Before he started work on India's first documentary on stand-up comedy, I Am Offended, Jaideep Verma had never watched a stand-up comedy show. But for the 47-year-old director — who earlier made documentaries such as Baawra Mann, based on Sudhir Mishra's life and Leaving Home, based on music band Indian Ocean and even a film titled Hulla in 2008 — humour has always been paramount.


Director Jaideep Verma 

Verma was piqued by stand-up comedy when he heard about stand-up comics Andy Zaltzman in London and Varun Grover in Mumbai, who happen to be his good friends. "While shooting a show for Andy in Mumbai in December 2012, I discovered Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat and Aditi Mittal and liked their work. So I decided to explore the scene further," he says.