South Asia, one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, is home to more than 650 languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi and Punjabi – the list goes endlessly on. Each of those languages has a variety of dialects, too, making for a smorgasbord of tone, style and expression. Humour is a prime example of this, taking on significantly different meaning whether you’re in a small village in South India or in the mountains of Pakistan. When it comes to the Canadian diaspora, then, things can become even more lost in translation.
So, when comedians Shreya Parashar and Sachin Sharma – who grew up in Mumbai, where they co-founded a marketing agency – decided to bring their work to Toronto in 2019, they also wanted to continue pursuing comedy. But they quickly realized there wasn’t a space to do it in their language (Hindi) and style without feeling like strangers to the art and to the city.
Hinprov is a multilanguage improv community that supports racialized artists whose mother tongue is a South Asian language. Although this is the focus, everyone is welcome, even English-first speakers.Matthew McLaren
In 2021, the two founded Hinprov, a multilanguage improv community that supports racialized artists whose mother tongue is a South Asian language (although this is the focus, everyone is welcome, even English-first speakers). Their goal is to introduce 100 new racialized artists to Toronto’s comedy stages by the end of the year. The initiative has found its footing; Hinprov is Bad Dog Theatre’s 2024 Emerging Creator Resident, and the troupe is currently on a popular run of their Improvised Bollywood Shows in Toronto, which spoofs the Indian film world (a truly universal language for South Asians).
Since founding Hinprov, Parashar says she’s noticed a rising diversity in the city’s comics. In fact, Hinprov also has helped build a community of racialized comics and comedy lovers – and helped its members evolve their craft.
Although there is always a live translator on hand, she notes: “We’ve learned we can do away with verbal language entirely when it comes to making people laugh. We’ve found a natural progression toward physical comedy. Intonation, intention and movement mean everything. The body does not need language to be funny.”
Below, Parashar and other members of Hinprov share what the troupe has done for their careers in comedy.
Shreya Parashar
Shreya Parashar.Supplied
By day: Marketing consultant
By night: Co-founder of Hinprov
I cannot emphasize the difference it makes to see people on stage who sound and look and talk like you. Hinprov has been a reminder that our stories are important, that we, as a community, are important. I’ve also learned that, culturally, the South Asian community still has to discover how valuable humour is for us, and be motivated to go out and support live comedy. That isn’t built into our culture. My parents never did that, and it came later in life for me. That is a great challenge, and might be one of the reasons why none of us are full-time comedians: improv does not pay, particularly when you’re starting something new like this for a different audience. That’s why we all continue to moonlight.
Gunjan Chandok
Gunjan Chandok.Supplied
By day and night: Actor, comedian
This experience has given me courage: to reflect on who I am, to find my voice and discover the stories I want to tell in my career. When I first started in the improv scene, prepandemic, a lot of the performers and performances I saw were white. While they were incredible people and artists, I didn’t always fully connect to the comedy. Through Hinprov, and having the opportunity to perform in my mother language, which is Hindi, I now have the audacity to stand up and say, “Wait a second. I can also tell stories, my stories. I have jokes that will resonate with different sets of people.” A life-changing moment happened for me on stage when we were performing as a group, I turned to the audience, and I didn’t just see brown people, it was a diverse mix. I was so scared to tell jokes in Hindi, but they still landed, partly because we include live translation but also because of the physical comedy. This experience motivated me to become a full-time working-slash-struggling actor.
Amlan Das
Amlan Das.Supplied
By day: Tech consultant
By night: Actor, performance artist, comedian
I have been doing acting and performance art for a while. But the idea of making a [multilanguage] improvised show was very cool and different. In just getting to know each other, warming up, doing our initial exercises, I realized the idea behind improv is just to play. And doing it through our own languages, it gains a nuance. Doing it as a team, it becomes so much more fun; it’s like a game.
Jeff Fernandes
Jeff Fernandes.Supplied
By day: Project manager
By night: Comedian
I don’t speak Hindi. So, for me, Hinprov has been about finding my way back to my cultural identity. Growing up in Canada, I didn’t really fit in with white Canadians, but I didn’t connect well with new immigrants my age, either. I also come from a very traditional South Asian background that values success in maths and sciences, but never really celebrates the creative arts. So when I started comedy my goal was to get out of my comfort zone. Hinprov is all about breaking barriers. They’re inclusive of all different backgrounds, so it didn’t matter that I didn’t speak Hindi, or that I grew up differently, or communicated differently. I finally felt like I belonged. It’s helped me find my identity and a safe place to grow as a comedian, an artist and, honestly, as a person. It’s made me want to pursue comedy fully.