Kanan Gill: Keep It Real (2017 TV Special) User Reviews (18)

Smart, funny, universal - One to watch out for!

[abhinavlal · 9/10 · 19 June 2017]

Now over the last 5-6 years we in India have seen an exponential rise of stand up comics. A lot of them have been good but each brings with themselves some baggage that does not translate universally.

We have seen comics from outfits like AIB & EIC take to stand up along with a lot of the other individual like Biswa Kalyan Rath, Kenny Sebastion, Abish Matthews, etc. But none of their stand up shows really hit the mark. Don't get me wrong - they were funny but just not great funny. They all had parts of their shows that weren't funny because they were either cringe worthy, awkward, not delivered well or they were too regional.

Kanan's show though having some issues was excellent. He is the first Indian comic(besides Vir das) whose show was sublime. His entire show is relatable, his delivery is excellent and I spent most of the show totally impressed with the way he handled himself.

Kanan could have done without the encore joke - which was just nasty and cringe worthy.

An extremely well written and well thought out show. I left the show thinking this show can be up there with the great stand up comedy shows from Hollywood comics.

Looking forward to see more from him.

This is the best stand-up show of an Indian comic you will see in years, let alone be compared to one of the current ones.

[monucjain · 9/10 · 1 June 2017]

Noting that this is my first review, please cut me some slack.

Now this show is a real game changer. It has all the elements of a stand up show and is absolutely to the point. In no circumstances does this talented comedian lose the focus of the audience and makes them laugh hysterically for the entirety of the hour. Not to criticize other Indian comedy specials, but all of them had a little tension in them here and there, except Kanan's.

The show starts off very strong with him dialing up his parents and asking for their permission to crack some jokes on them just before entering the stage and decides to keep the show's name based on the last advice his mom gives him.

He takes the stage and starts to connect to the audience immediately as if he's on a casual date by telling them facts about The Royal Opera house and starts killing it straight away with punchlines. Every word he utters does not go waste and adds to the laughter from the audience. He crafts his dialogues well, keeps his earlier punchlines ready and hits them hard wherever needed. He makes the audience available to the set on which his story is playing by making them imagine it exactly like he wants to, comfortably. The show has many of his earlier experiences and how he interprets it and commentates on it. It is like his funny take on his own life.

The audience loves his humor so much that even after Kanan drops the mic after the joke that connects all other jokes and wants to end it, they ask him for more like a kid asks for ice cream and he has to do another joke and he still kills it like he had been doing for the past hour.

Superb!! Simply Superb!!

[akin25 · 9/10 · 22 September 2017]

I really had a great 1 hour watching it.

It was filled with: 1) Great witty humour 2) Great delivery 3) Great timing.

He can even make a sensitive topic sound funny in a classy manner. This guy is really amazing!! I had seen him in 'Pretentious Movie Reviews' and used to like his jokes there but this one was simply amazing.

Waiting for more such performances!!

There is a cow

[inkyfingers11 · 10/10 · 11 August 2018]

This is the best stand up set by an Indian comedian I've seen yet. Kanan delivers a tight set with excellent writing, perfect comedic timing, hilarious delivery and some truly unforgettable lines. You can tell he spent a lot of time perfecting the writing of this set, which has one of the most satisfying endings I've ever experienced.

A very subtle, To the Point and No-Nonsense

[bhoomit-gala-791-17410 · 10/10 · 26 December 2017]

Where do I begin with?. Well. Kannan Gill is seriously the best comedian out there. His Jokes are very relatable, may happen with anyone of us at any given time. What sets him apart from his fellow comedians is that His stories are very believable (although some of them might be made up for the show) but the delivery of each and every joke is made in such a way that it's very difficult not to believe them.

A Very subtle, no unnecessary raunchy jokes to interest the audience, This is what good stand up comedians do. I've been following Stand Up comedy for a while now this by far has been my favourite stand up over the last few years.

I may have missed his live shows. But this video made me realise what I've been missing.

Amazing set full of laughter

[prajakta-18248 · 10/10 · 20 September 2018]

I have been watching Kanan's stand-ups online and he has done good standup with good material. Never really got a chance to watch him live though. Many comedians with their Amazon prime's have actually bored me. But this set in particular was a laughter riot. Great jokes, great observations,very relatable. I mean it's Kanan.He can never let you down.

Applause!

[PaulMMXX · 10/10 · 14 May 2019]

• An absolute laughter riot!
• Great script
• He has a good flow and is entertaining
• One of the few great enjoyable specials on Amazon.
• Just watched his show right after watching a very horrible Amazon special of 1 hr 30 mins of rubbish prior to this. Kanan doesn't disappoint!
• He has great stage charisma
• This shows a definite must watch

Look forward to seeing more of him!

The best special by an Indian comedian till date

[sukethksrivatsan · 8/10 · 4 January 2019]

Absolutely super pub writing,observations and wit.highly under rated special.

1 Hour of CLEAN Entertainment

[hardik-imdb · 9/10 · 5 February 2021]

These days I'm into watching standups. So far this Man has cleanest Language. There is no single Cussing, especially hindi ones. I don't mind cussing but that eliminates the fun to watch with others. Kanan kept his cool till the end. Thank you Kanan for writing this way.

Overrated

[keshmaoo7 · 1/10 · 3 April 2022]

This guy is overrated. And his show is very bad. Didn't laugh throughout the show. Not even a smile. This shows the quality of his content, which is very low. I don't know how this guy has so much fan following. I guess his audience is also a bunch of wannabes who laugh because they wanna sound cool.

Really good

[ashajyoti-54587 · 8/10 · 22 July 2019]

One of his best works. Humorous, relatable and entertaining.

Fantastic

[avinashsjbhs · 10/10 · 3 June 2020]

What a well written stand up. Kudos! Thoroughly enjoyed every bit. By far the best stand up on prime

Kanan is amazing

[fcanks · 9/10 · 9 November 2019]

Watched it again yesterday and it was amazing. His punches, the way he deliver those his timings everything rocked. Go for it...

VERY VERY REAL, KANNAN!

[Curious_Always · 9/10 · 8 May 2020]

Keep It Real is as real as it gets - it is relatable, extremely funny and very well written. The way he gets everything back at the end is supremely engaging and the Metal Documentary comeback is EPIC!

Still a long way to go

[pinkeshsharma89 · 1/10 · 3 April 2022]

Kanan has the potential to be a great comedian. But this show is far away from a decent show. He lacks maturity, and need to work hard on his style, he has gone lazy.

Stand up Disappointment

[arvindmy · 3/10 · 17 July 2018]

I think he too happy to get paid and being on Amazon prime that he thought say anything people will laugh. His worst stand-up.

Very Overrated

[akshayhazari · 1/10 · 25 August 2018]

I think most of the reviews here are by women or by people without any sense of humor. It was just okay never really ticked my funny bone. I don't really understand whether people liked all the turmeric and cow callbacks or just the way he presented everything. Or may be women liked the way he was trying to adjust his hair all the time. Every joke was stretched a lot and there was not much content in there for all that time he spent on the stage. It would be okay to rate it a 6 or 6.5 but here it shows up at 8.2. How would a person feel trying to check out some cool standup video going by the ratings and then end up here. May be something like Kal Mai Udega would be good for a comparison to watch one after the other and then rate this based on the two. You will not remember a thing from this because its so lame.

Unprocessed Existential Crisis

[chudgarakanksha · 16 July 2023]

I felt that Kanan is having an existential crisis. He is too materialistic in his way of thinking, and his conclusion of eating an ice cream as the meaning of life was absurd. He spoke the obvious and the show was not funny after the first 15 minutes. An existential crisis can be funny, but he has not processed his emotions or accepted any of his uncomfortable emotions. It was not entertaining but gave unsettling vibes to me. I know he can do better, but he should not have released this set at all, because it is unfinished, and he has a lot of emotional intelligence yet to develop, in my opinion.