For Nishant Tanwar, comedy wasn't his first choice of career. The popular stand up comedian first started off working in NDTV before moving into the comedy world after realising he had a knack for this following a trial act at an open mic event. Since then Tanwar's popularity has only grown with performances all over India and abroad as well. Tanwar went on to found the comedy company Joke Joker Jokest and later the Improv Premier League “ Delhi’s foremost improv comedy troupe. With his recent hilarious video on the ban on Pakistan actors slowly going viral, Tanwar sits down for a quick chat
Firstly give us a peek into your upcoming show here in Goa. Is this your first act here in Goa?
My show in Goa is about my observations about Indians in India and when they travel abroad. I will also talk about my experience from the 12 countries I have performed in. While I have done corporate gigs here previously, this will be my first public show in goa.
Tell us about your initiation into the comedy field and how easy was it for you to quit the media industry
I was always the funny guy in the group and one day in 2009, one of my friends told me that I should try stand-up and that's how it started. It was quite easy to quit media because it was for comedy and I was making decent money to be able to quit my job.
One of the hot topics right now is the decision to ban all Pakistani artists in the country. What is your take on this?
Artists from Pakistan and other countries have been performing in India and I am sure they will be allowed to do it again in the future. I think when acts like Uri attack take place it creates tense situation between the two countries and the government should take a call whether the artists should be allowed or otherwise. As an artists it's always good to share the stage with artists from other countries. I have also recently released a video on this on Youtube
A few stand up comedians have been criticised recently for poking fun of popular figures and accused of over stepping the line. Your take on this.
We as a country will take some more time to grow up as comedy audience. Also I think it should be decided by the comedian and the celebrity being made fun of. If the celebrity can take a joke then I think it's cool.
After your Goa show, where do you go from here?
In the next two weeks I'll be performing in Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Kolkata and Colombo.
