If you're a fan of the Indian stand-up comedy scene, you're already familiar with Aravind SA. But did you know why his friends don't laugh at his own jokes? Or how he left a job which involved working with Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar to pursue a stand-up career? Well, here’s the man himself, completely raw and unfiltered. He talks to The New Indian Express about his upcoming special "I was not ready da", why South Indian artists have to work 20 times harder and much more.
How come you don’t post on YouTube that often?
It’s a game, a balancing act that every artist follows. Look at comics like Kannan (Gill) or Zakir Khan who focus more on live shows and not necessarily YouTube. Even a Kenny for that matter. I can’t recall him putting a stand-up clip out there but the way he addresses it is by doing a lot of other content that is YouTube-friendly like Chai Time and stuff like that.
My interests on the other hand are doing stand-up, doing it live or writing and direction which is something that I studied. So I don’t have something I can continuously supply on YouTube and personally my philosophy is, if I don’t have a big idea, I don’t pursue it at all. I wish I could be a little less stubborn about this because I understand the need for a regular supply to YouTube but I’ve not aligned myself to that game, because the live shows take a lot of energy out of you.
There’s another reason. You can’t upload when you’re touring. Because that’s content you’re touring with and has to go on platforms which expect exclusivity, so comics have to write separately for YouTube. It’s hard enough to write content in general and I have to do my stand-up in at least 60-70 shows before I want to see it on YouTube. For Bombay comics, it’s a little easier because the open mics are more there.
Have you wished your friends a Happy Birthday on Facebook today?
Ever since my video’s gone viral, yes, but before, no. But I try to replug my content wherever I can to get more eyeballs to take note of it and be a hypocrite about it. Anything for publicity, you know? (laughs)
You look a lot fitter in the new set of videos, is it just the shirt or are you working out?
Toned and muscular-a? No, man. I guess growing old just makes you look more toned. I don’t know about toned, but I definitely look tanned from a recent holiday I went on after my 100th show. I also have a very high metabolism and I play a lot also so there’s that, but I’ll remember this question though!
Your new content (WhatsApp forwards and birthdays on Facebook) is very pan-India friendly, unlike your previous work which is very South India specific. Is this a conscious choice you’ve made?
Did somebody ask you to tell me this? Because this is a point I’ve been screaming out loud and nobody ever picks it up and here I am in an interview with a journalist who’s asked me this and I’m like “Is this rigged? How the hell does he know what I’m thinking?”
So that’s true. That’s very fair and accurate information you’ve picked up on. I feel it’s not acknowledged or notified for that matter, simply because after Madrasi Da thanks to Amazon, I realized there’s a much wider audience I can cater to than within South India alone. And in stand-up comedy you can only progress in a linear manner. So it was a very conscious effort on my end that we pitch Madrasi Da in a way where I can say whatever and any person from Gurgaon to Gummidipoondi can relate to it.
Is the new set of videos part of your special “I Was Not Ready Da”?
Initially, yes. But like you said, a lot of people ask me for content on YouTube. So I can’t always tell them to go and check it out on Amazon or whatever platform the special is on for many reasons. As far as they (the platforms) are concerned, they don’t really care what you’re putting up as long as you’ve met their minimum requirements which in my case can be 60 minutes’ worth of material. Therefore, I decided to remove certain parts from the special and edit out stuff I thought wasn’t necessary and that’s what you’re watching on YouTube.
In an Instagram post, wishing your friend for getting his special “Kung-Fu Bonda” up on Amazon, you’ve mentioned how it’s a lot harder than it needs to be for Chennai comics. And this is something you’ve reiterated time and again. Can you talk about this?
Well, it’s nothing new. It’s pretty much what artists end up going through in India. If I asked you who’s the best actor in India, first thing you’d say is an Amitabh Bacchhan or an Aamir Khan or a Shahrukh Khan. The maximum noise comes from the most powerful centres, which happen to be up North, the Bombays and Delhis. There’s a lot more engagement there because of factors like language.
It is a lot harder to create noise until you’re in a Bombay for example. Kamal Haasan would have to to do 20 times harder things for CNN to acknowledge him. Rajini was never in the news across India until Sivaji happened. So it took a Shankar level magnum opus for people to take note of him across the North, and people are still harping on about him. But it’s not like he started off with Sivaji, right? We know the truth.
So, it's pretty capitalist-driven because that’s how markets work. Sometimes I get it and sometimes I feel messed up about it. Especially when it comes to media coverage, I notice there’s a constant overlooking of content from the South whether it's stand-up or otherwise. So I feel it’s a responsibility from my end. These are a few things that make me a little uncomfortable so we should stand up as comics.
When you see headlines which are clickbait-friendly, does it bother you?
No, man, not at all. People are making a conscious choice and aren’t naive. Even if there’s a chain of reactions, they’d enjoy it. However, tomorrow they’d probably also enjoy if I made a clip on how screwed up the media is. So I think it's just how it is and there’s no absolute side people are on.
My friends don’t laugh at my jokes no matter how good. Do your friends find you funny?
My friends do find me funny but I’m not the kind of personality they’d like to admit it in front of.
Could you elaborate?
Let me put it this way. I’m not very humble when I’m around them. Simply because that’s the space I can really afford to be cocky and indulge in irritating them. If they don’t laugh at my joke, I’ll just be like “It’s okay, there are 1500 people waiting to laugh at my joke.” So they make it a point not to laugh at my joke. We’ve grown up together giving each other a hard time. That’s just how our relationship works.
You’re already very popular in the Indian comedy circuit and you’re also ranked among Chennai’s freshest faces under 30, so does your mother ask you to get married a lot?
(Laughs) No, not at all. I’ve always been a rebellious kid since school, so my mom is really afraid of telling me anything. She stopped interacting with me in a way where she’s all emotional. It’s a clear understanding between us. As long as we don’t talk about certain things and don’t get into each other’s zones, we’re good to go. Plus I have an elder brother so she gets to do all that with him!
You’ve had a pretty interesting career graph. You studied filmmaking and started out as an assistant director, working with actors like Ajith Kumar and Siddharth, then went into comedy. Normally it’s the other way around. So how’d that happen?
Let me put it this way, when you’re into the creative field, you’re trying to seek meaning to your life through the work you’re doing. When you have a 9 to 5 job, you have meaning in the form of social status or comfort whereas as an artist, you want the same thing but it's not as simple because there’s no proper structure. I know I came into cinema seeking the same but I’m very self-aware. So, I felt I was seeking what every artist is craving in comedy, which is security because deep down we’re crippled with insecurity.
I’m also super lucky and grateful that I’ve got that break, and not everyone gets it. So I tell myself everyday, “You’re lucky to be here in this position. So stay humble, stay grounded. Just put your head down and work.”
That’s really well put. Which brings me to my next question. With not everyone getting a break and being able to make a living out of it, not all parents are very supportive of children wanting to pursue a creative field. So how’d your parents take it?
So my mom had no idea what’s happening in my life and only in the past couple of years she’s had people come up to her and say "My son’s a big fan of your son" and things like that. So, it instills confidence in her that people are taking note of my work and I'm doing something that is appreciated. Basically, when she doesn’t understand how something works, she won’t go out of her way to advise. She knows that I’ll go to the right people and manage because she believes she’s brought me up well.
This is a kind of independence not all kids get, and there are lot of them who aspire to be like you after seeing your work. Parents know that this rarely happens. What do you say about that?
Obviously seeking your dreams comes at a price. What you call independence, I call emotional detachment. In an ideal world, I would rather want them to be involved with me like they would have if it was an IT job or something which they can relate to. They’re typical South Indian parents who aren’t usually very involved. They don’t look at involvement as a valuable thing because they’ve been brought up as fierce independent people, unlike us who are pretty spoiled.
Does this detachment bother you a lot, do you regret it?
Of course it bothers me a lot. There are a lot of low phases where I wish they were there, but I wouldn’t regret it at any time. Because I remind myself that I’m pursuing my dream and I have someone or the other writing to me every day about how my show made their day.
What about the time when you were in the “struggling” phase or weren’t an established, household name? Was it difficult?
Incredibly. Because I’ve been able to make a sustainable living out of it only in the past 3-4 years. It wasn’t easy at all but I knew what I was getting into. And I’m very anti-conforming, so I knew the phase would mean a lot of struggle and a lot of low days. But at the end of the day, you keep at it and get through it with an amazing bunch of friends behind you who know that you’re not “useless” by any means and you could’ve gotten a steady job if you wanted to, so that picks you up.
