"Strive for Excellence and Success Shall Follow!" - Piyush Malhotra

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1. How and when did you choose comedy as a career?

I have been doing theatre & acting since I was 10 years and was a member of the Dramatic societies in both school and college.

Gradually, I figured out that I was better at essaying funny characters & I started writing/improvising my own dialogues. I wrote a few comedy plays for my college & office events. I realized that I really love making people laugh.

So, I started taking steps in that direction- auditioned for a stand-up comedy show “Comedy Circus” & got to the final round. The same year I got through IIM Indore for MBA & decided to give it all a break. Then the usual, routine life happened which meant a fancy corporate job as a Financial Controller in Dubai and as cool as it may sound, my comedy got restricted to making my drunk friends laugh over the weekend.

Last year, my wife encouraged me to go back to what I love doing. She researched & found out some good opportunities for ‘Desi’ standup comedy in Dubai. So, now I am a Controller by the day & Comedian by the night.

2. What type of content do you enjoy producing the most and is the most challenging?

Obviously, I like creating funny content. But I believe it is easier to make people laugh using some bad words or non-veg jokes. However, it takes an effort to do clean comedy. I really look up to Amit Tandon for that. I am yet to create a comedy set that I can watch with my parents without getting embarrassed about what I am saying.

Here is a link to one of my videos that I hope my parents never watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwdU_8UjbRk&t=33s

3. Do you prefer digital as a medium or do you enjoy doing live gigs more and why?

Live gigs any day! Even though the digital medium is the need of the hour owing to COVID-19, I am eagerly waiting to go back to the stage. On a comedy show majorly the comedian is talking but I still believe it is not a 'monologue'. There is a lot of audience interaction. We have to keep the audience involved & modify the jokes according to audience reception, which is a challenge in the digital medium.

Having said that, you need social media to stay relevant & you need YouTube for your video to reach the masses. In a way, they go hand in hand. But purely from a performing point of view, it has to be live gigs.

4. People, who are interested in taking up stand-up comedy as a profession, do they need a funny bone or they can develop one?

Well, you can ‘develop’ a lot of other things to be a standup comedian if you have a funny bone. In my opinion, you need much more than just 'being funny' to be a stand-up comedian - stage presence, timing, delivery, audience interaction & involvement & the list goes on... These are the things that you can develop & improve. 

If someone tells you that you have a good sense of humour, that doesn’t mean you should start recording videos and your career is set! Comedy is also an art, so the combination of passion and perseverance is the mantra. In Baba Ranchhoddas' words, strive for excellence and success shall follow!

5. How stable is being a stand-up comedian as a profession in India? And what is the future of this profession?

Standup comedy is definitely an upcoming alternate entertainment source to movies/TV shows in India. So, yes it surely has a bright future even globally. We see a lot of Indian comics on Netflix/Amazon specials these days. This is very encouraging & promising.

However, like any other field of fame, there is a lot of competition and the struggle of not only setting a foothold but also staying relevant. Also, knowing your audience plays an important role in determining your path in this field.

6. What impact do you want to make in this world?

To make people laugh & it should put a smile on their face remembering how I made them laugh.

7. Which is your favourite book and why?

Mathematics for Class X by R.D. Sharma. Because it helped me to understand that I need to do something else in life other than just studying.

Interview by - Geetika Bali