Laugh in life: Kochi-based comedians Abhishek and Akshay on their latest show, their inspirations and more

Young comedians Akshay and Abhishek take Kochi by storm with relatable, life-inspired stand-up comedy show 'Abhishek and Akshay Live'.

Having been regular participants in Kochi’s stand-up comedy open-mic scene since the pandemic years, Akshay Joyal and Abhishek Murali were awaiting an opportunity to have their own show. By the end of September this year, the budding artist duo decided to put up an hour-long show, each performing for thirty minutes, a significant milestone in their budding careers. Selling out the venue with over 50 tickets, exceeding its capacity, Akshay and Abhishek had to put up 25 more seats to accommodate the response they received. After this successful outing, the comedians are back with their show, ‘Abhishek and Akshay Live’, expecting to outdo themselves.

“The show is Akshay’s and my life summary over the last couple of years. Everything major that we have witnessed or experienced is in this show,” says 26-year-old Abhishek, an IT employee, who turns to comedy as a break from the monotony of his life. “I like talking about the problems that I face daily since it helps me vent my frustrations in the form of jokes,” says Abhishek, who has also won the fourth prize at IFP’s 7-day standup comedy challenge, a national-level standup comedy competition in 2022.

“Most of our material is about events that happen in our everyday life which would be relatable topeople,” says Akshay, 26. Currently a video content creator at a private company in Kochi, Akshay was born and raised in Iritty, Kannur and finished his post-graduation in political science from the Central University of Punjab in 2023. He adds, “My experience in Punjab plays a big role for my part of the show, especially the cultural shock I experienced.”

The duo has been performing with each other through online open mics organised by Comedy Lounge Kochi during the pandemic. The Kochi show was not their first one together. It was in February 2022 when they performed a ticketed show in Kozhikode with a sold-out show ‘Just Kode-ing’, sharing the stage with three other comedians.

Akshay considers comedian Kenny Sebastian his favourite in the craft. He says, “I like both Kenny (Sebastian) and Kanan (Gill), but my style of performance involves a lot of gestures, movements and expressions due to which I have felt that my style is similar to that of Aakash Gupta.”

Abhishek says, “I really like watching Naveen Richard, Kanan Gill, Rahul Subramanian, Russell Peters, Trevor Noah, Abhishek Upmanyu, Masoom Rajwani and many more.” 

After this show the duo is aiming to tour with this show to different parts of the state. “Apart from Kochi, we would also like to perform in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode as well,” says Akshay. “Next year, we are planning to perform in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, covering other southern cities,” he adds. Both comedians are also preparing to record and put out snippets of their performances online in preparation for their solo shows expected to take off in 2025.