Top comedy moments with Aditi Mittal

PATH-BREAKING comedian Aditi Mittal is widely regarded as one of India’s finest stand-up stars and has inspired a generation to follow in her footsteps.

 She continues her laughter-filled journey with her new show, Bad Altitude, at Soho Theatre in London from next Monday (9) to next Saturday (14).  

She revealed her 10 most memorable comedy moments to Eastern Eye. 

 My first on-stage joke (2010): It was about how my dad is so Punjabi he can’t pronounce ‘bears’, and calls them ‘beers’. Therefore, he would tell us a bedtime story of Goldilocks and the three beers. ‘Three beers are not good for you. That is why Goldilocks had to lie down in the animals’ beds and sleep. That only started all the mess for her.’ It was my only joke that got a laugh that night. The rest was some forgettable thing about diets. When I updated dad, he scoffed, saying, ‘obviously’.  

Broken laptop (2013): I watched the Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieber while drinking my 4pm chai on my new laptop. American comic Natasha Leggero said to him, ‘Justin, it feels like just yesterday you were 10 years old on YouTube, singing your first song and now you’re a Grammy-award-winning artist. Time flies when you’re a piece of s**t.’ I spat out my tea straight on my brand new laptop screen and keyboard. That joke was the perfect balance of misdirection and crassness, elevated by Natasha dressing like she’s in a Jane Austen novel. She then flashed a smile so winsome that even Bieber collapsed from laughter. It was a nightmare getting that laptop repaired. So, Ms Leggero owes me a laptop. 

 Sibling revelry (2020): My brother is nice, but my ‘real’ sibling is my sister-in-law. She’s stunning and has a great sense of humour (proven by her agreeing to marry my brother). I invited her to watch me perform in the season finale of Finish TV show, The World According to Comedians, which was being filmed live. After the show, she said, ‘Don’t tell your brother I said you are funnier than him.’ I obviously told him.  

Bra Shopping (2015): One constant criticism of women doing comedy in India is how we only talk about periods and sex. A loved one was diagnosed with breast cancer, so I wrote a set about going bra shopping and ended it with an appeal to all women to get themselves checked with the hashtag, “touch yourself.” Three months later I got a message from someone whose mother watched the video, #TouchYourself and got medical intervention just in time. Oh, and I still talk entirely too much about periods, sex and boobs. 

 Funny Australians (2017): The Edinburgh Fringe was my first ever ‘festival’ experience. I discovered Alice Fraser, Demi Lardner, Zoe Coombs Marr, and Jude Perl who were my gateway into Australian comedy. My background and comfort viewing shows are Dead Loch and Summer Heights High. 

 In That Top (2023): The Financial Times commissioned four short films on democracy and women, from Margret Atwood, Elif Shafak, Lola Shoneyin, and for some reason, me. Mine is a seven-minute short film called In That Top. I wrote, acted in it, and co-wrote the lyrics of a song in it. I got to do drag. It was humbling to see what my body double looked like. It played at the Bangalore International Short Film Festival 2024. And I wore borrowed clothes.  

My mother, the collector (2015): I griped about a payment I had pursued for six months to my mother. She said, ‘Give me their phone number.’ My mother stopped caring about what people think of her in the early 1970s. She knows how to get work done, which is terrifying and inspiring. Two days later, she handed me a cheque from the company (paid in full). I still have no idea what she said to them, and I’m afraid to ask. 

 Global comedian in Japan (2023): I was invited to judge a comedy show on Japanese TV called Global Comedian. Being in Tokyo is like living in a world with 12-D glasses on. The show’s shoot was frighteningly efficient, and the acts were an unhinged fever dream. (Special shoutout to Space Triceratops Rocks, a lady wrapped in aluminium foil auditioning for Space Triceratops Got Talent with Bon Jovi’s a. I’m sure there’s a Japanese philosophy that says, ‘If you cannot see the punchline, maybe you are the punchline.’ 

 Science fiction (2010-till now): If you told 20-year-old Aditi this is what she would be doing for a living, she’d make a joke about it and ask you for `50 (£0.50). It’s still surreal that I get to do this for a living. More than that, I have friends who are comedians and inspire me to be a better artist and person. Unbelievable! Jeeya Sethi, Zarna Garg, Kajol Shrinivasan, Liza Treyger – please never leave me. 

 The now: Finding out that reading my top nine moments has convinced you to buy a ticket for my shows at Soho Theatre (next Monday to next Saturday). My least favourite part of doing this ‘job’ is doing the ‘job’ part of the ‘job’. I prefer preparing for and doing the performances because I love getting laughs and approval. But I also am garbage at promotions because of my misplaced class shame at having the last name Mittal and asking people for anything.  

Therefore, if you read these and buy a ticket, thank you. If not, don’t worry, I’ve got the promotional reels ready. 

 Aditi Mittal: Bad Altitude is on at Soho Theater in London from next Monday (9) to next Saturday (14). www.sohotheatre.com and Instagram: @addymitzy