Based in Delhi, Abijit Ganguly has a style of his own as a stand-up comedian. Always seen as the funny guy in his group, Abijit got initiated into the platform from the year 2010. Over four years now and he has been telling his tales of marriageable age, alcoholism, racism, superheroes, beggars, dating a Gujarati girl, weight issues, media and politics. He spoke to Metroplus on his views on the evolving stand-up comedy scene in India ahead of his show at The Park.
When did you begin doing stand-up comedy? And what attracted you to this platform?
I have been a stand-up comedian for over four years now, having started in 2010 September. I was pursuing my masters in Delhi School of Economics back then.
I had always been the funny guy in the group although I hadn't ever really envisioned being a stand-up comedian. Back in August 2010 I saw a stand-up comedy show by Abish Mathew. I enjoyed the show a lot and knew it for sure that I wanted to give this a shot. The very next month there was an open mic happening in a pub where I got a slot.
I was lucky enough to get a good response in that itself and continued performing through my masters. Soon I started getting paid gigs at bars and corporate meets, and started making decent money of this. There’s a huge difference from being just a funny guy amongst your friends to actually doing stand-up and then being somewhat decent at it. The initial year actually passed by trying to understand this transition. But with time as you go about doing it more professionally, you start becoming more analytical about it. Of course, the perks of being a stand-up comic are aplenty; lot of travelling, meeting interesting people, having lot of novelty experience, lot of partying, eating out, good drinks and of course subsequently, dying early.
At a time when the stand-up comedy scene is heating up in India, how important do you feel is the need to have an individual style? What is your USP?
The stand-up scene is heating up in India and it becomes imperative for every individual to strive to form their own brand. Thence, making it very important to have his/her own individual voice/style. Coming from a regular economics (graduation and masters) and corporate consulting background I relate more to the corporate Junta which itself is my USP. I make it a point to crack jokes on various corporate aspects, such as HR, marketing, uniqueness in Indian market, office life, office characters. I think that is my USP. A high-energy interactive comedian who connects with today’s corporate junta.
What kind of challenges you face as a stand-up comedian?
* Wrong understanding of the art: People don't understand that stand-up is about writing and performing your own material and not reading old jokes;
* Others stealing your material - be it other comedians, TV commercials or media houses;
* Payment follow-ups - India is a nightmare for all artists. Following for payment is the single most humiliating thing for an artist;
* Lack of professionalism amongst event management companies;
* Regular apprehensions of family and society.
How do you define comedy? What are the key factors to create the connect with audience?
Frankly, I like to keep it simple. For me, comedy is simply anything that is funny. In my sets I talk about everything that I find funny. Be it office life, contemporary affairs, Indian idiosyncrasies, family stuff, relationships, stereotype observations, observation-fuelled anecdotes, my set mostly has all kinds of content. Key factor to connecting with an audience is simply keeping in mind that every audience is different and make an effort accordingly. What works with a core North Indian Punjabi audience may not definitely click with a primarily South Indian or Bengali audience. What are the pitfalls an aspiring comedian may encounter?
* Saturation - As comics, one needs to constantly evolve and write new material and not sit back and rest on past laurels. Many comedians have suffered because of this behaviour;
* Rigidness and failure to adapt to different kind of audience;
* Arrogance and starting to consider self as celebrity;
* Understanding that the artist aspect of it and the business aspect of it are two different things and one has to be good at both. Essentially stand-up comedy is like running a business where you are the product itself. So how you manage that can be the main difference between success and failure as a comedian.
