How Chennai stand-up comedian ‘Vikkals’ Vikram is using humour as a weapon

Chennai-based stand-up comedian Vikram Arul Vidyapathi is ready with his special ‘Vikkals of Vikram’, where he will tackle personal experiences with humour and social commentary.

‘“Vikkals,” someone calls out. Vikram turns — because he is quite used to the name now.

Chennai-based stand-up comedian Vikram Arul Vidyapathi aka ‘Vikkals Vikram’ has just returned from Amsterdam, where he was touring his stand-up comedy special, and is gearing up for his Chennai show this weekend.

Known for his relatable style of humour and fun music-based Instagram reels, Vikram loves the limelight. It is something that this once-introvert boy who had a chance tryst with the theatre world thrives in.

“In theatre, I used to get small roles, but in stand-up, the focus is entirely on me,” he explains.

This weekend in Chennai, Vikram will take on a subject that is based on his life experiences — how college changed him as a person. “It will be shockingly funny,” he stresses. An adult comedy show for about 100 minutes, it will talk, among other things, about caste and sexuality. “But it will make sense,” he assures.

While some comedians opt for safe topics, Vikram’s strength is to take on a bit of social commentary in his sets. “I got inspired after watching American comedians George Carlin and Dave Chappelle talking about issues like police brutality. Stand-up comedy is a weapon of sorts; when you weave in a societal issue, the audience will start a conversation after laughing. If my art makes people converse about it, it will live on for a long time. Also, in a selfish way, I want to stand out as a comedian.”

But it’s not all serious business alone; Vikram does a fair bit of ‘amma appa’ jokes, as he refers to it, and ‘when you speak Telugu in Chennai’ kind of videos. When it comes to Reels, Vikram’s comedy is often exaggerated and draws from a lot of everyday things we see and experience. “I rely more on honesty than relatability. There is exaggeration — no parent is going to really talk like the way mothers converse in our scenes — but the emotional honesty at its core makes it believable and clicks with the audiences,” he explains.