“My process before going on stage is very simple; I don’t think too much,” says stand-up comedian and satirist Appurv Gupta

By: Mohnish Singh

They say making someone laugh is the toughest job in the world, but Appurv Gupta has been doing it effortlessly for over a decade now. Today, he is regarded as one of the best stand-up comedians and satirists that India has produced in the last decade. Ever since beginning his career, he has performed in more than 1000 shows in India and abroad. CNN-IBN ranked him second in “Top 20 Indian stand-up comedian in 2014”.

Gupta’s comedy is largely based on self-deprecating humour, borrowing heavily from his personal life experiences. While writing his gigs, he makes sure to pick up stuff that is easily relatable to his audience. In fact, that's his only criteria.

Eastern Eye recently spoke to Appurv Gupta and tried to know more about his journey in the Indian comedy landscape, how he prepares his gigs, the process that he follows to write those rib-tickling acts, and much, much more. Excerpts…

Tell us a bit about your journey in the Indian comedy industry. How it all started?

The journey started in 2011-2012 when I was pursuing engineering. I was in the last year of my course. Actually, I had realised in 2010 only that engineering was not my cup of tea, so I started exploring other options. And then one fine day, I realised that I could learn public speaking and do something in that space. Then I started learning public speaking and one day someone told me that there was “Open Mic” happening in Delhi where I could perform. So, I went there and performed. I got 2000 Indian rupees for a ten minutes gig, of course, along with the applause which was a memorable moment for me. That applause and audiences’ response gave me the kick that I can become a stand-up comedian. And then I requested my parents to give me two years so that I could pursue it full-time and see how it would go. Luckily, I started making a good amount of money within the first year of my getting into it. Everything started going in the right direction. That’s how I started pursuing stand-up comedy full-time and the rest is history.

It is said that to bring a smile to someone's face is the toughest job in the world, what's your opinion on the same?

It is indeed one of the toughest jobs in the world. I have experienced it myself in the past. I guess the only positive point of being a stand-up comedian is the atmosphere that we create to dispel seriousness or sadness or whatever you call it. In a club, everyone wants to laugh. You are creating new jokes on the spot. After a point, it becomes a little easy. Maybe I am saying this because I have been in this industry for the past ten years. Maybe for a newcomer, it is definitely the toughest job. It is the toughest job anyway. Making people laugh is not at all easy and performing in front of them catching their attention for one hour or so is definitely not an easy job. So, yeah, breaking that smile on someone’s face is not too tough but not an easy job either.

While writing a script for your act, what are the factors that you keep in mind?

So, the moment I think of any script or joke, I have only two thoughts in my mind. One is whether the joke is relatable? If I share it with my audience, how many people will be able to relate to it? The second point is that if I get a thought and think that it would be very funny, I immediately start writing jokes around it. I try to capture all the 360 angles of that thought. So, these are basically the two points that I use in my script. I call it a set. It should be relatable. At times if I feel that some jokes are not relatable, then it does not matter how funny they are, I do not include them in my set. If in an audience of suppose hundred people, the probability of that joke connecting is low, there is no point sharing it with that audience.

What is your process like before going on stage for an act?

My process before going on stage for an act is very simple. I just follow one simple rule: Don’t think too much. Before going on stage, I have no clue what I am going to do there, how I will perform, or what jokes I am going to crack. Everything is very spontaneous. Definitely I have one hour of content in my head, but I do not know the sequence, I do not know which joke will come at the beginning of the act and which one towards the end. The thing is that the moment you start preparing too much, you miss the process of spontaneity, the process of being fresh before an act. The element of getting surprised goes away. So, I stop thinking much and just go on stage and go with the flow. If I feel I am not performing well, I just admit it in front of the audience and say, “Look guys, today is a tough day”. So, yeah, I just go with the flow.

How has the stand-up comedy business been affected because of the coronavirus pandemic?

I feel that not only the stand-up but every art form, especially live performances, have been affected and very badly, to be honest. In 2020, I performed my last show on 8^th March. My next show in 2020 was in September, after the lockdown. In 2021, January and February were a little better. Then again, you know, things started going downhill. This time, it is worse than the last time. I do not know when will the business start with the same force again. The last two years have been extremely tough and I do not know when it will all get over. To be honest, now I have stopped thinking about it because if I start thinking too much, it will take a toll on my mental health, which I do not want at all at this point in time.

The pandemic has really taken a toll on people’s mental health. As a comedian, what would you like to suggest to people to keep their mental state stable?

I think the pandemic is going bizarre this time around. You just cannot imagine what is going wrong. So, definitely, we need to take care of our mental health, we need to take care of our anxiety issues and all other issues which everyone is facing these days.  The best thing to do in these moments of despair is to follow your passion and do what you like. You can watch movies, you can read books, you can sing songs, you can listen to your favourite music. The only thing that I want them not to do much is using social media too much, to watch and read the news too much because that will affect their mental health without any doubt. These things lead to anxiety attacks and all of that. So, just do what you like. You can learn something new. You can focus on your physical health. Just do not sit ideal. Just do something or the other. The moment you are busy with something, you won’t focus on other negative stuff going around.

You are helping a lot of Covid-19 positive patients through your social media platforms, what prompted you to do so?

A couple of weeks ago, my shows started getting cancelled one by one. As I was letting all this sink in, I read a tweet by one of my friends that what is the point of having so many followers on social media if one is not able to use them in the right direction. So, I was like give me all the SOS tweets and I will try to amplify them and, you know, try to help people as much as I can. So, I started doing the same thing. I posted a lot of verified information on social media. And the situation was so bad that I started getting so many messages and emails. Then I thought I should not be using my personal accounts otherwise it will mix up with my work. This thought led me to create another account. On the fifth day, I realised it was going out of my hand and that now I needed volunteers. I asked people to help me, join me in my mission. Then we made it a little organised and created a telegram group so that those who want to help can do so without any hazard. Now we have city-wised volunteers, we have teams who are working day and night. I hope things will be fine soon so that everyone goes back to their work and, you know, starts doing what they have been doing for their bread and butter.

Any special message or comment you have received while doing so?

To be honest, I am not doing this for any message, appreciation or reward. Having said that, it does feel good when someone says, ‘Thank you! Because of you, I was able to save someone’s life. We got this on time, we got that on time’. It gives you the feeling that okay you have done something good in your life. What you are doing is making some sort of change in someone’s life and helping them.

To be honest, the situation is so bad that I feel everyone should do their bit to help fellow countrymen. You should help others. If you are not helping anyone, then just sit at home and make sure that you are safe and not infected with any virus. That’s the least that anyone can do. I have a decent fan following on social media, I am just trying to help as much as I can. I am motivating my fans that they should also help others.