After years of grinding, KZN comedian Akhil Maharaj is finally enjoying his moment in the sunshine as a nominee for the coveted Savanna Newcomer Award.
Maharaj is nominated in the category at the 13th Savanna Comics Choice Comedy Awards alongside fellow newbies Nishen Pather, Prince K, Rae du Plooy and Sjika Da Thirdborn. The winner will be announced on Saturday at Gold Reef Citys Lyric Theatre. Before then, Sowetan gets to know Maharaj.
Akhil Maharaj: I started comedy in Durban just before Covid-19 lockdown. Its something Ive always wanted to do since I was a kid. I guess you could call it a calling. It took me a while to get the courage to try it. I was living in Richards Bay, where there wasnt really a comedy scene, so I used to drive about 200km to Durban to do open mics and then drive back the next day. Even Durbans scene was small at the time, but its growing now. Through that period, my love for stand-up comedy grew.
