Bharti Singh, Zakir Khan and Amit Tandon entertained Tihar inmates with their witty one-liners. Shrabasti Mallik reports
The inmates at Tihar jail forgot their drudgeries for a day and donned their best winter outfits to enjoy an afternoon full of fun and masti. Away from the stereotypical image that we have seen in Bollywood movies — prisoners in black and white striped uniform, either breaking bricks, working on the fields or doing some sort of manual labour — the Tihar jail inmates looked polished and were familiar with the latest hit tracks like Baby Doll, Mast Kalandar and Desi Kalakar.
They all had gathered at the lawns to attend a stand-up act by comedians Zakir Khan, Bharti Singh and Amit Tandon organised by Comedy Central. Zakir took a dig at a popular fairness cream brand by saying, “They claim that anyone using the cream will become fairer in seven weeks.
I have been using it for seven years now.” He also narrated how television influenced people’s thoughts. “My parents took me to melas umpteen number of times hoping that I would get lost,” he said and he received a standing ovation for that.
Comedian Amit Tandon wished that programme could have lasted all night because he didn’t want to go back home and wish his mother-in-law ‘a happy birthday’. His act was based on marriages. “Nothing is in dulha’s hand. He is just made to sit on a mare and he is not even allowed to hold the reigns. Everybody claims that the groom is at the centre of attention but in reality, he is a forgotten tale.
The moment he gets on the mare, people forget him and indulge in their rivalry until the baraat reaches the bride’s place. He would find his bachelor friends drinking, the married ones giving him sad expressions while the baraatis would be dancing like crazy,” he said drawing applause from the married inmates.
He then got onto the futility of caller tunes. “These tunes work wonders for businessmen. When angry clients and customers call them and listen to Om Sai namo namah, they suddenly get polite and ask “Is it a good time to talkIJ” he said leaving police officers in splits as well. While Amit and Zakir took to the stage for their brief performance, Bharti performed among the audience.
Her signature line, “Main kaisi lag rahi hoonIJ (How am I lookingIJ)” had the audience rolling on the floor. She kept the audience amused with her witty one-liners. She asked a young inmate to enact like a star while she became her fan.
The act turned hilarious as she performed some thumkas with the boy on Baby Doll. Bharti, known for engaging the audience, also took on cops who were duty there. “I have always wanted to marry a police officer,” she joked. later she got back to stage to reach out to the audience.
“It is the first time in my seven-year long career that people have actually said that they couldn’t see me. Generally when I go to a movie theatre, I alone become the reason for a full house,” she said.
Bharti was presented with souvenirs made by the inmates — a pink jute bag and a portrait of Gandhi, painted by inmate Vinod. “I want Tihar authorities to call me every 15 days so that I keep getting such goodies,” she said in a serious tone. The inmates also presented the comedians with two dance performances. The event was organised as a part of Spread the Cheer initiative which aims to spread happiness through random acts of kindness.
photos Pankaj Kumar