Shashi Tharoor stole the show. I wanted to watch it for him and hence I watched the last episode, first. Then came Bhuvan Bam and then Tapsee Pannu, Richa Chaddha, and Vishal Dadlani.
Starting with Shashi Tharoor, he did a fabulous job. And hats off to the script writers and makers of the show for giving him a script that lived up to the expectations. Not just Shashi Tharoor, but the jokes given to all the celebs matched their profession and their personalities. So nothing looked or sounded awkward.
Celebrities debuting as stand-up comedians – the makers knew what they are getting into and hence handed over smart scripts to them. Other than that, I would say that the concept of mentor and mentee worked well. More than the performances, I liked watching the discussion part where we were shown how the comedians are helping celebrities come up with something they would find easy to perform; and then, how the comedians asked celebrities to teach them something in return. In short, One Mic Stand is a good concept which may actually help the newcomers. They might get ideas about how to write and eventually how to perform by understanding the process.
Coming to the performances, Shashi Tharoor was exceptional – from his jokes to his performance, everything was smooth and flawless. Richa Chaddha was entertaining. Bhuvam Bam was fun to watch, not just while performing but whenever he is on screen, you enjoy watching him. Tapsee Pannu and Vishal Dadlani were boring.
If you watch One Mic Stand for comedy or the stand-up performances, you will be disappointed. There are some great comedians out there on the Internet making you go ROFL. More than the performances, I enjoyed watching Sapan Verma, celebrities, and their mentors chit chat with each other. The fear, confusion, and the final, ‘Oh, I did it!’ feeling was relatable. Watch it for the show’s relatability with reality.
Where to Watch? Amazon Prime Video