Karunesh Talwar, well-known stand-up comedian, is all set to entertain the audiences with his stand-up special on Amazon Prime video. Recognised for excellence in entertainment, Karunesh recently joined NewsX for an exclusive conversation as part of NewsX India A-List series. In the exclusive conversation, he spoke to us about his new show on Amazon, idea behind the name of the show, principles of stand-up comedy and much more.
Speaking how he and the team happened to name the show ‘Aalas, Motapa, Khabrahat’, Karunesh shared, “The name is part of joke punch line from the show itself. I had written the whole show, we shot it and while we were editing it, I was sitting with show’s director and editor who suggested me to give the name ‘Aalas, Motapa, Khabrahat’.” He shared the joke and added “The first half of the show is about my parents and the other half is about my relationship with my girlfriend.”
Emphasising on the relevance of these 3 words, i.e ‘Aalas, Motapa and Khabrahat’, especially amid the pandemic, he said, “I suppose this happened subconsciously because I wrote this show during pandemic. Also, it comes from the attempt to tell my story, which has to be really authentic and unique on stage. So I think, these 3 words can describe a lot of people’s experiences during pandemic.” On being asked to give 3 words to describe his last one and a half year, he jokingly added, “Aalas, Motapa, Khabrahat’, i suppose. Apart from that, I think it would be lucky, motivated and more anxious.”
When asked what makes this show different from others, he responded, “Usually you write material about certain subjects, which is about 8-9 minutes per subjects covering about 6-7 subjects over an hour show. Here, I had only 2 topics, that’s it. I think it is lot more in story telling format and in long form. That’s not what I have attempted before. It is much more personal and vulnerable than anything I have ever done before as it reveals aspects to my personality, which people who watch my content wouldn’t have been revealed to before.”
Karunesh is hopeful that it is the sign of more things like this coming from him in the future. He expressed, “One of the principles of live stand-up comedy is that if you are authentically telling your story then you are the only one selling it and you are the only supplier of that particular kind of comedy. So, people will always by it from you. You’ll also never run out of material because you are being authentic and not pretending up there.”
Talking about the public response on his last Amazon show’s interesting title – ‘Pata nahi par bolna hai’, he said, “The response was overwhelming and got a lot of positive feedback. The fact that I am doing another show with Amazon means that the last response was good. The title of that show came about because it was about a lot of people and me at the same time”.
When asked if his family and friends call him to give them some light moments in otherwise heavy days, he expressed, “I think people often have a perception that comedians are hilarious and people around them are constantly laughing. No, they are constantly irritated by our existence. They haven’t called me for light moments but definitely the advantage is to learn about therapy and how to balance mental health better.”
Sharing his takeaway from the pandemic, he said, “To be honest, I am extremely fortunate that my career picked up at the time it did. It allowed me to access to work and resources that kept me tied in these unprecedented times. This allowed me work on myself. It gave me time to introspect, write more material and explore new avenues in my work. This is the reason why this new show is different from the kind of work I have done before.”
On a parting note, the comedian shared a piece of advice for aspiring comedians and said, “Delayed gratification always beats instant gratification. If you have a funny thought, don’t put it out instantly instead work on it for about 6 months to one year. It will give you unimaginable success and opportunities. Respect your audience, be authentic and write and perform as much as you can.”