Amit Tandon starts his Netflix special, Family Tandoncies, with a boast. “I’ve performed in 23 countries in the last two and half years,” he says. It sounds like a brag, but Amit quickly turns it into a joke about globalism, how Indians have planted progenies around the world, and the audience joins in laughter. From a seeming flex he fashions the perfect hook: the mark of a good comedian.
In this interview, Tandon, a former engineer turned stand-up comedian, discusses his craft and the special, streaming on Netflix since February 28.
After getting featured on Comedians of the World, how does it feel to get your own Netflix special?
It’s exciting to showcase my talent on the world’s biggest OTT platform. This is Netflix’s first Hindi special. It made it challenging but was also a great opportunity for me. For the next forty years, I can always say I was the first one to do it.
Your special speaks about everything from marriage to parenting to family issues. How much of it comes from life?
This is all from my own experience. For any comedian, your family is your best source of material. All these relationships, whether it’s with my wife or my kid, keep evolving over the years. When you are newly married, the challenges are different. That changes when you have your first kid and it starts growing. Personally, I love talking about the stuff that happens to me everyday. By performing more and more, I’ve discovered these things affect 90% of other people as well.
Does the awareness of shooting a special affect a live performance?
There’s a degree of stress involved with all the lights and production budget. You also get a single window to shoot the whole thing. For this special, I performed my set at least 30 times at other venues. So at least I wasn’t afraid of forgetting anything. When you know your lines, the other pressures can be dealt with.
You are one among many prominent comedians who perform both in Hindi and English. Given the internet audience, how do you transition between the two?
I normally write in the language I speak at home. In urban India, people speak a mix of Hindi and English. Often, my punchlines are in Hindi and the rest of the material in English. But I often convert it on the basis of where I am performing. There’s a lot of flexibility I keep in my setup. But yes, my punches 99% of the time will be in Hindi.
Do you plan to write an original series soon?
We’ve already written something and will be pitching it to OTT platforms. It’s a light-hearted take on the Partition. It’s the story of a family moving from Lahore to Delhi to London. It’s about how joint families move in different directions. There’s a thrill element to the show as well.