Seinfeld in India: Well-timed or ill-timed?

At a time when sense of humour in India is a debatable, questionable and arguable topic, comic legend Jerry Seinfeld decides to visit India. He will be performing in, Mumbai on March 14 and 15 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Worli. This is a double treat for his legendary comedian’s fans since this is the first time ever he would be performing in India, and the whole of Asia, so to say.

The tickets are priced merely at Rs 7,500 per head. And no, we aren’t kidding, okay!

People who grew up watching Jerry Seinfeld have been watching re-runs since the longest time now. Because, the world famous comedian stopped his series nearly 17 years ago. So, in just about a year, a kid who would be born when he stopped airing his episodes, will get to vote if elections are held anytime next year. It has really been THAT long since he regaled people. His legion, however, hasn’t forgotten him yet.

The Emmy and Golden Globe winning comedian was super good at playing a semi-fictional version of self in one of the most popular sitcoms ever in the history of television. In Mumbai, he will be offering a double treat to his fans, by staging two shows!

But really, Seinfeld would have been in India much earlier if the original storyline which was based on Harold Pinter’s play of the same name ‘The Betrayal’. There were scenes which were to be shot in India, but were deleted for some reason.

Now, all this is not really important when we think of the time when Seinfeld has decided to perform in India. Who will the joke be on? The recent AIB Roast has proved even humour can be double sided, and there’s not much left to laugh in the country. Actors don’t agree with the tone and tenor, and then there are stand up comedians who would insist their script is sacred over people’s ability to laugh or to get offended, whichever happens first.

The Brooklyn-born co-creator of Seinfeld series insists India has always fascinated him. The culture amazes him. And he says he is very excited to be here, and ‘make fun in person’. Till this point, all is well with the plot. But then, things begin to get a little knotty here for two reasons. One, like we already mentioned, the issue of ‘sense of humour’ of people in general especially post the AIB Roast phase. Now, added complication comes through in another form. Post-Barack Obama visit, India has not been too very excited to roll out a red carpet to people who come here on invitation/or on their own and then go back to make some really ‘hurtful’ observations about the country. If monolithic observations are all that you can make, India is the best country to avoid since it isn’t an easy nut to crack on one visit. So, you see, the plot is getting all complicated with a diplomatic issue taking the centre stage. Nah, we were simply kidding, of course!

But, really at a time when humour has turned into a premium, one anticipation would be about how the people would respond since Seinfeld is bound to crack some clever one liners involving politicians and their ways. Hopefully, his script writer has done enough homework on India’s cultural challenges and hasn’t written anything that would sound insensitive or invoke angry reactions from people.

Because, given the city of Mumbai, which has high resilience towards life the city is also known for violent reactions to something that doesn’t go down too well with the given temperament of the people and the city. And then, there is also a hope that city will laugh with Seinfeld too!
In a way, it would also be a relief that apart from diplomatic visits and disappointments, Seinfeld is in India to regale people. May be, just maybe, he will learn to appreciate a thing or two about Indian way of life without getting too shallow about it. Because when you look at the west, a joke is good way of bonding; but a ridicule can snap bridges forever.