Bangalore-based Kenneth Sebastian has come a long way in the last eight years since he debuted his videos online.
He first made parodies and covered popular songs, slowly racking up views on his YouTube channel. His eventual foray into stand-up comedy occurred only when he took part in a competition for IIT Bombay’s annual festival Mood Indigo. Doing a mostly improvised riff at the festival, Sebastian's humour immediately struck a chord with the judges and audience and he won the competition. Fast forward five years and he’s an established comedian and a popular one at that.
Endearing and funny
In the time since he hit the comedy scene, Sebastian has spawned one stand-up special after the other, with a TV show ( The Living Room on Comedy Central) and web series thrown in. It’s a feat possible, perhaps because of his affable personality, both on stage and off.
He’s also almost always experimenting. For instance, he’s famous for creating songs with a crowd-sourced suggestion and then there’s his animated series that doles out life guru-esque advice about not dating lions. Despite his several personas, fans always manage to recognise him, “It’s what I always wanted, for people to like me for who I am.”
In the past year, the 25-year-old has been incredibly busy. His sci-fi comedy web series Star Boyz , which documented the escapades of three south Indian boys in space, came out in May and was received enthusiastically, though it leaned heavily towards a specific Bangalorean humour.
Recently, he started touring his live vlog show Chai Time with Kenny , an interactive programme where the audience is led through specific topics. He improvises according to the situation, all the while sipping his cuppa.
Now he’s working on a second season while simultaneously touring the country doing solo shows and improv comedy with his troupe, The Improvisers. Sebastian also has been working on Don’t be that guy . “This is my fifth special, and the one that is most worthy of being called a special.” The show revolves around a specific subject which the comedian insists on being tight-lipped about. But Mumbai’s fans of stand-up can attend his show this evening to get a sneak preview of what’s to come. Before Sebastian takes the show on the road in the next two months, his upcoming gigs will be tests for new material.
Sebastian does have a very clear plan of action for the future, aiming to write and direct a digital comedy feature. “It’s where my audience is and I want to continue to grow that instead of starting from scratch on something as prehistoric as TV.”
Kenny Sebastian, Hard Rock Café, Andheri, 9.30 p.m. Tickets: Rs. 1,000 (inclusive of Rs. 500 cover)
The author is a freelance writer
