Don’t Call Me a Papadam

An Inappropriately Indian-Australian delight   

Tuck the kids in at home if you are planning to see Aditya Gautam’s show, Don’t Call Me a Papadam. An emerging comic, initially I wasn’t quite sure if Aditya was my style or not, but before I knew it, I was laughing my head off. Plenty of crowd interaction, Aditya presents comedy just like I like it – politically incorrect, but even I, at points, thought that perhaps he crossed the line. But my favourite comedian is Ricky Gervais, so I don’t really have a moral leg to stand on.   

Comparing life in India to life in Australia, as someone of Cypriot descent, I could relate to that comparison migrants or children of migrants often make. I really enjoyed these jokes, and they were political too, which I loved, I love the mixing of contemporary mores with politics. Acknowledging that everyone in Australia is racist with everyone, he really rammed home the exploitation of Indians, not only in India, but in Australia, by both white people and Indians themselves, and I really enjoyed the intergenerational commentary here. But somehow, through these very dark jokes, Aditya emerged triumphant and even had me questioning why I have never dated an Indian man. I’d definitely see Aditya perform again and am looking forward to what he comes up with next.  

Koraly Dimitriadis is a writer, poet, performer, film and theatre maker and the author of Love and F—k Poems and Just Give Me The Pills. 

Buy a ticket here.