Neha Saini
Amritsar, January 10
He probably invented the word meme for young Indian metropolitans way back in the ’90s before social media invasion and ‘viral’ fever took over. He has made fun of everyone, spared none and can be called the OG prankster with his MTV Bakra enjoying a cult status. Cyrus Broacha, artist, satirist and columnist, is eternally humorous, witty and goofy. Broacha gave the women of Amritsar a day of laughter and some revelations (humorous and embarrassing), as he took over the proceedings at the Lohri special event hosted by Phulkari-WOA and FICCI FLO city chapter today.
Confessing that he looks forward to events in this side of the country, Cyrus shared his love for Punjabis. “I grew up in Malabar Hill and it has a very cosmopolitan crowd, with 30 per cent Punjabis. So, I had been exposed to Punjabi culture; food and folks I believe are amazing. It’s always easier to perform when the audience is not shy, interactive and loud. So, I definitely look forward to performing in Delhi and Chandigarh where I have done shows. I have come to Amritsar for the first time and loved it,” he said. Ask him one Punjabi he had the most funny interaction with and he said, “Mika! I had great fun with him, we have had amazing time. They are from Bihar and he speaks very good Bihari. Mika and my interaction goes back to the time when he had come out with his first song and Daler Mehndi was a big name then.”
Over the years, Cyrus has done political satires, spoofs and comedy sketches with his live shows and on TV. But it was a different time. With recent incidents and outrage against some stand-up comedy artists in the country for being outspoken, has the stand-up comedy in India undergone a change? Cyrus has a different take. “The very first thing is that practicality has to be kept in mind. It’s not that the US is very free in terms of performing or speaking against the establishment. One can criticise the government but one can’t get personal,” he said.
FICCI FLO, Phulkari women hold interactive session
Phulkari Women of Amritsar amp; the city chapter of FICCI FLO came together for some pre-Lohri celebrations with Jashn, an interactive event with popular comedian, political satirist and artist Cyrus Broacha.
He enthralled the 400-member audience with his wit as he indulged in some humorous probing of gender equations and the unsolved mysteries of men-women relationships. Shikha Sareen, chairperson, FICCI FLO said the event was an attempt to bring together women.
