by Zahid Fayyaz

Over the last few years, the Soho Theatre has been making a concerted effort to bring over and showcase comedians from India’s burgeoning stand-up scene. Coming back to the UK for the third time, Mumbai based Anirban Dasgupta, one of the continent’s brightest comedy hopefuls, is selling out rooms here in Britain.

Genial in his delivery, Dasgupta uses his charm and smile as way into some darker topics than might be expected, from the start of the show. Going into the censorship he and others within the comedy scene suffer in India, he says he relishes being in the UK, where he can get into topics which he wouldn’t be able to otherwise. As he makes clear, back in India he isn’t able to talk about religion and politics, until he found a ‘loophole’ involving Mahatma Gandhi. He uses this to go into a broader routine about changes in India, and then goes back into a domestic setting, where he focuses on his daughter.

Along with his sparky interactions with the audience, Dasgupta is also very good with the one-liners – some of them have an extra bite to them. Ending on his own ‘origin’ story, which touches on his family and conception, is so strange it feels like it must be true. A very fun and personable hour, this is a great showcase for one of India’s great comics.

Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation runs through 2 November.

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