Rupali - I Love Live Gigs Anyday. And I Am Taking the Liberty to Say That Every Comic Would Say the Same (Standup Comedian From India)

Certainly, there is a different way of looking at the world that you need as a comic, to begin with. But it is a long journey to develop that into a deeper skill with respect to writing, performing, style, and confidence. But more than anything else, comedy requires persistence and ability to fail, learn from it and move on quickly. It requires a thick skin apart from a sense of humour :).

1. When did you choose comedy as a career? How would you describe your journey up till now?

My first open mic was in 2015 but I started really hitting the mics in the later part of 2016. I kept doing it alongside my job for many years before quitting my job in 2021. I have been doing this full time since then.

My style has changed a lot since when I started and I would like to believe that my writing has evolved as well. But I feel I am still figuring it out and discovering new tools to the craft every year.

I have fallen more in love with the process over the years and there is nothing more exciting than hitting upon a new premise and trying it for the first time on stage. 

I started comedy in Hyderabad but have moved to Delhi last year.

I have released two videos on YouTube which have gotten a lot of love from audiences. I was also featured in a TV show on Sab TV called ‘Goodnight India’.

I have been performing my solo across the country for two years now . I plan to put out more content on YouTube this year to reach out to wider audience.

Between all this I became a mother to a lovely girl who is 4 years now. It has been a blessing.

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

Most of my content comes from my personal experiences. So I talk a lot about me as a daughter, a wife, and a parent. I also talk about my experiences from a small town.

I am trying to get better at longer stories now and also wish to use voice modulation and physical comedy more than I do currently.

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

I love live gigs anyday. And I am taking the liberty to say that every comic would say the same. Standup is essentially a live art form.

There is a different energy that can be felt by the performer and the audience only when they are in that room. 

However, digital gives you a great leverage to reach out to a wider audience and build a strong fan/follower base - people you would ultimately want to come to your live shows. :)

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? 

Certainly, there is a different way of looking at the world that you need as a comic, to begin with. But it is a long journey to develop that into a deeper skill with respect to writing, performing, style, and confidence.

But more than anything else, comedy requires persistence and ability to fail, learn from it and move on quickly. It requires a thick skin apart from a sense of humour :).

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

I would like to make less impact in this world. Humankind has made a lot of impact already and I think world will be a better place if we can give ourselves a little less importance.

But we don’t- we make everything about us important and send tons of stuff to landfills. 

I would like to lead a joyful life. I want to see my loved ones find joy. And I would be happy if I can give joy to some more people outside this circle through my art.

I would like to create work that has a longer shelf live in the minds of people inspite the byte-sized content driven world.

I don’t mind being remembered. 

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

It surely is a profession of uncertainty. 

For some, the rewards are exponentially higher than others and then there is an entire spectrum. There is no minimum wage in terms of money. The minimum wage for us is laughter.

It's difficult to get out of it once you get used to the high you get while performing. You can’t give up on that daily dose of dopamine.

There is no set path for success. Even though there are some templates available now for us to learn and take inspiration from - we can’t really replicate one for us because everyone is unique and has a unique journey.

However, it has few constant pillars applicable for everyone - stage time, hard work, and consistency.

It's just been a little over a decade that comedy as a live art form picked up in India and now you can see it making its way from metros to tier 2 and even tier 3 cities. We have stars and superstars in comedy now. We are already seeing comics venturing into adjacent fields and making a mark. The possibilities have just started showing up and there is a huge potential that will be tapped in the coming years. It will be exciting to see the journey of this industry in the next 10 years. Please ask me this question again after that. :)

7. Which is your favourite book and why? 

I love ‘Born standing up’ by Steve Martin. He shares his journey of learning the craft, getting better, and getting famous. There is a point, very early in the book, where he says - "I did stand-up comedy for 18 years. Ten of those years were spent learning, 4 years were spent refining, and four years were spent in wild success." It always stays with me. 

‘Sick in the Head - Conversations about life and comedy’ by Judd Apatow is another comfort book for me that I keep going back to.

Judd Apatow interviews a number of comics in this book. It gives a peep into the minds of so many talented comics. You feel like you are having a conversation with them.

It is so relatable to me as a comic and it pumps me up whenever I feel a little jaded creatively or otherwise.

Bio- 

A regular in the Indian comedy scene for the past 6 years, Rupali is an engineer-turned-MBA-turned Stand-up comic. She has worked in corporate for more than 10 years in IT and HR, before taking the plunge full-time into comedy. 

Her first video on YouTube titled ‘Pregnancy’ has received great reviews and has hit more than a million views. She released another video recently titled `Welcome to Muzaffarnagar’. She was also featured in the Sab TV / Sony Liv show Goodnight India.

She is a wife to a husband, mother to a daughter, and human being to a human being.

Originally a small-town person she has lived across India for more than a decade.

Interviewed By - Anshum Rahi