Chartered Accountant by day, stand up comedian by night, Kolkata-born and Chennai-based Vikash Paul’s lifelong love for comedy was ignited when he was told it was a great way to get female attention. By contrast, 23-year-old Kjeld Sreshth from Karaikal in Puducherry believes that tea is the answer to life and love. The two comedians, who are set to perform in Kochi today, discuss the challenges of their craft, potential movie roles and their take on Valentine’s Day. Excerpts from an e-mail interview:
How did you discover stand up comedy and what was your start in the circuit like?
Vikash Paul: I always wanted to become a great stand up comedian like my dad. He isn't one, he also wanted to become one! As an art form I was always attracted to stand up comedy for its purity. You get instant gratification and immediate feedback based on audience reaction. I started my journey this time last year when I went to one of the open mics happening in Chennai with a five minute set that got a good reaction from the audience. A week and another open mic later I got my first shot at a ticketed show. And things happened after that.
Kjeld Sreshth: I was working a corporate job when I first found out about stand up. My colleague at the time told me that she thought I was really funny and that I should try getting on stage. That compliment sort of stuck in my head and I eventually ended up quitting my job and started going to open mics.
Tell us a little about the preparation you go through before a gig, in terms of writing and working on presentation.
VP: We generally don't wait for a particular gig. We need to write constantly and keep hitting the open mics regularly to polish our material by trying it out on the audience.
KS: The real prep work when it comes to jokes does happen at the open mics. It actually takes quite a while for a joke to feel complete but open mics really help in getting you there.
How much do you have to tweak your material depending on the venue? Is there a lot of improvisation involved?
VP: Yes we need to customise our material based on the target audience - their age group, educational background, the occasion and most importantly if we have a briefing from the organisers that adult content is not allowed. Though we are seeing that people are now becoming more open and accepting of topics which otherwise aren’t discussed in public.
There is lot of improvisation and crowd work involved in an act and that has the most potential for laughter because of its spontaneity factor.
KS: It really depends on the crowd. If the set is going well, you don’t really have to improvise a lot, but if you feel the crowd isn’t really feeling the joke then it gets a bit more complicated.
We hear of non-responsive audiences, hecklers and easily offended viewers. What is the biggest challenge you've had to deal with on stage?
VP: Maybe I have been a bit lucky so far. But it is one of the daily challenges of your job. You can't run away from it. You need to equip yourself to face the hecklers. I personally feel there is nothing called a non-responsive audience as that clearly reflects that your content or the delivery was not good enough.
KS : Most audiences are really sweet and supportive actually. Sure, once in a while we get a drunk heckler who wants a little attention or a crowd that doesn’t like the kind of jokes that are being told but most of the time if you can get the crowd to believe you're a nice guy, you're in.
Given the chance, would you show up in a movie somewhere along the line?
VP : As lead hero right!? Jokes apart, based on the kind of humour I see in films today, I actually won't be very inclined towards it. Unless they offer me an amount I can't reject or better if they cast me opposite Sunny Leone! As I said earlier I believe this is purest of the art forms. You are the master of your content, your script, your delivery and the way you want to play it. I don't think you have that much liberty in films.
KS: (laughs) The movie would probably tank but hey, a guy can dream right?
Since Valentine's Day is upon us, do you have anygyaanyou can share on the funny side of life and love?
VP : Call it coincidence but February 15 last year was when I hit the open mics for the first time because one of my friends told me that girls are crazy about stand up comedians! And I can't tell you between that day and today how many girls have come up and asked me.. if I can introduce them to Kanan Gill!
KS: Make tea. Tea helps.
Kochi has been warming up steadily to stand up comedy, what are your expectations from the crowd going in?
VP: Yes this is the third time I will be performing in Cochin. There is potential for a healthy stand up scene to grow here! My earlier experience has been that the audience here is well aware of current affairs/ news and so pick up all the context. Also the intelligent jokes work well here which normally we face tough time at other places. After all this is the most literate state in India right!
KS : I've actually wanted to perform in Kochi for quite a while and I'm really psyched about the show. I dont really have any expectations from the crowd. Come to have fun and we'll try our best to give you a night you won’t forget soon.
