BENGALURU: When Amit Tandon performed at his first open mic in 2010, little did he know that four years later, he would delve into comedy full-time or tour 12 countries for performances. What started out as a hobby initially turned into his profession in 2014, but Amit’s comedy graph hasn’t always been up-and-up. The funny man talks to CE about his inspiration, often from fights with his wife, his choice to stay away from audience interaction, and navigating boundaries in the comedy world and more. Excerpts:
How did you make the switch from the corporate world to comedy?
It was completely accidental. I was running my own HR consultancy and started open mic as a hobby, something I would pursue after work. I then found out that stand-up comedy can be addictive when you find out you can make people laugh. For the first four years it was just a passion and there was no money involved. But by 2014, stand-up comedy started developing as a profession and by 2016, I released my first set of stand-up videos on YouTube. I also owe a big thanks to WhatsApp in helping my videos get viral!
How did you come to be known as ‘The Married Guy’?
This label stuck because when I started, most of my colleagues were unmarried. If they were married, they didn’t talk about their married life on stage. Whereas all my jokes and experiences revolve around my wife and kids. So, I guess the label stuck. My family also takes this in good humour now since we are making money because of it. (laughs)
Can you run us through your prep work?
I talk about stuff that happens everyday. Even when I’m fighting with my wife, she’s probably furious, but in my head, I’m thinking, “Kya material hain yaar!” She knows when my face changes in the middle of an argument and she warns me against using something about it in my next set.
Are there any topics you stay away from in your shows?
I don’t interact with the audience. I almost got beaten in college because I said things without thinking. Some people don’t like being picked out of the crowd and might not take the joke in good humour. Some can’t take even the standard basic jokes. Even if I compliment a lady and say she’s out of the guy’s league, the guy might take offence. I also stay away from swear words.
How do you navigate the fine line between offence and humour?
I usually don’t have this problem. There are always people who get offended. I let them be. People comment on my YouTube videos and shame me for making fun of middle class people. Another time, I made a joke on the State Bank of India and someone left me a funny threat asking me to apologise. Turns out, he was the manager at a SBI branch. I never responded and instead let the other people in the comment section take care of it. There are always other comments saying my set was good. I focus on that.