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I want all Kannadigas to enjoy my stand-up: Niroop Mohan

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With hilarious stand-up videos from the comedy club Tharle Box’s YouTube channel, the comedians have become the talk of the town. One such comedian is Niroop Mohan. In an exclusive interview with News Karnataka, he expressed his thoughts on his journey so far.

Speaking about beginnings, the artiste from Bengaluru said, “my stand up comedy career kick-started in August 2018. I had performed in an open mic before that for hardly 2 minutes.” With his recent live show which was hosted by Tharle Box in Hubballi on public demand, the comedian surely has come a long way.

Evolution of stand-up comedy in Kannada

With many stand-up comedians stemming from Bengaluru, the concept of stand-up comedy per se is not a novel concept to the audience of Karnataka. However, it’s Niroop’s fresh approach that has fetched him ardent followers, and his method of gathering content for his sets seems to be pretty convenient. “I sit and think about funny things that happened in my life,” Niroop confesses.

Some comedians’ sets aim at specific demographics only, for instance, Bengalureans. However, Niroop’s sets do not have any target audience. “I want all Kannadigas to enjoy my stand up. Sometimes because of my slang, some people tend to like it more than people with different dialects of Kannada,” says Niroop.

While stand-up comedy in Kannada has been dynamic in it’s craft, the comedian contends, “It’s definitely not new. Legends like Pranesh sir have been doing it since ages but it’s just that we weren’t familiar with the word – stand-up.”

From Tharle Box, many Kannadigas are recognising the word ‘stand-up’ and its meaning. “Tharle Box started with a very small team of people, including us 4 comics. Now it is on its way to become something bigger,” he said. The comedy club has given limelight to upcoming Kannada stand-up comedians, including Akshay Kumar, Sonu Venugopal, Suhas Navarathna as well as Niroop Mohan.

Social media and stand-up comedy

Content for stand-up sets as well as online videos have, at some inevitable point, are spun on a comical factor that keeps its audience hooked and amused. Social media is booming with emerging content creators who make us laugh behind the screen. So, what’s different in stand-up? For Niroop, it’s his unique enunciation. “Everyone has their own way of doing things. Personally, my accent puts me in a different bucket,” he says. In conversation about social media, he asserts that it plays a major role in stand-up comedy. “Social media is how so many people got to know that we exist. From sharing our material directly to making memes out of it, we definitely reached more people because of it,” Niroop affirms.

Earning bread and butter through stand-up comedy is still a tricky issue. Niroop remarks that with an unpredictable pandemic at hand, comedians aren’t getting enough shows where they can have a chance to earn stable money from the same. Hence, being a stand-up comedian is not the only career trajectory that Niroop is indulgent in. Gaining the confidence of his family, he adds, “I have a regular 8 to 5 job along with stand up and they (my family) are happy since I’m able to manage both.”

Competition and drawbacks

The Kannada comedian with over 1 million views on one of his videos says, “competition is always good. There are multiple groups doing good in Kannada stand-up scene. People always appreciate good content and it doesn’t matter from whom or where it comes.”

As an audience, we observe popular stand-up comedians charged with cases and thrashed with accusations based on different interpretations of their jokes. “Some people taking jokes out of context and hate comments are some of the difficulties I face. I hope I learn to deal with that,” mentions Niroop. In such a premise, stand-up comedians often have no choice but to remain cautious of what they speak.

What’s next?

The well-known comedian discloses that he wants to write more content for stand-up. He also intends to do a one-hour solo show. “No plans beyond that currently,” Niroop clarifies.

Advising aspiring stand-up comedians, he informed that a lot of open mics that will happen soon are opportunities that they could grab. “If you think you can do it, what are you waiting for? Give it a try. Just don’t give up because one or two shows went bad,” Niroop signs off.

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Siri Shekar

The author is a student reporter who is also pursuing Psychology and English Literature. A wanderer searching for faces that inspire an optimistic place about the world, she hunts for different human experiences, not just leads for a story.

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