Deepika Mhatre's mornings begin at 4am sharp when she boards the first local from her home in Mumbai's crowded suburb, Nala Sopara. The next three hours are mighty busy for the 43-year-old as she sells imitation jewellery to commuters. By the time the clock strikes 7.30am, she is already rushing to her second job – cooking for five housholds in a residential complex in Malad. And it was in this housing colony that she found her new calling. An intimate talent show was organised here last year for house helps when Mhatre first took to the stage as a stand-up comedian. "I wasn't fully prepared. My madam repeatedly asked me about my gig, but I wouldn't tell her!" she giggles.
Mhatre admits to being the goofy one in her friends group – always jolly and high-spirited. "That is also how I sold most of my jewellery to commuters," she says coyly.
Delivering an impromptu performance at the society, Mhatre had the crowd in splits in no time. "Everybody liked my performance. There was applause and praise from all sides," she beams. "In fact, a few days after the function, some other madam log in the building also stopped me for a chat. Earlier, since I was only a house help, I used to be invisible to them," she sniggers. Her madam knew then that despite the raw ideas Mhatre came with, she needed a small push in the right direction.
Enter comedian Aditi Mittal, one of the first women to do stand-up comedy in India. "Mittal madam is very good friends with my madam. She took me under her wing," Mhatre says gratefully. Over the course of the next couple of months, Mittal taught the budding stand-up artist the nuances of the trade. From honing her script, telling Mhatre where to throw punch lines to even getting her on open mics in the city, Mittal made sure to polish her protégé's raw talent.
She then introduced Mhatre through her YouTube series Bad Girls, where she celebrates unconventional work done by young girls and women. "Let Deepika Mhatre's brilliant wit, winning smile take you through a day in her life," reads the description of the second episode of the series. With more than 60,000 views on the video since it was uploaded in February this year, the comments section has only praises for her. Mhatre's brand of humour is largely observational. Borrowing from her real-life instances, she says she finds most of her material in her workplace – her life as a maid and a working woman in the country. "These madam log make up most of my script. Their behaviour and quirks are really exceptional and deserve a mention," she says.
You'd assume Mhatre is criticising her "madam log" on the stage, but her material concentrates on the class divide in the everyday household. "Main na, kaafi special hu. Main jiss building mey jaati hu, merey liye alag lift hoti hai. Main jiss ghar mey jaati hu, merey liye alag bartan hotey hai (I'm a very special person. The building I work in has a special elevator for me. The house I work in has a special set of utensils only for me)," she asserts, hinting at the discrimination house helps face in this hypocritical society. The audience is spellbound for a couple of seconds till Mhatre hits the nail with her punchline and has the room roaring with laughter.
With several successful open mics to her kitty, Mhatre recently performed in Bengaluru along with Aditi Mittal and Bengaluru-based comic Shrirupa Sengupta. But what excites Mhatre are her projects in the pipeline. "I want to continue going to open mics and performing for a new audience every time. I hope to try out my new material very soon," she says optimistically.
