How did you get into comedy?

I have always been that guy in the group who loves to make people laugh but never had enough confidence to perform in front of strangers. I used to watch videos of funny stand-up comics on facebook and YouTube. All was okay, except the frustrating work life, which made me want to vent out. And what better way than laughing it off! I looked up for a venue for open mic and bang! my first open mic in Enerjuvate Jayanagar happened on 8th October 2017. That’s how the journey into the world of comedy began.

What have been your key achievements?

There are not many, but all are special. I have a long way to go!

However, appreciation from Manish Tyagi for whom I opened when he was in Bangalore was precious.

Apart from that, I once performed at a common ground event organised by Art Khoj and people loved my performance to an extent that they followed me on social media and started attending my shows. Art Khoj gave me an opportunity to perform at Jindal Steel Plant at Bellary.

Any bombing moments you could think of?

There are quite a few. But the one that I remember clearly is of a performance at one of the finest comedy clubs of the country. It was 2017 Comedy Festival open mic at ‘That Comedy Club’ and I bombed so bad that I could hear people yawning during my set.

What have been the challenges faced by you?

Before starting stand-up, the last time I was on stage was in my school days to sing National Anthem. So, overcoming stage fear was difficult. However, I sometimes feel it coming back before I have to make an appearance on the stage. But one gets better each day! Also, another challenge which wasn’t much of a challenge for me until I was told of my habit of speaking really fast and audience failing to follow what I said. Slowly and gradually, I am getting better in that too.

Any experience with any annoying audience member?

Not directly, but the beer mug incident that happened with Akshay Laxman (where an enraged patron flanged beer mug at him), I was in that lineup. It made me feel, people really should learn to take jokes. It would be quite interesting to see a course being added in Indian Education System  but I loved the attitude with which Akshay, Abhinav and Hippo Laugh Club dealt with the whole issue.

Connect with Rahul Robin on Instagram: @rahulrobin2611

The post Tête-à-Tête with Rahul Robin appeared first on Humour Sapiens.

The Humour Sapiens for the Evening

On Sunday, the 14^th of October, Cuckoo Hostel, Bangalore saw such fantastic bunch of stand-up comics, the show curated by ArtKhoj and Hippo Laugh Club. Joteen, Ketan, Shamik, Anand, Kjeld, Kartikeya, Kabir, Shankar, Abhishek, Himanshu & Yash set the mood as a ton of goodwill surround the evening.

The audience consisted of the young and the old, appreciative of the art, heartily encouraging the comics. More so because, the comics were enjoying themselves while delivering their acts.

Fusion of Fun & Pun

Joteen Patro, the host for the night, kept everyone engaged and steered the evening in the right direction with his funny insights on following the passion & being so empty-pocketed that he gets to maintain zero balance accounts, quite literally.

First to enter the scene was Ketan Giri, who allegedly had hearing disability in one ear, that has apparently made life easy for him. It allows him to deal with way less BS than the rest of us. Though he has one regret of not being able to utilize the handicap quota. You have to hear him out to know why.

Shamik Chakrabarti came next and narrated his tale of accidentally taking a wrong number that ended up opening doors to a whole new business opportunity as a morphine dealer, and an alternate career as a cancer doctor.

He was followed by Anand Rathnam who talked about his really bad luck. He regrets killing a rat on Ganesh Chaturthi day. His mother feels that because he murdered the vehicle of Lord Ganesha, he is trapped inside his house now.

Kjeld Shreshth is waiting in anticipation for the day when the women will use his body for their benefit. His mother assured him, it will happen, one day when he grows up. But the wait doesn’t seem to end.

Next came Kartikeya Fatwani, he innocently told how he got thrashed by his parents all his childhood. It was as if his parents made a living by beating him dedicatedly. Moreover, his parents had quite a few unreasonable demands, such as making the next Stephen Hawking out of him, which left him wonder if they are really that ignorant.

Kabir Kandwal gave us the legit reason for why God doesn’t stay on Earth. Maybe humans are just too creepy for God’s liking. He also twisted the statement, ‘if you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone’ and stated that, if you have an iPhone and it falls, you don’t have an iPhone as well as the reason to stay alive.

Then was the turn of Shankar Chugani who compared the commentaries of football and cricket, pointing out how weird it would be if cricket commentaries happened like those in football. Not just that, Shankar also made a valid laugh-worthy argument when he said that crickets towards the boundaries have all the time in the world to indulge in fan-entertaining activities.

Abhishek Aggarwal came next, he educated us on the difference between Bangkok and India, and why Bangkok happens to be a better place. Well, obvious!

It was Himanshu Gayatri Parikh’s turn to take the stage. He became a voice of all the sufferers of family whatsapp groups and how he used to get the maximum chocolates when he was a kid. Want to know why? You have to hear from the horse’s mouth.

Yash Gayatri Parikh aka Chunnu followed his brother to the spotlight, and shared how his face drags him into unexpected problems. We think he has gotten used to being eve-teased on the streets of Bengaluru. Tsk Tsk.

Want to Check them out?

Don’t you worry, if you missed this one. ArtKhoj & Hippo Laugh Club are coming up with many more open mic events.

Next one is at Gold Bean Café, HSR, Bengaluru on Oct 17, 2018.
Grab the tickets here: https://in.bookmyshow.com/events/a-sip-of-comedy/ET00086145.

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