People in their 40s are stuck in a ‘very difficult’ generation, Amit Tandon tells us, wide-eyed and shaking his head. Dealing with a teenage daughter is not easy, as it is, and parents stuck in the ‘default mode of saving’ only make it harder.
The standup comedian drew on his life as a “middleclass” father and son in a seamless performance that was interrupted only by fits of laughter from the audience at Auckland Girl’s Grammar Dorothy Winstone Centre.
The show ‘Masala Sandwich’ on May 14, 2023, was the third time Tandon performed in Auckland; and only the first time a comedian from India delivered a set in Wellington, where the standup comic entertained guests a day earlier.
‘Masala Sandwich’ has travelled the world, with shows in the US, Canada and Australia among others. The set’s observational humor will bring back childhood memories for anyone born in a typical middleclass family in the late 1970s and the 1980s. The writer of this review sits neatly in that demographic, and many segments of Tandon’s act evoked nostalgia with a heavy dose of laughter.
Tandon has performed this set several times across the world, but that has clearly not taken away from the enthusiasm and freshness with which it is delivered even today, as was evident in the Auckland performance.
The show was paced well, a steady flow of comedy interspersed with standout sections that had the audience in splits. On more than one occasion, Tandon had to take a lengthy pause for the applause and laughter to stop before he could resume. His comic timing was impeccable and delivery punchy.
Both of Tandon’s shows during his New Zealand tour were well attended.
More than 500 people turned up for the Auckland performance, while more than 300 were in attendance in Wellington.
Ram Iyer of CFI Events, a well-known event management company that managed the show, said, “For Wellingtonians, it was a dream come true as it was for the first ever an Indian standup comedy artist had come to their city, and they were thrilled and they said they will be looking forward for more such events.”
The event was promoted by Heart & Soul Productions and presented by Dominion Travel And Tours, and powered by City Forex - Western Union with the support of many other sponsors.
Prateek, a “middleclass” child of the 1980s who attended the Auckland show, said, “Quite a few segments were totally relatable, especially the ones about dealing with elderly parents, who still take us to be children and also are unable to shed the financial ethos they were brought up with.”
Both the shows had an opening act from a local standup comedian. Abhay Chokshi opened in Auckland, while the emcee was Ashish Ramakrishnan. In Wellington, Sanjay Parbhu had a small gig at the beginning and Ravi Nyayapati was the emcee.
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