Nepali Times

Nepali stand-up comedian Manoj Gajurel has impersonated a lot of people in his long and hilarious career. But none have brought the house down as much as his latest imitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and it seems Manoj is earning fans even across the border in India.

It has become a part of Nepal’s urban legend that in 2006, Manoj was such a perfect lookalike and soundalike of King Gyanendra that cops on duty actually saluted him. His imitation of Prachanda’s mannerisms and speeches have made the audience fall of their chairs laughing.

Earlier this month, Manoj was getting himself into character backstage at a theatre in London’s South Harrow neighbourhood. A one-man team, Manoj does his own hair, makeup and styling. He is quick. In less than 25 minutes, the transformation was complete -- Manoj had become Modi and was ready to go.

The audience was made up of Nepalis and Indians. As with his other shows in the UK last month, his Modi act got the most applause. "In August, I went to the Nepali parliament to pay my respect to the 601 young bulls there and told them to hand over Nepal to me and I would transform it into Gujarat within five years and return it," joked Gajurel in Hindi.

“The audience has definitely been more responsive this time,” Gajurel said of his six-week UK tour. Manoj first travelled to England in 2011 and says he’s been to all continents except Africa to perform at shows organised by the Nepali diaspora. Among the hundreds in attendance at his Plymouth show was British-Indian MP Chaz Singh of the Labour Party who congratulated him for his performance. Gajurel was also recently interviewed by BBC.

Manoj says he was inspired to take on the Modi avatar after the Indian PM’s Nepal visit in August. He had been in search of a new character to play and Modi seemed perfect as “he is a global figure.”

Manoj admits impersonating Modi has been his most difficult act so far. He studied Modi’s every move, watching tv clips over and over again to take notes on his speech, attire, mannerisms. The comedian knew he was on to something when the audience laughed wildly at his Gaijatra performance in Kathmandu.

Manoj once harboured a dream of becoming a politician himself, but found it easier to be a clown that imitates them. “I don’t think I’d have been such a successful politician,” he admits, “acting like one is hard enough.”

His positive attitude towards life and optimistic nature is reflected in his routine. He does not just poke fun at politicians, but also dispenses serious advice. “After all, it is the leaders who can make a country, it only takes two good politicians to take the country in the right direction,” he adds. 

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