Lady With A Fist Of Fun

Gayathri Krishnaraj

“Aditi is funny” is how she likes to be known. However, she prefers not to label herself. Having had an interesting journey through her career, Aditi Mittal gets candid about herself, comedy and sexism faced by the industry with Brew.

How was your childhood and college?

My childhood was fantastic and my college was even better. Life is going great. I get to make my defence mechanism; my daily job and I get paid for it. If a problem arises it has nothing to do with how life is going on right now.

How did comedy happen?

Comedy happened because I went to open mics. I think everyone wants a story where they are spotted by a Karan Johar and everyone is like ‘Wow! You’re a prodigy!’. That is bulls**t! The story is hard work. You have to struggle. You have to go to open mics after open mics. You have to try out your jokes, listen to the audience - that’s how stand-up comedy works. You have to love everything that you talk about. For me personally, the moment I don’t understand something or fall in love with something, I start talking about it whether I write about it or not. So yeah, these are a few things that make you a comedian.

You are one of the first female comedians in India. Was it difficult to enter the scene?

That is a very stupid question! You know I’m actually kind of sick of answering this question because it makes it sound like we are the ones complaining. No, you, as a woman journalist also know that there’s sexism in your profession. It is more difficult for a woman in every profession and it’s almost dishonest. It is definitely challenging because there was nobody doing it. There was no one to follow the path - having said that, that made me more determined to change it. And to be more focused on my path to make sure that whatever path I’m on, the people that come after me won’t have to go through the same bulls**t. That’s the point of laying a path if the grass has grown over it and you are the only woman. That’s why I find it irritating when people say ‘Oh you’re the only woman that has... – you’re a pioneer’ and then keep rewarding you for the same thing in circles then you’re only as good as the people that follow you. If there are lots of women that have followed your path, then you have done a good job being a pioneer, that is what I think. As a woman you need to find out what kind of humour appeals to you. And I’m sure you can name out four male comedians. It’s difficult and it will remain difficult as long as people don’t prepare before they come ask us questions- good questions or don’t even know about our jobs enough.

What sort of comedy do you think you do?

Fun comedy. I think it’s observational. It’s based on things that I see in everyday life and the world that I live in. It ranges all the way from my life experiences of what I see around me to the life experiences of the people around me. Observational is my style!

Could you tell me more about being on the BBC panel of the hundred top comedians?

It was about one hundred women across the world coming together to talk about the experiences and lives of women and I was in it for about two and a half years which was a great honour to be chosen not once but twice. And what I experienced was that women are pitted against women and that kind of thing is often demonised. Women are forced against other women and made to feel like we’re against each other which is a very bad stereotype. That prevents women from coming together and identifying with each other’s experiences. When you are the 50 percent of the world and you’re being told that each and every one of you is the enemy of the other, you are not going to come together as a unified voice. I learnt there that every voice matters and has its own unique story to tell. And that determined me to be more truthful and be less shy while telling my story. Because as women we want to be liked so badly. We want to hear people say, ‘Wow! Such a lovely person’, ’Such great luck’, ‘What a smile she’s got’ and what not. This made me realise that that’s not the only quality to aspire as a woman and that’s okay.

I’ve observed that usually a guy is complimented based on “You have a very smart son” and along those lines, but for a girl the take is different - “If she serves coffee” or “Oh! This girl is so beautiful’ What is your opinion on this?

We as women have to step out and be comfortable with being perceived in other ways. You know the backlash is always substantial to everything. A woman breathes and it’s a political freaking act, ‘Oh, look at how she’s breathing so loudly’. So, I think that the one hundred women’s experiences truly changed me as a person. It exposed me to so many different women from different parts of the world of different professions, attitudes and cultures. And, at the end of the day we all realised that we needed to come together and believe and trust each other and have faith in each other because we tend to also outsource that to men. We tend to ask men about our validations, our expertise, faith and trust. In these successive years of doing stand-up I believe in women and believe in the sisterhood stronger after meeting the hundred women.

Any other such experiences where being a part of something added to your journey of being a comedian?

Everyday adds to the journey of being a comedian. I get to process my life for jokes, and people laugh for it and sometimes I get paid well for it. So, what’s not to love about it.

What do you think are your biggest achievements in your career?

Lasting this long. Because I know there is enough time and space and by saying that, it means I’ve had a long career, but the fact that I’m still here, I think, is my speciality. Showing up is half the battle won and I am showing up every day to do my job.

Is there anything you’ve planned for your future? Maybe a new show?

I am planning for my future to become better. I’ve been doing it for nine years now and I think that you only get better as you grow older and as you spend more time doing the craft. And that’s for every art. You have to spend a certain amount of time before you start getting good at it and to me, that’s my plan, to just keep doing it and to keep at it. The second time you see me should be better than the first time you saw me, for example, ‘Wow! This girl has really evolved; this girl has really grown as an artist’ or as a ‘writer’. I want that and I want a consistent group. I’m going to the US for the Edinborough Fringe Festival and to London where I’ll be on tour the entire year. I’ll get to see the world, meet new people, hear new stories, and maybe be able to process that through jokes.

What else do you like to dabble in?

I’ve been learning music. I used to learn classical-western singing when I was in college and now, I’ve taken it up as a passion. I’ve been attending guitar classes regularly whenever I have time on my hands. I’ve also been preparing for a marathon now; the 42k which is going to happen at Bombay in January. You have to start it six years in advance and its good fun preparing for that. I’m not into sports as much as I’m into running. It’s a good meditative thing. I can’t sit still and look at a flame and all that, so, I just put on a podcast and run.