Amit Tandon: What Challenges Me Most Is The Younger Generation (Comedian, 364K Followers)

Amit Tandon Interview 

I was doing 10 different things to, keep myself busy and trying to keep my energy up even when people were not

Q. When you look back at your journey from a corporate job to comedy, was there a specific moment when you realised, “Yes, this is what I’m meant to do" ? 

I started this more like a hobby but I think I realized this is what I am meant to do when I started getting paid for it because I already had a family so had to make money also in addition to whatever fun that i was having in comedy so it's only when I started getting corporate shows and started getting decent money I decided this is what I am gonna do for rest of my life otherwise my plan was to balance it with my business. 

 

Q. You often say that success didn’t come overnight. What was the toughest phase in your comedy journey that people usually don’t get to see behind the laughter? 

I think the toughest phase was uh not the first few years. The first few years were tough for sure. But uh you know, you're still enjoying the journey and everything. 

The toughest phase I think for me came during COVID when just before COVID, my Netflix special had released. My US tour was lined up. I was doing Netflix as a joke festival in LA and all that. 

So everything was lined up , I was looking forward to the next year, year and a half very, very eagerly. But then suddenly COVID hit and uh first challenge was, from doing live shows, which is what, actually gave us the kick in comedy, you had to go to online shows for a year or so, there were hardly any gigs happening. 

And even after that for me what happened was that my audience being above 45, 50 years in age were still staying away from live shows. So I think till the end of 2021 for around two years, that was a really tough phase for me because even when I was putting up shows, just from, 500 people to, I had come down to 50 people, 100 people shows. and that was not easy to handle. But fortunately, slowly things came back in 2022 and we got it on track, but that was a really tough phase when I was doing 10 different things to keep myself busy and trying to keep my energy up even when people were not. 

 

Q. You became a household name through Good Night India. Many families, including mine, watched it together. What kind of love or feedback from that show has stayed with you on a personal level? 

Well, some of the best parts of Good Night India was that, one, it was a show that was catering to families. As per stats, when we were getting TRP numbers and all, normally comedy shows are watched by male audience more than female audience, but this was one show that women were watching in larger numbers than men, which was great. And second, I think the most satisfactory part was that this was a pure stand up show where we brought in a lot of unknown faces. 

We got around 100 different stand up comedians to come in and perform. And a lot of them got shows because of that, because of their appearance on Good Night India. 

A lot of their families started respecting their profession because, once you get on television, people think that now you're doing well. So that happened. So that has had a lasting impact where a lot of those comedians who came in and performed on that show came back and said that that changed our lives or, our parents approved of what we were doing after they saw us on television. 

So that's the impact of Good Night India. And yes, the reels keep on coming back and people compliment you, but I think where lives have changed is uh the biggest and most satisfactory thing for me. 

 

Q. You perform for every age group, teenagers, young adults, parents, and even grandparents. Which generation challenges you the most as a comedian, and how do you navigate that? 

What challenges me most is the younger generation because they have much more options when it comes to comedy the older generation largely watches me but its the younger generation which I find as bigger challenge because they have more variety to choose from and when they choose you its more satisfactory and my language and thought process is still from 70s it's largely that but it's fun to watch them coming to show and laughing and enjoying the show 

 

Q. You’ve worked across Netflix, television, and Spotify. Which platform pushed you out of your comfort zone the most, and what did you learn about yourself through it? 

I think television pushed me the most. That was the most challenging part because for everything else, whether when I was doing Netflix or Spotify, that was largely my show, you know, I had written it, I was performing and everything else was just around it. 

But in the case of television, there were way more stakeholders, there were way more people who had their opinions that we had to go through and agree with. So there were too many moving parts when it came to television. So that was very challenging for me. I had never done something like this where somebody else's decision could override my decision or my creative process. Even when you're doing a 10 minute set which you thought was funny, somebody else would come in and edit it into a three minute bit, and cut the pieces that you love the most. So those kinds of challenges on television because, you we shot a two hour episode which had to be brought down to 23, 24 minutes, because you don't have the luxury of doing as much as you want. 

There was an audience that was a paid audience, honestly to ensure that they laugh genuinely and not purely because of the money, then doing retakes, which again I've never done in my life. So a lot of those new factors that came into play, I had to dress up, I had to use makeup, which I was doing for the first time. 

So all those things were tough, but television was also a great learning, how to work in a team instead of working alone, which I was used to as a stand-up. 

Q. Your comedy often comes directly from everyday family life. Is there one real family moment you still wish you could develop into a full stage bit? 

So when it comes to relatable comedy, one family moment that I've not been able to crack, it might sound weird, but probably a funeral because, you know, it sounds serious, but I believe there's a lot of humor there in death. It has to be handled very delicately, but , as a comedian, that's something that you want to explore. 

You can say things that, you know, still don't hurt people, but are true and funny, but are about death. how people who have nothing to do with someone who's died, how they react, the prayer ceremonies are conducted and all of that, the invitations are sent, how the discussions happen around it. 

So all of that, I find it very interesting as a topic and would love to do a set about death and the process after that. 

 

Q. You meet so many Indians abroad during your tours. What has been one of the funniest or sweetest interactions you’ve had with a fan overseas? 

Sweetest interaction i think there is this lady in uk she comes for my shows and she is 84 years old last time she came, and she always comes with a bunch of other 80 year old plus and they drive down for 2 or 2 and a half hour she came for the last tour and this tour she is consistently coming to last 2-3 times .So its very sweet to see people of that generation making so much efforts in their 80s to come for your show and it's also extra pressure for you to always do well but i find it very sweet when people if that age group come and then after the show they wait and they meet you. 

Another one is a lady in Dubai who waited for a shoe and met me and told me that she is a cancer survivor and when she was in the hospital, she spent a lot of time watching my videos and that kept her happy even through her cameo therapy sessions. 

Q. Looking back at your early career, is there any decision or mistake that you now feel, “Kaash kisi ne uss time warn kar diya hota”? Something you learned the hard way? 

Nor really I think most if the time I am happy that I have learnt through my own experiences and my own mistakes somebody else had warned I think I am not sure how much i would have listened to them except for how to price your shows sometimes when you are negotiating for organisers outside India so the first couple of tours I lost a lot of money that I could have made if I would have negotiated properly but no regrets about that because nobody else had done a USA tour that time so nobody could have told me what i should charge that's all.

Q. As you look ahead, what is the one message or legacy you hope your comedy leaves behind for the next generation of artists and audiences? 

 I think the only message that I have for the people who are getting into this profession or any artist who is getting into it, the first thought can't be the return on investment in your creative field. You can't be thinking of how much you can make through it. All the success and money comes in later the first most important thing that when you go on stage when you perform you should have a good time on stage everything else will follow  

Secondly, hustle is very important. you can't just say that I have a reach somewhere and will continue getting returns now. you have to keep on creating writing new stuff, if u are a painter u need to paint there us never a point when u can say that u will stop creating because that the day u will stop existing then you are just in a job when you stop writing as a comedian and just performing then it's like an office job which is not 9 to 5 but about hour which is doing the same thing again and again on the stage and i dont there will be much joy left to it except for the money so as a creator i think keep on creating is important 

 

Bio:

Amit Tandon is an Indian stand up comedian also known as the “married guy of stand-up comedy”. He is the first stand-up comic who had a hindi solo on netflix, “family tandoncies‘’. With more than 1200 shows across 28 countries. 

Amit’s brand of observational humor is refreshing and contemporary and has hit a chord with audiences across India. Amit had made his mark with a super relatable style of narrative that made him connect instantaneously with the audiences. 

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Interviewed by: Nidhi