Stand-up world’s new entrant Shashi Tharoor wins over internet

Tharoor, who has time and again got Twitterati scurrying for dictionaries through his way with words in English, has recently taken to stand-up comedy with the show, One Mic Stand. The show by digital video streaming service Amazon Prime, includes stand-up comics Sapan Verma, Rohan Joshi, Kunal Kamra, Ashish Shakya and Angad Singh pitted against actors and celebrities like Taapsee Pannu, Richa Chadha, Vishal Dadlani and politician Tharoor, trying their hand at comedy.

The former diplomat begins his set bringing a dictionary onto the stage, saying it would help in ensuring that the audience, too, was on the same page, leaving the listeners in splits. “I’m glad and proud to be the first politician to make you folks laugh, intentionally,” he says in the show. Besides taking pot shots at people for their obsession with his English, the Congress leader also uses witty remarks and observations to take a dig at other political leaders and parties.

It has been an “overwhelming” experience to embrace stand-up comedy for the first time ever, the politician said about the show. “At times, we do crack a joke or two in the political fraternity, though humour is always a big risk in the political world. However, this live comedy act, in particular, is fun and rewarding in itself. It feels like being a driver who takes his audience on a laughter journey whilst steering an unfamiliar bus all on his own,” he said.

Several of Tharoor’s followers have been sending across congratulatory tweets to him, saying they were “mind blown” by his attempt at stand-up comedy.