Microaggressions make for poignant, hard-hitting jokes that reveal the reality of being a racial minority.

Why is Rishi Budhrani, a born and bred Singaporean-Indian, considered an ‘artificial Indian’? Is it because he is ‘fair for an Indian’? Because he ended up becoming a ‘joker’ onstage? Confused by these stereotypical assumptions, Rishi embarks on a stand-up comedy journey to figure out exactly how he should identify.

Exploring whether or not he conforms to various stereotypes of the Indian community or deviates from them, Artificial Indian becomes a hard-hitting look at what it means to be an Indian in Singapore today. Replete with Rishi’s signature blend of commentary on politics and current affairs, Artificial Indian keeps things light while feeling urgent and relevant to our modern day issues.

Especially in a multicultural, multiracial country like Singapore, where peaceful coexistence and acceptance has been the norm for the longest time, microaggressions can often come as a surprise. To illustrate this, Rishi reminds us of the recent racist Tada driver incident, and in an educational moment to help us become more cognizant of when these microaggressions arise, Rishi aptly tells us to yell TADA! each time he mentions a racist incident onstage (and oh how there are plenty he mentions throughout his set).

Before he begins proper, Rishi extends the stage to his opening acts. Having worked his way up, Rishi knows how difficult it is to succeed in comedy in Singapore, and offers up his platform emerging stand-up acts Siraj Aziz, Bree Wang and D Roy to show what they can do and engage the full house at the Drama Centre Theatre, each offering their own takes on being a minority in Singapore. And as a special surprise act, Rishi even includes a segment helmed by his animated ‘Downstairs’ character, Sammy, to help promote the show and showcase a different type of comedy.

Once warmed up, Rishi returns to the stage, now dressed in a Kurta tailored by his own father, returning the favour by carefully namedropping the shop no less than seven times in a single breath. More than just promotion however, the bit emphasises how important family is to Rishi, something that crops up again and again when he mentions his wife, fellow comedian Sharul Channa and their relationship. Riffing on the playful banter they share with each other, cracking jokes at each other’s expense or ‘constructively ignoring’ each other when it gets too much, to maintain their loving marriage all these years.

All of this is effectively linked back to the greater issue of casual racism experienced in Singapore, whether it’s being mistaken for a car washer or hotel waitstaff (in Turkey, by a fellow Singaporean, no less), or the different racially-segregated public campaigns, such as Health Promotion Board’s timely healthy eating campaigns in November. These are told without bitterness, merely with an expression of appall, as both he and the audience registers the sheer amount of stereotypical assumptions that still reign in our sunny island.

As a seasoned comedian, Rishi also knows how to work the crowd, and uses a number of audience members in the front row to riff off throughout the show, from talking about his successful gym routine, to explaining Singaporean customs to a foreigner, with the banter and repeated references back to them almost always ensuring a chuckle out of us. But it is when Rishi dips into political waters that he is at his most comfortable and unleashes the full force of his comedy, passing commentary on scandals in parliament, to the recent presidential election hopefuls, and even the politics of assigning a ‘colour’ to each race – red for the Chinese, green for the Malays and a rather unusual option for the Indians.

Towards its end, Artificial Indian takes on a particular poignant note as Rishi opens up about his own vulnerabilities. Drawing on criticisms from internet trolls accusing him of being a “People’s Action Party stooge” and an “imported foreign talent” on his online show The Rishi Report, Rishi accepts that sometimes the most important thing to do is not to care so much about what other people think, but to forge ahead and focus on the self. Who cares if you’re an ‘authentic’ or ‘artificial’ Indian after all? All that matters in the end is that you’re comfortable being yourself, and working towards changing the hearts and minds of those you can, one microaggression at a time.

Artificial Indian played from 29th to 30th September 2023 at the Drama Centre Theatre.

Rishi’s wife, fellow comedian Sharul Channa, will be performing her show Just Joking! from 13th to 15th October 2023 at the Drama Centre Black Box. Tickets available from Peatix