The ‘master of anecdotal comedy’, Anubhav Singh Bassi, never planned to be a comedian. He studied to be a lawyer and was practicing law when his life took a turn. “I thought of switching to an inhouse legal position. It was in November 2017, I had to appear for a job interview in Gurugram. And on the same day, I had a performance at Canvas Laugh Club (Gurugram), where I had registered as I wanted to try my hand at comedy as a hobby. My performance garnered a great response from the audience, which made me do it again and again. And here I am.
I think I was destined to be a stand-up comedian,” shares Bassi. Born and raised in Parikshit Garh near Meerut to a dad who is an agriculturalist and mother, a homemaker, Bassi went to pursue his BA LLB (H) from Lucknow’s National Law University. As comedy didn’t start out as a conscious career change, and it was something he was still exploring,
Bassi never felt the need to disclose it to his parents. “Over time, I started enjoying comedy, the acts and the audiences. Once I decided to pursue it full-time, I called my parents to my show so that they could witness first-hand what I did. They were aware about stand-up comedy through my sisters who knew what I was doing – so I didn’t get any dramatic reactions from them. Now, all is good.” Before he decided to delve into stand-up, Bassi says he was doing quite well practising law at the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.
“Then, I decided to sit for UPSC exams, but couldn’t clear the preliminary exams. After I flunked the second time, I realised it wasn’t for me.” Then, Bassi set up a restaurant in New Delhi, but had to shut shop after six months as it wasn’t working well. “I consider these (low points) as pitstops on my journey to wherever I am today and wherever I will go from here,” says the huge Kapil Sharma and Zakir Khan fan. He admires Sharma for his comic timing and Khan for his storytelling skills.
“The others who inspire me for their craft are Sumit Anand, Nishant Suri, Pratyush Chaubey who are very skilled at writing and Manik Mahna, Rahul Dua, Devesh Dixit who can captivate their audiences really well. Also, I find Harsh Gujral, Gaurav Gupta and Gaurav Kapoor extremely witty.” Bassi’s format of doing comedy is purely anecdotal. “It is based on what I have experienced myself and observed being with friends and family. I gather all that information, and try to express it in the most interesting and funny way,” he puts in. On the perception that people who make others laugh are hiding their sorrows, Bassi says that this is everyone’s story.
“Of course, I get sad, and all these failures I talked about did not make me happy when I faced them. I just happened to find comedy in my personal tragedy. I am not a funny person off stage. Being a comedian doesn’t mean you have to be funny 24x7. I am a good performer and I know how to tell a good story on stage,” he avers, adding he finds audiences in Bengaluru and Delhi the best in terms of understanding jokes, sarcasms and acts. “Gurgaon and Jaipur are up there as well,” says Bassi. To his audiences and fans, he says: “Be happy and live your journey. Everyone has the same destination, so just enjoy whatsoever comes your way. Chill maro, aish karo!”