Comedian Abish Mathew on his latest one-hour special, ‘Finish’

Nearly two decades into his career as a stand-up comedian, Abish Mathew, is releasing his second one-hour special, Finish, following Whoop!, which has been streaming on Amazon Prime since 2018. However, Abish considers Finish to be a product of personal and comedic reinvention. “Whoop! is from someone in his 20s trying to impress an audience. This is from one in his 30s, trying to impress parents,” he comments.

“The special was about growth. Since 2018, I have dedicated more time to writing. Performance comes to me naturally. But now, I get more excited by the idea of writing a joke as opposed to having an idea, taking it to the stage and seeing where it goes, which is what the previous special was about. Now that I am on tour, I am trying to lean more into being in the moment and seeing what happens.”

Finish, currently streaming on YouTube, is an amalgamation of Abish’s jokes from the past three years, since he put his celebrated talk show, Son of Abish, on hold. One half of the show was thematically made last year, when he went on tour. “The show finally came together when my parents came to see it. I realised that I was talking about them. It became a show about my perspective as the youngest child in a Mallu Catholic family from Delhi, their story of why my name is Abish. And Finish is a joke my father did,” says Abish.

Abish Mathew
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The comedian credits his family for his long career in comedy. “Before I did standup, I was working at a radio station and was in a band. My parents were supportive of that. They supported me in school when I was into theatre and emceeing. My eldest brother came to my every show, whether it was music or hosting a gig at a mall, or recording at church. The three of them crafted me into who I am today. Moving to Mumbai from Delhi was never a conversation. I felt like, instead of a smooth take off, I got a boost from their end.”

Abish says humour is part of their family with his father cracking jokes, his mother’s laugh, and her savage retorts. “For instance, my father will say jokes like me, while my mother brings out hard-hitting, political jokes like that of (Gursimran) Khamba, (Kunal) Kamra and Varun Grover, and we will be shocked.”

Taking a break

While he took a break from stand-up, he lauds the number of comedians who entered the scene during that time, each with their own perspective. “With so many open mics happening, there is queer comedy, shows with all-women lineups, alt comedy (Alternative comedy) and improv comedy groups.” He also points out that more comics are confident about releasing shows in different formats and podcasts. “I am introduced to new comics daily. I immediately reach out to them, saying it’s a great set.”

Abish adds, “I recently finished Varun Grover’s special, Nothing Makes Sense. It was so good. It was light. I have always enjoyed Kanan Gill’s specials; it is something I aspire to do. I love anything Anirban Dasgupta and Tarang Hardikar put up. I must give a special shoutout to Gurleen Pannu; her last video made me laugh consistently. Same with Shreeja Chaturvedi and Prashasti Singh, it’s effortless and authentic.”

Abish Mathew
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Looking back

Abish fondly remembers Son of Abish, which ran for nine seasons and shot him into fame. “When people recognise you for the work you paused three years ago, it feels so awesome. It is done by an Abish, in his early 20s. I look back, and I say, ‘Good job, Abish. ’ I enjoyed making that show, and it was my dream to make it.I have always enjoyed the process of building a show with writers, directors, and producers.”

What tip does Abish have for aspiring comics? “There is no one tip; find your nearest open mic and go there a few times. Then reach out to the comics there, say I want to try. Try to understand what a good joke is. Sometimes people laugh at an interesting premise, and we think people have laughed, so we move on to the next premise. But your objective is, you got a chuckle, that means the audience is interested, now you need a great payoff. If you write with that objective in mind, you can take weeks to write one joke, but figure out a good enjoyable process for it.”

Finish is now streaming on Son Of Abish YouTube Channel

Published – January 06, 2026 05:08 pm IST