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Laugh along

Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Grin and bear it Papa CJ

A chance entry into a comedy contest in London, tickled Papa CJ’s funny bone. In Bangalore as a part of a nationwide string of shows, he talked about his tryst with comedy. The show managed to win him a great deal of acclaim. He decided to leave his plush management job in London and pursue a career in stand up comedy. “I had studied management in London and worked with a consulting firm for nearly five years. I was very bored with that job and decided to give stand up comedy a try.”

He feels that stand up comedy performances needs a live audience as it “helps a great deal in performances, since you can build your act based on audience reactions. It cannot work without the participation of the audience.” He adds, “You are dependent on audience involvement for the success of your act. If a comedian goes on for an hour and the audience is detached, the show will be not be a success. I feel that spontaneity and a connect with the audience is needed to make a show work.”

The ace comic feels Indians cannot take a joke on themselves.

“Our sense of humour works as long as another person is being targeted. The moment we are targeted, we take offence at every small issue.

We are a nation of cynics, but have a spectacular lack of a sense of humour.”

He admits that most of the gigs and acts are mostly extempore.

“I usually start with light jokes and gradually move on to the explicit jokes. The crowds will be shocked and may not react well, if you start with the explicit ones first.”

NIKHIL VARMA

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