“Any Art That Can Make People Laugh, Is Comedy.”- Ravi Gupta

“Any Art That Can Make People Laugh, Is Comedy.”- Ravi Gupta

If you are on social media then definitely you may have seen the viral stand-up comedy clip ‘Main Kal Ki Chinta Nahi Karta’. This short clip from a stand-up comedy performance of comedian Ravi Gupta became so viral that even Bollywood celebs like Riteish Deshmukh have used the audio to make reels. Raised in Sangipur, Uttar Pradesh, living in Delhi, this comedian is ‘Dil Se Desi’, and his jokes are perfect mood-busters. He was recently seen performing at the ‘India’s Laughter Champion’ on Sony TV.

Recently Ravi visited Bhubaneswar for a couple of stand-up shows at Bocca Café, where My City Links caught up with him for an exclusive interview. Here are the excerpts.

How was the response to your show here at Bhubaneswar?

It’s for the first time I got to perform here in Odisha. Honestly, I had not expected this much love and adulation from the crowd here. Both my shows were housefull and I am pretty sure from the response that they enjoyed a lot too and had a good time.

How has your stand-up journey been so far?

I used to act on stage during my school and college days. After doing a 10-5 job for 3-4 years, I felt my life was monotonous. Then I saw a few people doing stand-ups and I thought of giving it a try. So I started writing jokes and doing stand-ups. The audience was liking it and I also felt that I was good at it. That’s how it started and is still continuing.

Who are stand-ups that inspired you to do comedy?

During the first season of Laughter Challenge on Sony TV, I liked the performance of Raju Srivastav and Sunil Paul. Then, after a few years I saw Zakir Khan, Amit Tandon, Biswa Kalayn Rath, etc. doing comedy in a very different way, better than the old school comedy and people were enjoying it. I liked their work and got inclined towards this form of art.

How has been your experience in the city of Bhubaneswar?

It’s a beautiful city, I love it. What I like the most about Bhubaneswar is the cleanliness. The roads are wide and have less traffic and are very clean. 

Tell us about your job and how does it help to follow your passion?

I am working as a cartoonist for a company named Bubble. I feel if you are leaving your way of earning money and let’s say you fail to succeed in your passion, you’ll be in big trouble. So you have to take things in a parallel way, because money is a big support.

What are the challenges you have faced in your initial days of stand-up and what are the challenges now?

I was poor then and that was my biggest challenge. I could only afford a metro. Now I am rich and there are no challenges at all (chuckles). Jokes apart, I would not say that I am not facing challenges these days, but I am enjoying it. For example I may not have travelled to Bhubaneswar, if I was not doing stand-up. So it gives me the opportunity to travel the whole country and abroad too. So I feel very lucky in that way.

There are other live performers like singers and dancers. Tell us what is the challenge a stand-up comedian faces but they may not.

If you are a singer, then because of the great involvement in your music you may hardly notice someone in the audience not giving attention to you. But being a stand-up comedian, if we have cracked 3-4 jokes and we get to know that people are not listening to us, then we start becoming nervous, and that will reflect on our face. We will start fumbling.

Define comedy in one line.

Any form of art which can make people laugh, is comedy.

How did you convince your family about you doing stand-up and how is the response from them now?

I have not done anything till now which my family would not like. For example, I have not left my job yet. I used to work at my office during the day and do stand-up in the evening. Actually our family members are concerned about us and that’s why they get worried about what we are doing with our lives. When you think that you are capable enough to follow your passion and make a living out of it, then you should do it and your success can make your family happy anyway.

Do you have any plans of doing acting in the near future as comedians like Zakir Khan have done?

Honestly, I have not thought about it yet. Let’s see what happens next.

How has social media helped you?

Social media has played a big role in making me what I am today. If my ‘Kal Ki Chinta’ video hadn’t gone viral, toh mein kal ki ki chinta kar hi raha hota (I may not have succeeded).

What are your tips for aspiring comedians?

People ask me for tips, but the thing is everyone has their own journey. It took 6 years for me to understand my craft. Hard work is the only key I can say. In stand-up comedy you can only start knowing your craft and audience by performing live more frequently. The trick that works for me may not work for others, so they have to find their own way of doing it.

I also want to suggest aspiring comedians that don’t leave your job in a hurry. Take some time and if it works for you economically then only you can think of taking it as full time and leaving your job. I have not left my job yet