Pandit Nehru this, Pandit Nehru that. From Parliament debates to political speeches and arguments over India’s past, the mention of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru appears to be everywhere. Now, he is heading to the comedy stage. Sixty-three years after his death, comedian Kashyap Swaroop plans to bring the former Prime Minister back as the central character of a new stand-up series, imagining what the statesman might make of India in 2026.

For Swaroop, the idea came naturally. “In the most authentic way, I don’t know how but Pandit Nehru came to mind! Since everyone’s talking about Pandit Nehru, plus given the fact that our ideologies are a close match, Pandit Nehru seemed apt,” explains Swaroop.  Being part Kashmiri, he jokes that there could even be “some genetic memory going on here.” His research from speeches and videos to existing portrayals, only strengthened the idea.