Always Relevant, Always Funny - Amit Tandon

INTERVIEW

AMIT

TANDON

Interview By Armin S.

ALWAYS

RELEVANT

ALWAYS

FUNNY

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INTERVIEW

THE REASON WHY YOU ARE SO POPULAR IN MY FAMILY AND ACCORDING TO THE COMMENTARY ON YOUTUBE, IT IS FAMILY-FRIENDLY CONTENT, AND THAT IS VERY RARE TO SEE. IT’S RELATABLE AS WELL – HOW DO YOU KEEP THE CONVERSATION FRESH EVEN IF IT IS RELATABLE?

In the last few years, I’ve discovered that more than we are different, we are actually very similar. It’s not just being Indians, but across the globe. When it comes to relationships, they are more or less the same – the frustrations between partners, between parents or children are the same. The parents are always telling you about their struggles and how you have it easy – whether you are in Spain, or the U.S., or in India. The fights of siblings, of partners, are still the same. It’s more of our surroundings that are changing but as people we remain the same. So maybe we’ve added a mobile phone – my struggle to my kids may be about me using a bicycle, my dad told me about going by foot. So that changes, but what I’ve discovered, when you talk about relationships, they are the same as they were one hundred years ago. I’ve read a quote some time ago that children in this day and age do not listen to elders; they speak in front of elders; and the world is going through hell. You know how old that quote is. It’s two thousand years old, and it is still so relevant. I think it all remains the same.

SO MANY THINGS YOU TALK ABOUT ARE PERSONAL – WHETHER IT’S YOUR BROTHER, YOUR PARENTS, YOUR WIFE, OR YOUR CHILDREN. HOW MANY OF YOUR JOKES ARE TESTED OR PASSED BY YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS (CHUCKLES) BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE MY MOM WOULD BE REALLY UPSET?

(Laughs) They’re not upset now but I’m making money now, right? They can’t be upset (laughs). I don’t test it with them. I’m very clear that if they get to hear it, they get to hear it at a show. Even if they come for a live show, they don’t sit at the front. I tell them that they should be sitting somewhere that I cannot see you – somewhere in the corner. My parents were annoyed this one time when they came out of a show, and they were like, “[a]re we really like that? Have we done this to you?” (laughs). And I said, “yes”, but now they are okay. You continue doing work and their friends tell them that they love my work – so now they’re okay.

THERE IS A STOP, START, TELL A STORY – THERE IS A RHYTHM. I FEEL AS THOUGH, THERE ISN’T A PUNCHLINE, WITH YOU. THERE IS A STORY AND THAT STORY IS FUNNY FROM BEFORE.

There is a misconception, or maybe that’s the lens I look at comedy through. The structure of a joke is a set up, and then a punch (so a surprise with the next set up). But that is a very small part of the stand-up set up. From my perspective, it is more about observations. I’m telling you about what you already see but you haven’t absorbed.

MY PARENTS WERE ANNOYED THIS ONE TIME WHEN THEY CAME OUT OF A SHOW, AND THEY WERE LIKE, “[A]RE WE REALLY LIKE THAT? HAVE WE DONE THIS TO YOU?”

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