms of the number of songs to ‘Alex in Wonderland’, it is less now. I am talking more now. The theme of the show requires a lot more talking than just singing songs,” he said.

Elaborating on the brand new ‘Alexperience’, which is going to be his 15th show overall and the first overseas show, Alex said: “It’s going to surprise the viewers. The old format has been completely altered to give it a new look. It will have comedy, a lot of talk about life, hope, joy and love, all the important things that we need to keep reminding about. Celebrating every little thing we have through the wonderful music composed by our legends.”

The enhancements to ‘Alexperience’, mixing it with infotainment, was triggered by post-pandemic times as he aims to bring in a lot of positivity, reminding some of the values that India stands for, but forgotten over time. For that he quoted a line from the sixth century BCE Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Pungundranar.

“More than 2,500 years ago, Kaniyan Pungundranar said ‘Yadhum Oore, Yavarum Keelir’ (All the places on earth are our town and all the people are our relatives). What kind of a world he had envisioned. Such a reminder is relevant even today, in times of war and genocide. During post-pandemic there are many wars inside every individual. The reminder is so important in this scenario,” Alex added.

Just like ‘Alex in Wonderland’, the live show will appeal to Tamil audiences more than non-Tamil speaking audience. His reasoning is that the subtitles in online shows give it a universal appeal, just the way the world has consumed the Malayalam films and the South Korean dramas.

“We know that ‘Alex in Wonderland’ has reached the non-Tamil audience more than we have imagined through Amazon Prime. The Indian diaspora have dived into it. There is a global appeal to any good material that you put on with a subtitle. The entertainment has to be engaging, then the wow factor kicks in. ‘Alex in Wonderland’ kick-started it and it’s continuing even now,” he concluded. The show is strictly for 10-plus age group, he added before signing off.