JAY JOSHI
Stand up comedy is one of the top emerging career areas of the day, and currently, many stand up comics tend to deliver humour that might seem too bold to a certain section of audience. However, the game of comedy can be won with decency and talent. This is the core belief that shapes Appurv Gupta, aka Gupta Ji’s content. With more than 250 shows to his credit, Gupta began performing in 2012, and was ranked second among top 20 Indian comedians in 2014. The stand up comic recently performed in Goa and spoke to TG Life about his journey and ideas.
“I believe you can make people laugh without using cuss words. It is not mandatory to use such words in stand up comedy. If your jokes are based on such words, then I feel you are not doing justice to your talent,” says the stand up comic. Such humour might have become the ‘in’ thing today as many comedians thought that it would give them quick success, speculates Gupta, who studied to become an engineer, but chose stand-up comedy as his profession.
Choosing a different profession despite having an engineering degree and an open road to a job was a tough choice, but such decisions are to be taken wisely, Gupta says. “During the second year of my engineering course, I discovered that the world of machines is not my passion and decided to venture into stand up comedy. Then, I asked my parents to give me two years’ time to build a career in this field. Luckily for me, it worked out,” he informs. “One should certainly strive to do justice to one’s passion, but you need to set a deadline for achieving it, and be open to alternatives if that does not work out. In my case, I was prepared to head for a corporate job if the comedy did not work out,” he says, adding comically that people make the same mistake when it comes to marriage. “Many people are determined that they will only go for a love-marriage and keep searching. Well, have a deadline and be open to alternatives. Life cannot always be what you expect.”
Elaborating further on his journey, the comedian lays out a tale of humble beginnings and hardwork. “I studied at a government school and was afraid of public speaking. Fortunately, the educational organisation Toastmasters International helped improve my public speaking,” he informs. Gupta began working on his performing skills during his college, and gained considerable experience by the time he finished engineering. “Secondly, it was during the early 2010s, when the field of stand up comedy was just emerging in India. So, there was less competition. That was an advantage too,” adds Gupta.
When it comes to performing stand up comedy, travel experiences, tales from air ports, hotels, railway stations, or stories about food and anecdotes from personal life are some of Gupta’s favourite themes. He has also created hit content about Tinder, but believes that love is a topic about which there is a lot of unreasonable hype. “ It’s a topic about which a different picture is created, and the reality is something else. I delivered a different take on this topic during my Valentine Special show in Australia. It was titled Pyaar ek dhoka hai (love is a deception). You do not need to feel that life is worthless if you are unable to find love. There is no need to create a hype about love. Life goes on.”
The comedian has performed a number of shows in Goa, and loves the unique character of the state, but he cautions that it is changing. “I was told that October to March is the best time for visiting Goa, but I find that monsoon is the best time to come here because there is less crowd,” says Gupta, adding that Goans are down-to-earth people and have better civic sense than people in other parts of India. “What I liked about Goa is that people will gladly walk or ride a scooter when they travel. Here, riding a scooter is considered cool. Also, it helps keep pollution under control. In parts of Delhi, people will deliberately use cars to show their status symbol, even when they have scooters lying in their garages. They think that they will be seen as poor if they are seen riding scooters!”
That said, there is one thing that strikes the comedian about this State. “Well, I came down to Goa to find peace from the hustle-bustle of North India, but upon coming here, I saw that Goan beaches are full of tourists from the North!” quips Gupta as he concludes.
