Comedian Shamik Chakrabarti on debuting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Comedian Shamik Chakrabarti began his journey at a Thursday open mic at a pub in Bengaluru in 2016, six months after he returned from North Carolina, in the US, where he worked as an engineer. He came across the open mic on social media. And after attending one of the mics in the audience, Shamik mustered the courage to perform there the following week. He was the 15th and final act of the night — performing in front of four drunk people, managing to crack them up just once, he recalls.

However, that evening did not discourage Shamik. Instead, he expanded on what worked from his bit and persistently attended open mics in Bengaluru. He gained nationwide attention in 2022 as a participant on the third edition of Comicstaan, with his deadpan style of delivery and seamless writing. And now he is set to debut his stand-up comedy special, ‘Despite Appearances’, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the largest festivals for performing arts in the world.

“I consider myself a joke writer rather than someone who approaches comedy with a central theme in mind. ‘Despite Appearances’ is my second or third attempt at putting that into practice. However, over the years, it has evolved into a one-hour special with one half jokes and the other a story which has a connection to the title,” says Shamik over a Zoom call from Mumbai.

A unique voice

“I started performing stand-up without reading much about its dos and don’ts. I was someone who just watched stand-up and was used to telling jokes in schools and colleges,” says Shamik, who believes in being himself on stage.

“I don’t usually jump or shout a lot in real life,” he comments about his on-stage persona, which hinges on astute observations and relatable anecdotes delivered with a laid-back attitude. “I’ve always performed this way. I believe the performance should feel natural and not feel like a performance,” says the comedian.

His early inspirations include comedians Russel Peters and Conan O’Brien. “In Late Night with Conan O’Brien, I came across a lot of stand-up comedians who would come on the show to do their sets. I also discovered David Letterman, legendary talk-show host and comedian, on the show,” he says.

During his time in the US as a postgraduate student and later working there , the engineer discovered comedians like Demetri Martin and Brian Regan by watching parts of their performances online.

“During my time in the US, I was fully focused on my studies and job because you are there on a visa. As an Indian student, you must first find a way to make a living. So even though I was always into comedy, I never thought I would do anything with it,” says Shamik.

For an international crowd

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a three-week festival featuring theatre, comedy, dance, music, and more, founded in 1947 with an objective to make art more democratic. Over the recent years, comedians from India have performed at multiple editions of the Fringe.

“The Fringe is like a boot camp for comedy. You perform every day for about a month, watch other performers from all over the world, and hopefully get inspired,” says Shamik. “Usually you do three nights of comedy in a row over the weekend, but this is going to be 25 days with a day off in between.”

Earlier this year, Shamik performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia and at the Soho Theatre in London, UK.

Shamik Chakrabarti

“My shows had a mix of Indian and local people in London. So, you must explain certain references that are not universal. For instance, I talk about the PAN card as part of my story, so I add a quick, fun explanation about it.”

Shamik adds, “Stand-up comedy in its current state is an older art form in the West. Since they have been doing it for so many years, you don’t get any disturbance from the crowd there. There is pin-drop silence before the punchlines, and silence is a huge part of comedy. The ideal stand-up audience is the one that listens and waits for your jokes.”

The comedian is also excited to watch Urooj Ashfaq and Prashasti Singh from India take the stage at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “It’s nice to have a contingent from India. I have seen bits of their special but not the full shows, and it will be exciting to watch them.”

Moving forward

Shamik is planning to tour with ‘Despite Appearance’ across the country from September to December. He hopes to do more sketch comedy in addition to stand-up. He is currently working on The Cricheads Podcast with comedian Siddharth Dhudeja and Broke Studio Podcast with comedian Gautham Govindan.

“My only aim is to make people laugh and make myself laugh,” he says.

Watch Despite Appearances by Shamik Chakrabarti at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from July 30 to August 24. Venue: Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower-Eve.

Published – July 30, 2025 05:00 pm IST