Pappu and Friends

My friends and I put on a sketch comedy production - 3 live shows, 350 attendees, 7 new sketches and scripts, and an incredible cast & crew of 13 (many of whom made their debut performance)!

Trailer: here
Show 3 Recording: here

Sketches:

• In Pappu the Superhero, two writers pitch a Hollywood executive a new idea for a South Asian Superhero.
• In Draupadi Goes to Couples Counseling, Princess Draupadi marries not one but five Pandava princes and then takes them all to couples counseling.
• In Whose Wedding Did I Dance At? a boss at a finance company has trouble telling his South Asian employees apart.
• In Butter Thief, a principal threatens to expel a lovable student who has been stealing a lot of butter.
• In Dude, You Ate Brijesh?! three best friends realize that somehow, one of them, ate Brijesh.
• (Two surprise sketches - you’ll have to watch to find out!)

My parents moved to California more than 30 years ago and while I grew up here, Indian culture has always played a big role in my life. It wasn’t until my final year of college, when I went to watch the play A Brimful of Asha, did I see the first generation Indian immigrant experience on stage for the first time. I loved the mainstream books and shows I grew up with, but watching that play felt like a lightbulb moment. “Oh!” I thought. “This is what art feels like when it is written about you!”

Summer 2021, I started writing a series of short 5-10 minute scripts. Rather than talk directly about the Indian American experience, these scripts used the lens of Indian culture, satire, and a little bit of absurdity, to examine diverse situations - from representation in media to communication issues in the workplace to re-imaginations of old stories from mythology. While I had never written for theater before and most of my friends hadn’t done much acting, we decided we’d come together and put on a small show, if for no other reason than: why not?

Special thanks (alphabetical order) to Andrea Ansale, Bellarmine, CalAA, Dan Krutz, Gabriela Nagle Alverio, Graham Erwin, Jeremy Lum, Julia Tang, Krishnan Srinivasan, Pari Mathur, Meenakshi Srinivasan, Mike Baratta, Monica Chitkara, Mukundan Thangavelu, Naatak, Nitisha Baronia, Rita Bhatia, Rohith Jayaraman, Ryosuke Kobayashi, Samar Family, Steven Hong, Sukanya Chakrabarti, Surabhi Lodha, Stanford, The Art of Living, Wadekar Family, Young Jean Lee, and Yujin Nam. Also thankful to a variety of artistic platforms and tools that allowed us to produce this show virtually including: Zoom, Eventbrite, Canva, iMovie, Logic Pro, and Google Docs.

Reviews:

“Why do I love Pappu and Friends? Because they make me laugh with both of my eyebrows. Huge kudos to Anshul and this talented team in bringing these incredible skits and modern perspectives to life. I can’t wait for everyone to meet these hilarious characters and hear their stories!” Pari Mathur, Director of “Family Party” and “Lucky Fifty”.

“What a wonderful comedic debut by so many young artists. Back to back original sketches packed with fresh perspectives, and a catchy, soundtrack. Highly recommend!” Monica Chitkara, Director/Actor Naatak.

“Pappu and Friends masterfully weaves together comedy and deeper messages about societal inequities in a fast-paced series of skits. They reimagine storytelling by providing a nuanced twist on classic stories, switching around pre-conceived gender roles, and giving the viewer a variety of entry points for reflection. It is a joy to experience as the actors bring you into their world from the comfort of your own home!” Gabriela Nagle Alverio, Inclusion Design Group, currently JD-PhD Student in Environmental Policy (UPEP) at Duke University.

“A hilarious set of skits with an immersive soundscape reminiscent of India with all its simplicity and yet complexity intact. It was beautifully written, directed, acted, scored and produced by a talented, diverse cast who wonderfully fused contemporary ideas, tropes, humor and storylines with traditional ideals, mythology, culture and antiquity.”

“I wasn’t sure how a live sketch comedy show would work on Zoom, but I loved it! I got a light-hearted glimpse into the first-gen Indian American experience. Several times I was laughing out loud. This experience felt very original. Bonus: The music was fresh!”

“SO MUCH FUN!!! Hilarious, incredible writing, awesome acting. Definitely the best Zoom “meeting” I’ve ever been to ;).”

“An amazing show that manages to touch both traditional south asian stories and new-age issues, but handles them with grace, humor and a hint of eccentricity. Original music by DJ Dosa Cat was awesome and tied all the pieces together into something that felt ready for the stage!”

“Pappu and Friends is an amazing show on Zoom! The cast portray their characters successfully and relate to the storyline very closely. I’d strongly recommend you to watch any future shows! An hour of fun and entertainment.”

“Absolutely fabulous show! Totally delightful to watch with the whole family!”

“Last Saturday I watched the show and loved so much about it - the creativity, keeping it short, light and entertaining with excellent humor and good punches! I was particularly impressed by the spins from mythology - that wowed me! Pappu and Team, please keep the fun going with future shows. A BIG thank you!”

“An extremely well organized and creative way to bring what I’d call “South Asian SNL” to living rooms everywhere!”

“Being a teacher of screenwriting and creative writing as well as a director and writer myself, I believe that every person has a story to tell and that learning the craft of storytelling allows us to share that story with others. Seeing what everyone has put together in “Pappu and Friends”, it is a realization of an experience that is not seen in most modern media and yet is more authentic and true than many films released in theaters. It becomes real by being about specific characters rather than caricatures. Also, it’s very funny.”

“Wonderful concept to execution! Enjoyed the show thoroughly! Each one of you immersed yourself into the characters so effortlessly and couldn’t make out that this was your first time. Look forward to more shows soon.”

“Hilarious!!!!”

“Congratulations Anshul Samar, and the team for this absolutely brilliant production.. What an incredible effort to bring together such nuanced portrayal of being born and raised Indian and person of colour in USA. The humour lens is so important to navigate and explore such contexts… and all in such a light manner without loosing sensitivity and sensibility. They have one more show, and I hope you catch it”.

“I was really impressed by the production quality of the show. In addition to the attention to detail in the scripts and acting, the transitions and the fact that the show was built for zoom was awesome!”

“I totally loved this. Even for a someone who is not a South Asian I found it hilarious.”

“ONE of the Best shows I have seen on South Asian satire! :)”

“My first time attending a live sketch comedy on Zoom, and it was by far the best hour I have ever spent on Zoom! Pappu and Friends was such a fantastic show - there are sketches offering a sharp, nuanced take on South Asian experiences in the USA that are accompanied by sketches featuring traditional Indian tales woven with a modern twist. Pappu and Friends manages to stay light, refreshing and funny all the time. Apart from the main sketches, I particularly enjoyed Manish and the music by DJ Dosa Cat (the name! :P).”