As Akash came on the stage, he was welcomed with warm round of applause. This made Akash feel a little smug. He had a mic in his hand when he came out. When he saw that everyone had quietened down, he started off with his performance.
"When I was small, I used to fail in every single test of mine. And my father. Mr. Harish, would scold me every time for that. So what happened was that one day when my father saw my test paper in which I had failed, he said to me angrily, 'If you failed in one more test, then don't you dare call me your dad'."
"Haha…you weren't good at studies."
"HAhah…I also failed in some subject but not all. Akash is quite talented in that area. Hahaha"
"I also think so. He is quite talented."
The audience started laughing as they heard that Akash was not so good in his studies.
"… And after that day, I studied day and night. And on the day of my result when I brought my test paper back to show it to my father, I straightened my back and puffed my lungs out and said, 'Harish your so-' Before I could even speak, a flying slipper was printed on my face. I saw my father breathing heavily like a bull with red eyes. He shouted, 'How dare you speak to your father like that.' I innocently said, 'Didn't you say if I failed again next time, I shouldn't call you dad?'"
"Hahahahahahahahaha...Flying slipper….I can totally imagine what that looked like…hahahah"
"This guys is amazing….Hahhahah….even dared to call his father by his name…Hahahahh"
"Mother…I am dying ..AHHAHAHAAHHAAH"
This little joke pushed the already heated atmosphere to a whole other level. People were laughing and clapping at the same time. But not all of the people present thought that it was so hilarious. But seeing others clapping, they also clapped with a smile on their face.
" ….So one day. ….."
"haha...."
"...."
….
Soon, after performing for half an hour, Akash said his thanks and went back to backstage. Next was Ghotak's turn. When Ghotak was going out, he didn't forget to glare at Om. Om was confused as to why he was glaring at him. After not finding anything in his brain, Om just shook his head and waited quietly for his turn.
After another half an hour, a sweating Ghotak came back with a self-satisfied smile on his face. He was feeling very happy to seeing so many people applauding for him. The foul mood that he was in due to Om had also disappeared now. So, when he came back to the backstage, he went to the place where Akash and Pratham were sitting and sat down as well.
Next, it was Om's turn. The host first told a little things about Om to the audience, but after hearing that Om was a newbie and here to debut for the first time, they all felt a little skeptical. But they didn't say anything and just warmly applauded for the newbie.
When Om heard the host calling his name, he immediately stood up. He hurriedly tidied his clothes and cleared his throat and began to walk towards the stage. If one looked properly, he or she would find that the way Om was walking was a bit weird. He was walking very stiffly.
Of course, it was because Om was very nervous this time. When he reached the stage and saw more than 400 people sitting and applauding for him, he started feeling a bit dizzy. He thoughts were in a disarray. Seeing Om in a daze the host quietly reminded Om to start his performance. This reminder from the host pulled Om out of his daze. He immediately made his mind to stop thinking about everything and start his performance.
"Hello, guys. My name is O-"
Due to nervousness, Om bit his tongue. The audience also realized this and went silent. Some people were sympathizing with Om while others very getting very impatient. They had paid Rs 500 for today's show to have the laugh of their lives. But this newbie on the stage didn't look like he could make them laugh. They felt like their money was cheated. 'We didn't ask for this guy so, why send him? Where is Pratham? Send him out instead.' People thought.
After Om calmed down, he once again started to introduce himself. But halfway through the introduction, the mic stopped working. He tapped on the mic to see if it is working or not and them looked at the crew. This made the audience more and more annoyed. 'They are definitely cheating our money. This guy is wasting our time.' Everyone thought.
"Hey! Get down the stage. We don't want you. Send Pratham instead."
"Yeah! Get down. Otherwise we will start throwing thing at you. Send Pratham instead."
"Pratham! Bring out Pratham!"
"Pratham!!"
"Pratham!!"
Soon, the whole auditorium was reverberating with Pratham's name. Hearing his name being shouted by everyone in the auditorium, Pratham had a satisfied smile on his face. These shouts also signified that their strategy to make Om fail had succeeded. Now, Pratham was getting up and tidying himself to go on stage to calm down the crowd himself. But before he could take his third step, he heard something which made him stop in his tracks. His face was filled with shock as he couldn't believe what was happening.
Seeing that Om still had no thoughts of getting down the stage, people started throwing whatever they could find in their pockets. Some threw paper, while some threw some coins. One of them even threw his key chain which read I-M-Possible which Om caught in his hands.
Om was stunned when he saw people wanting him to go back and started throwing things at him. Believe me, that experience is not the most pleasant one. He could see that people were very angry at this time so, he started thinking of actually going down and letting the audience get what they wished for, Pratham. But when he caught the key chain that was flying towards him, he realized something.
'This is my stage. I am the owner now and no one can take this stage from me until I am done. They want someone else to come on the stage, hell no! No one could take me down from this stage even if they want to. Why? Because is my livelihood, my dream. And no one can take these things from me.' Om thought in his heart. So, he immediately told the crew to arrange a new mic for him as soon as possible.
The crew was also panicking now. When they saw such a problem happening on the stage, they had already started to arrange a new mic for Om. And when Om asked for another, they immediately arranged one for him. After taking another mic, Om came back to the stage and said , "Alright, guys. Calm down and listen to me. I will only take your few minutes. So, just listen to me now. If after a few minutes you still think that my performance is sh*t, then I will go down the stage myself, how about it?" Om said as he looked at the crowd.
Hearing this, the whole crowd went silent. They were a little hesitant for a while and then eventually agreed to Om's wishes.
Seeing that the whole crowd had gone silent Om said, "Recently, one of my friends went through a breakup. And he is one of those guys who can't handle their breakup. So, after breakup they start crying very badly,' Om closed his eyes, patted his head and said in a remorseful voice, "She's gone. She's gone now. Oh shit man, she left me."
"I loved her so much," Om asked in a puzzled tone, "But she still left me?'...They couldn't believe that a girl would ever dump them. And what they do is, they never tell you directly that they have broken up. What they do is that they try to slip it between conversations. Everything they say has a tone of breakup in it. Very gloomy." Om said in an frustrated voice, "Just try to call them once and your whole mood will be off. I called my friend and asked, 'Where are you?' …'in the hostel' he said. 'Alone?' I asked. 'Too much' came the reply from the other side…" Om said with a speechless face.
"Hahaha…Too much…"
"Hahahaha"
"hhaahah…this is hilarious."
"hahaha. Not too bad."
People started laughing slowly. But there were still some Pratham's hardcore fans who still wanted Pratham to come up on the stage. So, they just crossed their hands in front of their chest and sat with a frown in the crowd.
"I said, 'Don't worry too much. Just relax. Want some drinks?' …he said 'No. My stomach is already full with grief. "
"HAhahahah…"
"Hahaha…My stomach is already full with grief! Hahaha..This is really hilarious."
"Hahaha. This happened with me too…..hahahah…so relatable."
"Hahahah…yeah! So, relatable."
Now, more and more people were laughing. Om's expressions and different sounds while speaking made them laugh more and more.
"…So, once in my childhood...I was eating a chocolate. Then, my father came to me and said, 'Don't eat chocolate, my son.' I asked him 'why?'.. he said, "You'll have cavities'... So, I started eating ice-cream. My father once again came to me and said, 'Don't eat ice cream'. I once again asked him 'Why?' and he said, 'You'll have cavities'."
"Hahaha"
"Now, that is some caring father. Haahahaha"
"Hahaha..yeah, you are right."
"…So, I started eating worms." Om said with an expressionless face.
[A.N- In Hindi, Keede(कीड़े) means worms or insect as well as Cavities.]
"What?! Hahahahahah!!"
"hahahahhahaha"
"I started eating worms….Hahhahaha:
Now, even the hardcore fans could not help but smile a bit. They were slowly unable to withstand the urge to laugh.
"Again my father came to me and said, 'Don't eat worms.' I asked him why, he said, 'You'll have cavit-'
'Dad, just come here for a second…yes, come here. I have something to talk to you" Om beckoned in the air with a frustrated look on his face.
"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH"
"You'll have cavities by eating worms…hahhHAHHAHAHAAH"
"This is too much! TOo MuCh!! HAHAHAHAHAHA'
"NO! Stop it! HAHAHAHAhAHAH! I am dying. HhahahHAHAHA"
Some people started to slowly applaud for Om. And others followed behind them. They just couldn't help themselves but applaud. Om was too hilarious.
"…'Can you talk about something else, huh?' I asked him. 'Where are your manners? How dare you talk to me like that? Don't you know how to respect your elders?' my father said angrily. And that is one thing that our parents have always taught us, right? ReSpect YouR elders, RePeCt YoUr Elders….But one thing that they have never told us is… why should we respect them. They just tells us to do that and we follow them without even thinking twice. So, I asked 'Dad, tell me something. Why do we need to respect them?'… 'Aah..That…You just have to respect them'." Om said with a speechless face.
"hHaahahhahaha"
"His father also doesn't know..HAhahah"
"Yup…he also followed what his parents had taught him…HAHHAHAHA"
"…'But why? Just tell me some reasons' I asked my father," Om said in a comical way, " '…Ah..um..We were born before you.' my father said.
'....Andddd…..' I asked once again.
'I don't have any more reasons now.' My father raised both his hands and said.
Then, I asked, 'If we don't respect them, then what…?'
'....Then...umm.…you'll have cavit-'
'Father, have you gone mad or what?" Om shouted angrily."
"Hahahahahahahahhahhahahahahahahahaha"
"SAVE ME! HahaHaahHAAHHAHA! SAVE…HAHAHAH…ME….AHAHAHAHH"
"PLEASE STOP! AHhahAhahah! I CAN'T HANDLE ALL THIS! HahahaahahAHHAHHaH!"
"So, you'll have cavities if you don't respect your elders…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"My God…..This is the first time in my life that I have laughed so hard."
"Me too, buddy. This guy is a genius. How can he even think of this. Hahhahaha"
"Cavities…Oh….CAvItIeS!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
Right now, every. Single. One. Was laughing. It didn't matter whose fans they were. At this time, they were laughing and tearing at the same time. And this was what Om had wanted to see all along.