The post Know Your Comic: Gaurav Kapoor appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Gaurav Kapoor weaves stories out of things that he sees and experiences and has a funny take on almost all of them – his school, college, office, Royal Enfield, Mumbai flats, Nano – everything under the sun that catches his eyes.
Kapoor credits Zakir Khan for the sudden interest in Hindi stand-up, and admits that he is a fan of Vipul Goyal’s comedy. However he just wants to be like himself, and we are glad!
Here are some quick facts about Gaurav Kapoor:
- Has a journalism degree from Delhi University
- Post Graduate in Fashion Management from National Institute of Fashion Technology
- Worked in the retail sector post qualification
- Won every open mic competition on the Mumbai circuit including Big Mic, Canvas Laugh Club, Chalta Hai and Buzz Off in his early years as a comic
- Opened for Russel Brand on his India Tour
- Recently changed his name from Kapur to Kapoor – neurologically at play here
- Does Saturday ki Rasoi with wife Shreya Sharma
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]]>The post Russell Peters is Coming To Town: Phase 2 of ‘Deported’ appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>“Our India leg earlier this year was ‘sold out’ but I could sense from the sheer response that a lot more people could lap it up once more. I’ve always loved performing in India—the audiences here have some crazy enthusiasm and energy—and this time they’d be from cities I haven’t performed in,” Peters said.
He sold out auditoriums during the India leg of his world tour in June 2019, across Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi NCR and still left people wanting for more. That time, Russell Peters also recorded his sixth comedy special in Mumbai.
And now, he’s coming back for Phase 2. Do we hear ‘Yayys’?
His plan this time, you ask?
In his phase 2, he will be performing at
- Pune on 1 October (Tuesday)
- Ahmedabad on 4 October (Friday)
- Hyderabad on 6 October (Sunday)
The tickets start at Rs 1,200. Grab them now or you’ll be left empty handed. His tix are likely to be sold out super soon.
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]]>The post Tête-à-Tête with Harman Preet Singh appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Back in 2011-12, a few comedians came forward on YouTube to make their mark in comedy and they succeeded in doing so. Inspired by them, many others came forward to pursue their passion. Bangalore and Mumbai offered so many opportunities to them and these places soon became a hub for comedians.
No sooner, comedy became a full-time profession. And we see people pursuing Stand Up comedy full time now. While some of the comics were able to make their mark, many are still struggling to make one.
Harman Preet Singh, 24 year-old budding comedian, well known in Bangalore Comedy circuit, is trying to make his mark. Harman, who loves being on stage ever since he was a child, is a regular face in the Bangalore comedy circuit.
Here’s what he has to say about becoming a humour sapien.
How did you get into comedy?
Just like many Indians, I too grew up watching Russel Peters. I used to host and manage shows when I was in 11th grade. Since then, I started doing the crowd work and began enjoying being on stage. People started thinking I was a stand-up comedian. Then I realized that maybe I should stick to it.
How has the journey been so far?
September 2015 was when I started hitting the open mics. After bombing on stage during the open mic, I became low on confidence. And that’s when I took a break from comedy for 6-7 months in the Bangalore circuit. But I didn’t give up on it, and continued my run as a comedian by doing corporate and college gigs on a regular basis, making full use of my stage skills.
April 2016, I hit the Bangalore comedy circuit again and since then I am a regular to the world of comedy.
What are the challenges faced by you?
I did face quite a few challenges which mostly every comic faces when they step on stage – the acceptance from comics and audiences. I am of this opinion that, in order to be a good comic one has to be themselves and the audience should accept you the way you are. Though it took me a few years to reach a level of confidence that I have, however, I believe in giving my best shot on stage in every show I perform in. Your audience can make you or break you, you got to keep them happy.
All the best!
Harman Preet Singh is confident that he will make it big into the scene soon. He follows a practical approach, and says, “Jis din mai funny ho gaya uss din mai kisi ka wait nahi karunga,” without waiting for anyone’s opinion, he would take the world by storm.
Well, we think, had he not chosen to be a comedian, he would have been a great motivational speaker.
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How did you get into comedy?
I always had a knack for humour. However, I was not aware of the comedy scene in India. I was fascinated by the fact that people have taken comedy as a profession. The only comedians I knew were Russell Peters, Jerry Seinfeld, Rowan Atkinson, Ellen DeGeneres and the great Jim Carey. I followed more of Indian comedy back in my school days and used to love “The Great Indian Laughter Challenge”. That was the only platform that I was aware of. I started YouTubing more in 2013, and I came across the channels “The Viral Fever” and “All India Bakchod”. TVF and AIB used to make spoofs/sketches and I loved them. I became a religious follower. I started writing funny one-liners and stuff and shared on social media. The first few stand-up videos I had seen were of Amit Tandon, Zakir Khan, and Jeeveshu Ahluwalia. I could relate to the jokes, which led to me watching one after the other. In 2015, I witnessed the Weirdass Comedy Festival live in Bangalore with 20 hilarious comics in the lineup.
It was then, that I decided to hit the stage someday. I happened to find out about the open mics. I did my first open mic in November 2016. However, for me to get on-stage again, I took 8 months (courtesy: JOB). I switched my job to focus on comedy as well. Since July 2017, I have been on stage every week working and struggling to find the funny stuff.
What are the challenges that you have faced?
Though I am a writer, but a budding comedy writer. I take time to build jokes, which unfortunately end up being non-funny sometimes. That’s the most challenging part. Some of my peers are better writers than me and I am striving hard to reach that level, and go beyond. Hopefully, I will.
Also, the number of people performing at open mics has exponentially increased over the years. Another challenge has always been to find stage time. Even if we find stage, we seldom see audience.
Your key achievements?
In a short span of a year, I am not sure of any achievements. Whenever a joke works, I feel accomplished that I could connect to the audience. However, I have performed for 80-200 people at different instances and I did manage to make them happy. That certainly motivates me to write better jokes. Even then, it’s a long road to travel and I hope I achieve the goal of making people laugh and have a good time on stage.
Any bombing moments?
The first few bombing moments were disheartening and then I got used to it. I feel that this art will always keep you grounded. I bombed at an open mic where the audience just stared at me and all I could manage was 5 minutes of silence. One of the worst evenings of my stage life. I was so apologetic that I went to each one of them and said sorry after the show. I know there will be more such experiences and I am working on how to get back the audience in those situations.
Experiences with annoying audience members?
I can give it in writing, that in every show there will be one. I was hosting one of the open mics and there was a guy who proclaimed to be a journalist. He started heckling us comedians, and we had to give him back by taking a jibe at him. By the end of the show, he had given up and was listening to the jokes. But, he never laughed. He was annoyed to such an extent, that he forced his partner not to laugh either.
In another show, a couple of ladies were not letting us narrate the jokes and were getting offended at everything we said. We made them understand that these jokes are on us and not on them, and they can relax. They eventually left the venue and we had a great show after that.
Connect with him on Instagram.
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]]>Russell Peters
When you mention stand-up, Russell Peters’s name features right on the top. The Anglo-Indian from Canada, has full-house shows all the year round. And why not! His stand-up performances are based on his observations on being brought up by a very traditional Indian father and always ends with ‘Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad’. Not just that; he also does good impressions of various ethnic groups. He might not be born and brought up in India, but also had an ‘Indian’ parent and very well understands the plight of Indian children. See his set on ‘Beating the Children’ and you will realize how Indian he is at heart.
Aasif Mandvi
One thing common with most of Indian-origin comedians abroad is the inspiration for their acts – it comes from their own ethnicity, their personal experiences of growing up as an Indian in a foreign land. The same holds true for Aasif too. He is best known for his acts on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but Aasif is much more than that. He is an actor, writer and a comedian. His acts too are based on an Indian living abroad, hilarious and at the same time, makes you think. Go watch ‘Flight Safety rules for Brown People’ and you will know what we are talking about.
Aziz Ansari
Who doesn’t know him? An actor, writer, producer, director, and a comedian; he has donned the hats of all these roles perfectly. Aziz is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation. He has won many awards, one among them was the Golden Globe Award, where he became the first Indian American actor to win a Golden Globe for acting in television. His acts too are from his personal experiences and the way he talks is like the way he would talk to his friends – jovial and colloquial.
Lilly Singh
She belongs to a different league of comedians, but that does not take away the fact that she is indeed a ‘Superwoman’! With three million subscribers for her YouTube channel, Lilly does vlogs, skits and stand-up acts in which she gives adds her own ‘Indian’ touch. The 25-year-old has stayed in touch with her ancestral roots and that is quite evident in almost all her acts. Check out her channel ‘Superwoman’ and we assure you that some of you might even cry hard laughing.
Mindy Kaling
Identified as ‘One of the 100 most influential people in the world’ by Time magazine, Mindy is best known as Kelly Kapoor on NBC’s sitcom ‘The Office’. Born to Indian parents the talented actor, comedian, writer, producer and director has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series as a producer of The Office five times in a row. In 2011, Mindy Kaling’s witty book ‘Is everyone hanging out without me? (And other concerns)’ was well received by the readers.
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]]>The post 7 times Abhishek Upmanyu was at his funniest best appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Thanks to his unmatched observation and intellect, he hurls one cracker of a joke after another. The best part about him he says things like they are – he is the say-it-like-it-is comedian. Upmanyu started performing in 2013 and came up with his show ‘Thoda Saaf Bol‘, ‘cos the comedian has got a quick tongue. Many have suggested that he should cut a rap record.
Abhishek is able to differentiate himself on the strengths of well-crafted segues and nuanced liberalism. Great with delivery and relatability, he adds innovation to his sets too.
Now living in Mumbai, he hopes to scale new heights of success in the world of comedy and live performance arena.
Upmanyu has time and again proved that he is one of the coolest and funniest comedians to watch out for. Take a look!
When he had to deal with a friend who broke up
And this didn’t end here…
When he came up with a solution to avoid dental issues
When the respect-rules sound awkward
When his mom suggested him an income source
When he decided to take a dig at himself
When it was Delhi vs Mumbai
*applause applause*
ALSO READ: KICKASS QUOTES FROM 7 FAMOUS INDIAN COMEDIANS
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]]>The post The Indian Perspective to Comedy appeared first on Humour Sapiens.
]]>Poetic as it may sound, humour mostly gets you through any crisis in life. Stand-up comedians are getting good, because the news is getting bad by the day.
The Underlying Potential
Comedy has a lot of potential – potential to connect people, to make them forget their worries one act at a time, to help people have tears of laughter and not the other way round. And comedy has it stored in its belly!
YouTube reports for the year 2016 indicate the vast potential that lies in comedy.
- Out if 10 most viewed videos on YouTube, 5 were comic-based.
- Comedy shows, stand-up acts, comedy houses, internet roasts have shown the fastest growth in viewership in the year 2016.
- More than 30% of the total TV hours are attributed to comedy.
- A similar trend like comedy on TV is seen in the consumption of YouTube videos.
That’s about online, but we certainly cannot skip the offline wave of humour.
- Over 200 offline comedy shows are held every month in India.
- More than 100 serious comedians and an ever-growing unknown number of budding comedians are putting in efforts to add humour to people’s lives every day.
- Given the growth of stand-up and video at the same time, their combination will account for about 50% video consumption.
But whatever the case be, it is good to see that stand-up is finding its feet in India. All thanks to the online revolution that brought the genius Indian-Canadian comedian Russell Peters to our computer screens. So smoothly he convinced us that it wasn’t just okay to poke fun at others, it was hilarious and cool! Aha!
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