Kunal Kamra Exposes Samay Raina, Modi, Shiv Sena, Arnab 😱

The whole of Mumbai was after Kunal Kamra.

The stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra

crossed all limits once again.

Kamra said, we won't ask for forgiveness.

What are things that you had to say sorry for? I can't remember anything.

Kunal performed here, why did you break the venue?

A call went viral.

How will you get a call in Tamil Nadu?

Someone reached my house. As soon as I got released, I thought I'll release from there. Would you recommend stand-up comics to have a lawyer? You also said that as the stress in communities increases,

the need for comedy increases.

A lot of stress.

I thought the audience would laugh here. Now they don't laugh. Did you get nervous before a show?

Actually, I didn't for the last 7 years. After 13 months, I...

If a person wants to be a stand-up comic in India, who do you think should be their starting resources? Or what do you think they should be consuming? Kunal has been doing comedy for the past 15 years. He has been doing it for 10 years ago, in advertising. Abhi is known for a lot of his controversies. But today, let us try to understand ki wo kaha se aate hain, kyun karte hain, jo karte hain.

Call viral hui. The call went viral Where did he say he was coming from? Tamil Nadu

How will he ask in Tamil Nadu?

What to say? He did the viral call I didn't do it, I didn't have a recorder And why should I record a call? So it was like He broke the venue

I said okay, I'll make it

Before that, why did you break the venue Where Kunal performed Why did you break the venue where Kunal performed?

Because I don't have anything If I had a car, house or extension of... I don't have that kind of wealth or capital So they don't know that the video was shot around Feb 7-8 And I released it on March 20th or 23rd it was post production

they thought I am releasing it from there they reached there they came to explain me and I think they came to take me to the hospital which is also fine they reached there but I didn't meet them

they were negotiating on phone I was like do it constitutionally you have written your FIR, I will do it, you can investigate, take the matter to court what is this extra judicial, you will sit and say sorry, I was not saying that I didn't take anyone's name I had crossed that I was like why lie

I know who I am talking about They have come this far They know who I am talking about I was like no sorry Do whatever you want Then they started breaking the venue

I was like people are not getting harmed, the broken one will be repaired, no one will repair it, I will repair it, don't worry so when the venue broke, they started apologizing again, the judge will say to apologize, so why should I make him a judge so this happened so what was happening was my number has leaked many times but I don't change it because I have had the same number for 21-22 years so I just want to have this number

accessible to all my old friends and I don't have another number this is the only number I have so the number has leaked many times so they got the number from where so they are calling me,

abusing me, calling me, asking me where I am, someone has reached my house, then my parents say that he is not here, he has not been here for 11 years, if you can do something so that he can come back here, then we are also happy. So, they are very chill like that, you can't get angry at them so it kept going on and on and then at 2-3 am he called me and I was negotiating my sleep

and then he was like come here and I was like come to Tamil Nadu I live in Tamil Nadu so his directive was that

he ran away from here last night so because of that he made a viral call that we sent him to Tamil Nadu and then he got to know that he is coming here for 4 years and then he became a meme that this guy is calling him and he is asking how will Tamil Nadu be

so that's why he became a meme I sometimes tell my friends that I am that character in the movie who keeps on doing things He is just trying to do something and things keep happening to him At that time they are rude, obnoxious, harmful But with time they become funny, relatable, hilarious I still think it's okay

And when things like this happen? When there is more trolling in some phases?

I think by like around 2019 after that I've never ever I've never ever cared for outrage, who is doing it and how

I just go to why am I doing what I am doing till I am clear from my side intention is my job outcome is not my concern my intention is to make the audience laugh

and to put it online because I am not able to do the same jokes again these are the two things if there is an outcome in that intention Then the outcome is that the joke that has to be dealt with constitutionally My lawyer is very good, she has been with me for a long time

and a very good friend, she will do it That's her domain She never tells me which joke is funny and I never tell her how to defend me We have a very good work relationship with each other

for the past 9-10 years

Would you recommend stand-up comics to have a lawyer?

All of them do have some legal help and all But they don't have the kind of relationship and the kind of help that I have Because my lawyer will never tell me that this will get you into trouble or this will cause you an FIR She will just say that this is defendable What trouble or this will cause you an FIR She will just say this is defendable

What are things that you had to say sorry for?

Till now? I can't remember anything I think there was a video of a kid, I did a parody on it I didn't say sorry out of pressure It's been 15-20 days One of my friends told me that Tell me something

Suppose I stay in Dubai and Prime Minister of Dubai has come and my 6-7 year old child is reciting a poem to him so for that child this is a high point for his next 2-3 years and a memory that he will have for lifelong

so why is he parodying this? so then I realized that yes I don't have a biological kin so I didn't understand this feeling So after about 15-20 days when the whole issue had died down I realized that maybe

Because kid memes are a thing on the internet But maybe memeing this kid may not have been a good idea

It shouldn't have been done A person tells you that the Prime Minister is the prime being of the country

That's why I am talking about it You are sitting on the prime post and that's why people are talking about you That is exactly why If you don't get jokes, it's a dishonor to your work and your post if comedians in a comedy club are not imitating you, mimicking you, critiquing you, joking about you There have been a lot of Marathi comics

In Hindi, you can see Harishankar Prasai I think his tongue was broken 2-3 times in RSS His tongue breaks, but he used to do it

What does a typical Kunal stand-up piece look like?

I would go with the observation I notice If you can vote at the age of 18, then you should be able to vote even if you are not 18 You should not vote you should be of the same age after the same age you should not vote and then you keep asking questions to the idea what happens then

so you typically write a piece on the observation that you have to go back to my earlier work it was like why is a Prime Minister coming between me and Ambani why can't we vote for Ambani directly

so these are basically one-line premises which just get you hooked on, which get you eager and then you have to like crack jokes about that premise and take it to that crescendo high point where you get an applause break and then move to the next premise.

Kunal says that Kunal's jokes will be based on observations or the his jokes are based on observations. What are things that Kunal observes? Because if I talk about myself, I observe gender a lot. Or I observe content related things. What does Kunal observe?

I love seeing how hierarchy of things kind of changes everything. If a guy comes to your room and he is very powerful till the next powerful person enters the room. So, I love observing how hierarchy changes everything. So that is something I like to observe and joke about also.

And are there like certain observations, like if Kunal opens his notes now, what type of observations or what things will be there?

Like one observation was there in my last special also that if you give a time machine to any man, he will become romantic and he will go back and forth with it. But if you give it to any woman, she will be romantic and will go with him. But if you give it to a woman, she will want to stay there forever. And she is at a very subconscious level. So, by taking any observation, you just see how can you best communicate to the audience you have using the least number of words.

Because finally, it's about holding their attention. So you have to use, you have to cut every word that is not necessary. Like every word to land the joke. And in that, at the same point, it should not look like that you are talking at them or you are doing standup, you're talking to them. So you make eye contact with almost every part of the room

and you have that person you make eye contact with so that they feel they're spoken with. This is what my way of looking at stand-up is but

everybody has their own process. That's why I'm referring to you in third person because you, if there was any other comedian, he would have differed but specifically what Kunal is saying, that's the thing you should know that thing only.

It's like it's just an extension to your personality. Comedy is the extension. Actually, all of art mostly is an extension to your personality. But art gets commissioned, no? Then it becomes an extension to the market, the financial viability of the project, the person who has to platform this project. But comedy 90% is just an extension to your personality. Like I gave you the example of Larry David. Like Larry David's personality on a talk show versus Larry David's personality when he's doing stand-up

it's exactly the same. And that's probably the goal. So yeah but everybody has their own process.

If someone watches Kunal on a live show versus the stand-up we watch online, what's the difference?

I think a live show is... Okay, the live show of the material that is being watched on YouTube, the live show will be twice as fun, at least.

It will be more fun

Yeah, 100% when you're live there. It's far more fun. The live show that you record and upload on YouTube In that you are always building material So building material means everyone has different techniques. I follow this technique called stage writing Which is that you don't write on a laptop or a keyboard. You just write the premise and then you go on stage,

you record your audio and you work with the crowd. So there is a lot of hit and miss when you are prepping for the show. So I take about 60-70 shows to get my one hour ready which I can take to an audience which is larger than 100 or 200. Everyone has their own process but I feel this is what I do. You do 50-60 trial shows. You start with 15 people audience, then 25, then 40, then 75.

And then you go to the bars which is like 150, 200, 250 and then the auditoriums, then abroad. But everyone has their own process. So I like to write on stage. I like to write with the audience so that the fluff is the least. But there are a lot of comics who would write every joke.

Why do you not like?

See, when you speak, the thing about languages is that when you speak, that is 100% who you are. But when you write, 60% who you are, 40% grammar, then someone is recommending that instead of this word, use this word. So that's the issue.

Who do you like your first audience to be?

Anyone with patience. Because in the start, it's a little difficult to build material. So that's why we keep the ticket price low. And I try and spend more time with them in the first few shows So when the show gets tight, it can be anybody Even if they like my work, don't like my work They'll still enjoy it or at least they'll see If someone has a lot of issues, they'll at least see the people around them enjoying and be in a decent mood.

There is never an issue on live show, to be honest.

So now if you thought that the audience will laugh here, now they don't laugh.

Yes.

Then?

Same, what you do everywhere in life, try again.

No.

No, I mean, it's not like shampoo that you try on an animal and then take the result and scientifically improve it for a person and sell it. These are jokes. They may be very funny in your head and they may not land. But if your premise is amusing and I have taken your attention, then the joke will come. Today or tomorrow.

So, I think that if it doesn't land, but do you still feel that premise is unique that you must have heard it somewhere before It's not lazy or typical At least you are bombing with good thoughts There was a comedian named Bill Hicks, he said that if you can't be funny, at least be the most interesting person in the room

So, I think it's all a process I was told that if I can't be funny, at least be the most interesting person in the room

So, I think it's all a process If the joke doesn't land, acknowledge it Saying, okay, thanks And finally, you've done it for so many years that you know how to acknowledge it and get a laugh One way or the other, you have to keep going for laugh after laugh So that you proceed and build the show

So, yeah laugh after laugh so that you proceed and build the show.

And when you're just like... You said that you have to cut the words.

You have to cut the fluff.

So, two things. What type of words are cut? And what lines are not to be added?

Okay, I'll tell you one joke. Which was... The other day I was at a funeral and a friend told me, I saw this guy yesterday. I was like, yeah, okay. But if you see him the day after tomorrow, then he will be worth telling. So now you have to realize that this joke needs all the words that it has. But when I start with this joke, it'll be like, have you ever guys seen when we go to a funeral,

there is always this guy who comes up to us and says, I saw him last week only. And I'm like, yes, he was alive last week. If he sees you next week, then there will be a problem. Now, this is, there's so much fluff in this joke versus what I said earlier. So you start with this and you come to the least fluff amount of jokes.

This is a joke of mine I think from 7-8 years ago, 10 years ago. I've never put it online because apparently it's a very common observation. So the more you make it about who you are and the deeper you go into who you are, the better comedian you will be. This is where Martin Scorsese had the best quote on this subject.

He said, the most personal is the most creative. So the most personal story will be the most creative story. Because it wouldn't have happened with anyone else. So that is what I think. But there are many schools of thought that are very different. Everyone has their own process.

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With this conversation also, I want that people who are trying to tell their stories, become creators or creative individuals in any field, they get some help. That's the aim of this. I will go back to again, a typical Kunal Kamra's stand-up setup. So when you write, what are the things that you think structurally? For example, if there is a 60-minute video, like the one we have now, or a 45-minute video,

Yes, Naya Bharat.

Yes, Naya Bharat. So, will there be a number of jokes in this? There should be at least this many jokes, at least this many lines of jokes.

It depends on how much you want to make people laugh. But yes, this was a live show of 1 hour 15 or 20 minutes. I took out the safest 45 minutes from this and put it online. Because that is also one thing that you get bored with your jokes. So I was like I don't want to do anything. I mean, I am taking a break now. I am in Pondy. I want to work on my YouTube and see where that takes me.

So I thought I will take a break. I mean it's a lot of travel. A lot of work. I will put this material. When you have the material, so they stop calling you. Which is the best thing. Now no one is calling me to show here or there. Now chill, I don't have the material, I will think about the future and then I will develop something. So yes, this was the scene. I put this material, it is boring and stale for me.

It has a validity of 18 months. After that you will get bored of it. It doesn't happen with music. If someone wants to push their child in art, it will be easier if you push him in music. If you push him in comedy, it will be more difficult.

But yes, in this, in 1-1.5 years, you will get bored and then you will start developing new material. But the voice is continuous. Where you leave your voice here, you pick it up

from there.

And what are some themes that will always come in a stand-up of Kunal? I will tell you, whatever I feel, from your side. I feel that Kunal will make a joke about a recent startup and an established private company party will keep changing. For example, if the ruling party is making its image as war related, then it will be a joke. Or if the ruling party is making its image as the Hindu nation, then it will be related to it.

But what else? Yes, it will be on Boodo. And Old Man will be there.

I think it's my mission to reduce the agency of Boodo. Yes, these themes are there. Because what genuinely bothers you, will come in comedy. It will come into your stand-up. So in stand-up, it's about the things you like,

why you like them and those characteristics changing will bother you and that's why you'll joke about it. First you'll be angry then you'll probably hate then you'll finally just accept and joke. I don't know how many stages but there are some stages of grief also. So I think comedy also has some stages.

It happens, something happens to you. Why is it happening to you? You hate that. Then you just like, okay fine it is happening to me now I have to just figure this out. And then it's funny that that happened to me.

So in those stages you just keep writing your books. And do you think you can do you consider yourself a smart person in the room or the funny person in

the room? I think the funny person in the room. Okay. Because smartness definition in India is very... I mean, it's warped all over the world. But so I didn't complete my education in any way. So smart person has a lot of definitions that change. Funny has the same definition that brings laugh. So I'm happy to be the funny person in the group. There must be a lot of smart people. But being smart is easy. Being funny is a little tough tough So I would go with the funny person

And how would you define a good joke?

Very least number of words, most relatable, most people laugh And there are a lot of rules Someone had a quote, I don't remember who's quote it was Comedy is about amusing men and correcting them Everyone has their own fun in it A lot of people have said a lot about comedy

So, comedy is about everyone's process Comedy is about comforting the uncomfortable and making the comfortable uncomfortable A lot of people will have this will be punching up and punching down I mean you just have to make sure that you are making people laugh at the expense of someone who can afford it So that's my advice

You should joke about that

How is it different to make an Indian audience laugh

from a foreign audience? It's easy to make an Indian audience laugh than a foreign audience? It's easy to make an Indian audience laugh compared to a foreign audience because we have a lot of material about things that happen and stuff like that and culturally we are very different from each other and diversity always helps comedy it helps mostly any art form

If a country is culturally diverse like India, what are the themes that you will land on?

The 100% fit themes are jokes on community. Like, jokes on community that this community is very smart in business. Jokes on joint family That people use bathroom hierarchy wise Jokes on train Jokes on airport And if you are married then jokes on your wife

And if you are a married female comedian then jokes on your husband So all these things are common I am not saying that it depends on the joke Whether it is good or bad But these premises are common They will be 100% land

Even when we make videos When Keralites do like this Or North Eastern Indians do like this

That will work

This meme culture that's online, it's all because of stand-up comedy.

Okay.

Why do you say that?

Jokes are all about stand-up comedy. Setting a premise and making a punchline. Only a 90s kid would understand. It's a very comedian premise.

Who do you think brought stand-up comedy to India?

Brought to cast? Like asking, who brought DVD? But yeah, Abid Das was one of the first comedians. Then there was a lot of people who started doing comedy in Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore, AIB Boys, Tanmay, Khamba. So yeah, but that concept of stand-up comedy did exist. Actually what's interesting is that a comedy club had opened here called Comedy Store

which was a London subsidiary. There is a comedy store in London too. So it's like they used to get comics from UK, Australia all over the world and it was just bleeding and then finally the guy the Indian owner of the world and it was just bleeding. And then finally, the guy, the Indian owner of the place and the British, what do you call it, franchise, yeah, the British subsidiary, so there was a fight between them.

But by then, the comedy club had been going on for three years. So it was like, we have a really good plane and we just have to find a pilot. So because of that, I think that's why a lot of comedians got a lot of stage time. Because this was supposed to go on for 4-5 days a week, except for Monday, Tuesday, every day something has to happen. So, that's why our first line of comedians were very sharp and good because they got a lot of stage time. It started in like 8, 9, 10.

Then we had amateur nights. Varun Grover was there on amateur nights. He won, I think, one of the first amateur nights. After that, it started. And then, from 2012-13, people are going to watch comedy, open mic, new material night,

Saturday's weekend show and then 2013 is when it started becoming a little more mainstream and then in 2014, 15, 16, 17 people started posting their videos on YouTube and that kept increasing the audience for comedy watchers so then the Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi shifted to Noida, Lucknow, Patna, Nasik, Pune no, Pune was already mainstream, Aurangabad

it went everywhere, and then linguistically there are comedians who speak in Tamil there are comedians who are Kannada comedians, but same The confrontational style, the observation. So there is Kannada, there is Tamil I think there is a very good Telugu comedian also Rajshekhar Mamidana, he is also a great comedian. So linguistically it's a bit

English of course is there, he was there before So that really helped. I think there are comedians who do standup in Marathi. Bengali too. So that's how diversity helps. Now just imagine that the biggest comedians in the world

they are great wordsmiths but only in one language here we speak 3 languages to everyone so they just feel that oh shit with this brain if we were in a place where we spoke 3-4 languages then where would our skill be? so yeah, that way I think my prediction has always been

that 10 years down the line the biggest comedian in the world will be an Indian and he was there once, Russell Peters was there I have always had this prediction that 10 years down the line, the biggest comedian in the world will be an Indian And he was there once, Russell Peters was there, but I think he's not He's of Indian origin, I don't want to take the Indian-ness out of him But I meant from India, like who was born and brought up here I think he will be the biggest comedian in the world

If a person wants to be a stand-up comic in India, who do you think should be their starting resources? Everybody has their own journey and what they do. But my thing would just be this one question, why are you doing stand-up? And if the answer is anything different because I have something interesting to say, till the time this question and this answer are not synced, you won't get very far. If you are doing stand-up because you want to be an actor, if you are doing stand-up because you want to be a writer, if you are doing stand-up because you want to be an influencer,

you will not be any of those and not be a stand-up comedian. If the question is why do you want to do stand-up? It's always the answer that I've had is because I have something interesting to say. So my opinion is that if this is your intent, then your chances of breaking out or making this a career are very high.

If you're like, I'm giving auditions, I'm an actor, I do stand-up, I, poetry, writing, etc. then you can do it but I don't think you can become a standup comedian if you have a lateral focus. To become a stand-up comic, you need a tunnel vision. This is my show, this is its arc, the audience will be surprised. How can I do a Modi joke without them knowing it's a Modi joke?

When can I bring up what happened with me exactly when they forget? You can't do all the morning or in the evening Even if you don't do anything the whole day But that also adds to your craft

Okay, if I have something unique to say Okay, now how do I say this unique thing? Are there any resources for that?

For that, it is just that you go for the laugh-lap in as few words as possible. First 5 years, you just go for the laugh per minute.

Hmm.

That's it.

Okay. And who are good comics? Like right now, good comics? Both will do. Very popular good comics or very underrated?

It's not underrated. I mean, basically, They are not underrated, they are just not rated. Oh, okay. So, I really love comics for doing a great job. For me, from the older lot, I really love Varun Grover's writing. I told you the phase of comedy I loved, Khamba, Joshi, Tanmay. I saw recently a video by Prashasti which was amazing.

I happened to catch Shreeja's show while I was backstage and like I was the next show after her. I think this was last year, Jan end of Feb. Fabulous last 15 minutes of the show I caught from the curtain. Great show. Masoom Rajwani, a comic which is still

breaking out, superb, superb material, superb show. But if you go to an open mic in Delhi or Bombay or Bangalore, you will be surprised by one or two comics where you'll be like, yes, this is the set, this guy is going to do something. I'll see him in Bombay someday. You'll get that vibe. At any open mic, at least one or two pomics, you'll get that vibe.

And is that trajectory still there?

I don't think so. But we all have different opinions. A lot of people think that it should come. I always feel that you shouldn't come I feel that if you are from Mumbai, then it's okay, you can stay here But according to me, comedy is so individual and so self-based that the more you stay away from Bombay, the more you will feel fresh Many people also have the view that you don't have to observe yourself If someone is observing you, you can still connect with those people by not living a similar life

That's their point of view But I always think that if we men spend years without washing the plates So when will you get the observation that you haven't washed the plates? When you have to wash it Right? So I always think that the life you are living will take you towards the art you create

A lot of people think that they are creating art so that they can live a similar life It's just polar opposite ways It's like right hand drive and left hand drive It's not like I'll say that left hand drive has less accidents and right hand drive and left hand drive It's not like there are less accidents in left hand drive and more in right hand drive But there are different ways of making and driving a car Everyone has their own way

Interesting. So for me, it's possible when I travel to different places challenging places and then talk to people who are of different language, eat different food, wear different clothes, come from a community, religion, identity which is different from mine. They are our co-citizens, they are living in our country but this country is so diverse that you will not even believe the kind of person living and the experience that they have had even if you travel 10 km So do you think travel... Have you been traveling?

As a comedian, all you do is travel Sadly, I don't get to travel in India that much But when I travel abroad and meet people you always see something But when you travel abroad, you see how convenient it is. Like you are in a, like you know, you're having hot coffee.

I think I've given this example before. You're having hot coffee in the back of a car and nothing spills, nor are you worried that it will. So, like, I mean, you observe all that outside. I would like to travel more in the country but that is difficult with comedy as a traveler, I have seen a lot

I think I must have been to almost every state but I have gone as a tourist, not a traveler

How do you earn a stand-up comic?

There are many ways I think how you earn a stand-up comic earn money? There are many ways I think how a stand-up comic earns money is basically comedy like how a stand-up comic is doing comedy depends on the stage

I think first 5 years for all stand-up comics is very you have to do it with a job you are doing a job and stand-up comedy is doing it I was doing the same, everyone does the same now it has become like they do jobs which are aligned with comedy

Like writing, advertising, writing or writing for some comics, web shows, some web shows, dialogues So it happens like that And finally when you start putting up videos Then there are live shows From where you will get very less money, a lot of hard work, ok no problem, do that Then there will be private

and corporate shows private shows means someone's birthday anniversary, wedding one function where only youngsters are coming those shows corporate shows is like

offsite meetings so in that some or the other act happens so comedy is the least means the least expensive even if you call a cover band, then 4-5 people will travel, excess baggage etc comedian will fill that same time, 30-40 mins

and your expenses will be very less because there is only one person, one mic maximum he will travel with his manager so this is the money-making opportunity, corporates. Then once you have Instagram following, then the whole brands, brand deals, these kind of things come. And once that happens, then you make money from all opportunities,

which is life, comedy, club comedy, auditorium comedy, private shows, corporate shows

If a stand-up release is released on YouTube, is it monetized? Yes, yes

Is it monetized?

If you don't want to monetize, you should monetize it, in my opinion Because YouTube will recommend your video more if it is monetized If it is not monetized, recommend your video if it's monetized If it's not monetized, they won't recommend it that much What are the brands that advertise in comedy? My brand work is the same as I did with Ola

I don't get much from brands because they mostly see me as an anti-capital person. But there are many brands that do comedians. I think there are alcohol brands. Samay was telling me that he is doing something for Airtel. Ads and all. I think every brand. If the audience engages with the brand or its competitive brands, then you will get that opportunity.

Just like when Dhoni adds Boost, because his audience is consuming either Boost or Complan, similarly, a comedian will add Sprite because his audience is consuming Pepsi or Sprite.

And you, for you, if you earn 100rs a month How much do you get?

80% I used to make from doing live shows and 20% would be a mix of YouTube Private shows very rarely 85% would be from selling tickets and 15% would be a mix of everything I told you.

And what money do you get for doing a show?

Basically, it's very simple. Whatever happens, so after expenses of what it takes to produce the show, the venue, the show producer, the promoter take 25% of the profit. And the artists after all expenses get 70 to 75% of the profit so it ranges between 70 and 30 India, abroad, depends

I mean if you are an artist who is just coming up if the producer is at high risk, then it will be 60-40 or 50-50 but the safe and the hygienic thing is between 70 to 85 the artist makes depending on the complexity of the show. And between minimum from 15-30, the promoter, venue and the people on the logistic side, if they make that money.

You are doing a show, you are doing a tour. So the major sales are not happening from your distribution but through the promoter's distribution

Actually, to be fair, in my case, it is happening through my distribution If it was happening through the promoter's distribution, then the deal would have been 50-50

And usually, if you are going to have a show, then where will you promote it personally?

How will you promote it? How will you promote it? How will you ensure that? Instagram stories is one way putting You can't buy tickets from Twitter but Twitter is also one way Putting it in the first comment of your YouTube videos is one way But now bookmyshow

Like in India, bookmyshow is a very unique thing We gave bookmyshow a comedy audience Bookmyshow is telling us if you want to mail or promote then pay money

But that's the most effective way also that you promote your show on the ticketing platform Now for me, the less I promote the show, the better It won't get cancelled There will be some room for political audition. So I don't promote as much.

I don't do bigger venues anymore because I don't even get them.

What are good venues for you? Which venue do you like?

Currently my favourite is Underground Comedy Club. Most of the auditoriums are built for music. Music has a lighting system at the back the lights will come from the back side. How much time do you reach there before? You have to be the first one there. You have to be there two hours before. Do you get nervous before a show? Actually I didn't for the last seven years. But I haven't done a stand-up for 13 months and I went to open for a comedian friend

Anirban Das Gupta After 13 months I went for a stand-up and I had a lot of thoughts over the last 13 months and I was trying to pick and choose on stage which one should I do

and I was like, fuck guys for the first time in my life I feel nervous which is a good thing and the audience laughed and enjoyed that moment You must be nervous, there will be situations where you are nervous may not be the right word distracted whatever but whatever you are, don't hide it because they can see it just acknowledge it so if you acknowledge it you get that laugh which

is anticipatory laugh. How long does it take you to write a new show now?

1.5 years.

Because I do a lot of other work also, which I feel is something that matters to me. Some documentary is being made, some shows are being made, a podcast is being made. That's why it takes 1.5 years. But actually, if I am asked to do it in 9-10 months I can do it in the weekends of 9-10 months

Another controversy that happened was Kunal put a phone on Arnav's face

Basically what happens is Confrontation is also compassionate That this man is spreading hate Because of which someone went to jail Because of which someone has gone to jail Because of which someone is not able to come out of jail And he is standing in front of you

He is saying anything on your TV channel He is a lion in front of his camera So why shouldn't I confront him? Confront him non-violently But confrontation has to be done Because that flight

Okay, why did you do this in the flight? Where will you get this without security? I had to do a presentation because it was a flight I had to explain why I did it without security, where else would I get it?

I got it

I should do something in public I told him at least twice that I just want to talk to you without a camera I didn't take a camera for the first time I just wanted to talk to you

about your way of committing suicide after Rohit, who came from a deprived society, is committing suicide and after his death, you are discussing his caste and caste certificate on your show Why are you doing this? Have some shame So once I went without a camera, twice, then I realized that that's their problem, they don't understand 50-50. And I meet this guy in a flight and I smile and say,

Hi, how are you? I know, but that is... I don't have that calculation. Like, what I am is... If I'm calling you for cancer or society, then I'll meet you like cancer. I won't shake hands.

And then what happened? What was the public's reaction to it?

And what was the legal reaction? Nothing legal He didn't file a case The flight was empty, I was waiting I told the flight crew and purser I'm really sorry, this is not me

The captain asked if I had any political views I said yes, I had He said okay, but avoid it on the flight I had not disrupted anything they asked me if I was a politician I said yes I was a politician I had not disrupted anything normally they will put a complaint

a pilot will review the complaint and then they will proceed and DGCA will take a decision on it they avoided this protocol and the famous Hadeep Singh Puri in Epstein files He was the Aviation Minister at that time

So he saw this video and said This person needs to be banned from flying So this happened on Indigo First Air India took a decision to ban him for 6 months I wasn't even in Air India Then Indigo said we will have to do this too So Indigo also decided that we will ban for 6 months

Then SpiceJet, all of them banned for 6 months Then I went to court, and court said that you can't do this My lawyers asked me that you don't want any compensation or anything I said no I just want them to not do this So all the bans were removed And the ban on Indigo was for 3 months But then the pandemic came

So no one flew So what to say This was the end of 2020 But the captain on the flight He wrote a letter in my support Which went viral

I said okay He didn't even have a level 1 offense He didn't raise his hand, didn't raise his voice didn't bother any other passenger if he was capable of reporting then I would have reported

but he wasn't capable of reporting and no other crew reported when the captain said that he didn't do anything wrong he didn't inconvenience anyone because of that not a single second went from here to there so I wanted to learn more

why do I disagree with majoritarianism why do I disagree with the kind of culture that is around what do I agree with so there is a great organization called MKSS Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangatan those 3 people who were the founders

one was Aruna Roy who quit bureaucracy in early 60s Nikhil Dey and Shankar ji These three people brought NREGA Before NREGA they did Right to Information They worked in Right to Information and then in NREGA And now they are working on GigWorks

Because he thinks it is the biggest exploited work So I wanted to understand about it So I went to meet MKSS I was with them for 5-6 days They are based out of Rajasthan So I understood about GigWorks

They have a 1.5 hours long documentary So I thought I want to make it Because my friends whom I want to talk to but I can't They sometimes see my tweets and say Oh, what's your problem with Geekworks? I was like, see this documentary

So we talk after that, we will have less fights So after that, when I saw how tough life is for them I mean, they are the landless labourers of the 21st century Ola is selling them a scooter which is just a graveyard of scooters

Like we told Bhavesh that your scooters burn So, what happened? Can you explain it from that point of view? And what did you have to face as a comedian?

I'll tell you how it started. One day, I saw a post in the morning which is like this graveyard of scooters just lying around. So, I had posted that saying that no one is ashamed, no one has accountability, no one can keep it accountable. You're taking a subsidy from the state,

you're a public listed company, and you're not accountable here, how is this? And you're celebrated, you're tying a knot in your hair and explaining the Vedic calendar that there should be two holidays in a month.

So there was that anger, so I tweeted, he responded, I tweeted again, he responded So 3-4 tweets started from there, then it became a joke People tag me whenever his share price falls, which I don't care about His problem of scooter, that hasn't been solved yet he keeps doing something but he is more interested in being understood

loved and you know doing something for India vs doing those things so he had something in between that you can order spare parts directly so I wrote a quote tweet something to the effect of

buy an Ola today And become a successful mechanic Over the years You have to make your own Ola So he will run a paid PR You Steve Jobs

Never gave an Apple battery You are ahead of Jobs You are giving this People are not understanding So he is just focusing on his company's PR

Before ads are made for selling a product I think ads are made for political parties or an image is made for different political parties and leaders Now let's talk about Narendra Modi How do you think his image is being built and has it changed over years?

I think if you want to evaluate a leader, you should put do to Nehru what did he do to India democratically but he inherited what did he inherit and what did he leave on that you will get 1000 point of views

what should have been done, what not but you will ask a question how many times did Nehru say that the British who gave us India this is their mistake, I can't fix this He never said that. Did he ever say that India didn't have a stature in the world before this, now it here because of them it never happened and look at their work

IIT, IIM we didn't even have spanners we didn't even have a screw to unscrew machines, from Ciro they were heavily dependent on trying to get India going

that we should have diplomacy, we should go abroad we should have IFS, we should have a response so I think you can evaluate the leader in all these things and you can criticize China for the war look at how they took the criticism for the war to underplay the war, Nehru says that

the land,'t even grow grass So his opposition, sorry I am forgetting his name, he stands up and says that the grass doesn't even grow on your head, so cut it and give it to China And Nehru laughs at that Now this is the thing to judge the leader what he did, what he got when we talk about Narendra Modi I think that

if a person has two things Botox and Detox Nehru will choose Detox and Modi will choose Botox people always ask why do you compare with Nehru will choose detox and Modi ji will choose Botox People always ask why do you compare with Nehru Why?

Comparison is valid Because these 3 terms, Nehru is doing 3 terms He started his comparison with Nehru Nehru used to say I am a Pradhan Sevak He became a Pradhan Sevak Nehru used to cry for Lata Mangeshkar, Modi ji, Modi ji cried for my country

so when you have seen Nehru, Suryavansham, Thakur, Amitabh Bachchan, Chachera bhai so this is the same Kewra dhakur and you are fighting for it, how can we not compare I think Modi ji is more interested in narrative and botox than detox if you want to make aims for Nehru, you have to make it with the health minister it's not like he are making their own aims and then no one knows who the health minister is it will work with a proper democratic framework

here you will know who the aviation minister is when a comedian gets suspended petroleum minister you will runs for Epstein Chief minister is Rekha Gupta, what capability does she have other than holding the ABAP flag you are buying a hard drive because you have to fill your own stuff whether it is good or bad for people I think if Modi ji is a capable leader then why are there no other capable leaders around him?

why is it not there? why is it not there? why doesn't Rekha Gupta do something like oh my god she is not even able to do this she is not even able to do this what a capable person he is

their problem is that they are looking for an empty hard drive like Nikshitji, Sushma Swaraj what a capable person their problem is that they are looking for an empty hard drive to fill their stuff that poor sports minister is not able to say Mohan Bhagwan health minister is giving us dark chocolate during covid after the railway accident, the first thing that comes is the reel

that is running from Malwa to up and down and there are no capable people around you this is a big problem and you are taking out 3 terms in India see our finance minister, Nirmala Sitaraman I don't eat onions

there is a discussion on popcorn that which is the flavored popcorn and which is the non flavored GST was like a common child for all of us which we are raising and we are happy so GST was good then Modi ji removed GST

so that is good make a plan the strategy is that if someone beats us here, we go there and vice versa So this is the problem I feel

and I am saying this genuinely because the more you fill up the group with incapable people in your group the more capable people will go away from you

The problem is is your sports minister never played sports your financial minister never ran a secretariat never ran a system like the SBI chairman make him something in finance like PT Usha etc. and even if they make someone, they don't keep him as a token

that you come here, you stand in the bouquet for 6-7 hours and then leave if something good happens, Modi ji will do it, if something bad happens, your photo will come

people say that Kunal is left ideology or funding from outside What do you think as a country are the themes and the issues that we should be focusing on?

YouTube is giving us money, means there is funding from outside Many things Basically you don't give people a chance to dream as a country You sit in an Uber You ask the person what do you want He will say

Uber people are tedious We don't know how to file Uber people If we are in the airport parking and our search starts at 5 then the trip will come at 4.55 He won't think I was at the airport for 3 hours search starts at 5 so the trip will come at 4.55

he won't think that I was at the airport for 3 hours and he will give me the trip I know Uber Now this guy's dream capacity you have reduced it so much

that he wants to bring changes he wants to bring it in this he wants to bring it in being an Uber driver I am not saying Uber driver is less or more I am saying Why don't you have the right to dream

Why don't you think I want to go to Uber and work You are not able to think I want to keep 10 cars and start my travel business You are

a jail, I am a prisoner I want to get good food, newspapers, pen and paper But we have curbed you from thinking that I should get out of jail I should use my freedom to do something Basically you have not given people an opportunity But you have snatched away their dreams of seeing an opportunity from them

That they are not thinking about what to do People say roads are good I think roads are good But do you drive around in London? Do you drive on the roads in New York? No, you walk, there are walking towns,

there's a tube, there's a metro, there's public transport. Whatever your network is, 95% of New Yorkers use public transport. You tell me, in India, is there anything that 95% or 97% of Indians use? Is there a shop where everyone goes?

Okay, some go on Christmas, and some go on Christmas and some on average on Wednesday, but is there such a thing? No, so if the whole India is just trying to make India happy then you can become

like your neighbours, but you can't become China you can't become Singapore Thailand In Thailand, if you see you can't become China, you can't become Singapore, you can't become Thailand In Thailand if you see, they discovered malnutrition and how they dealt with it versus how we have not dealt with it today till now we are talking about getting eggs from midday meal

whereas we are stunted, 33% of girls have anemia if I am not wrong you are not discussing all this If your entire project is cultural then it's a problem It's not going to go

very far and plus you're not How can you be a good leader if you don't have capable people around you? Narendra Modi has no capable people around him

Did a political party call you?

No, I am saying that we don't need people like us Because no political party will call any free lateral thinker We are a problem for them and we are a problem for them Because we know that maintaining the status quo is not good for anyone it is a loss there was a great story of Harishankar Prasad

he said that if you have two vests and you wear one, it gets spoiled so you wear the other one, it gets spoiled and you wear one, it gets spoiled and if you keep wearing these two without washing then with time both the vests will get spoiled if this is our politics that BJP is bad today, we will take Congress

Congress is bad today, we will take BJP till we keep voting like this, both the parties will get spoiled we will have to add some more questions to this that how can we increase participation in politics

how

how can we participate better in politics how can we be better represented in politics Bharat Mata ki Jai is ready to speak but who is Bharat Mata ki Jai if there are no people of India

Nehru

also says you should think If there are no Indians, then who is it? Nehru says on this also that you should think about who you are talking about Indians are the motherland

Let's define development Let's talk a little about what is development for you

development is that there should be aspiration, there should be basics at least our society should be unequal for all if we cannot aim for equality, it's very far away there are cultural issues, there is caste at least India should be unequal for all so that is my problem, development is not like you will see that there are roads or this and that I mean what are people thinking, what are people aspiring for

it's pretty much I see people crippled in their thought and that is the worst.

A lot of people don't know this and I was also surprised to find that you have not graduated from college. You have not done college.

No, just 12th. I think that's too much. If I had an opportunity I would cut it at 5th. Name, place, animal thing, that's it. Rest, figure it out. I think education is very important. What did your parents do?

They ran a chemist shop together for 40 years. 39, I think 39, and then 1982, they got married. 85, so yeah, they've run it for 40 years.

In a parallel universe, you were running a chemist shop. they got my ID, 85, so yeah, they've run it for 40 years

So in a parallel universe, you were running a chemist shop? No, I think my dad was very honest to let me know that

Okay, and let's say you didn't complete your college, you completed 12th, then what happened with Punal?

I was just working, I worked in a fabric store, then I worked in, I worked a job in McDonald's for a month. It's the toughest place to work. Then I worked a job in a cyber cafe. I worked a job, I worked as an intern in AX and Amazing Race. On that year, there was another brilliant person who worked, Jay Oza, who has shot many movies including he's the DOP of Gully Boy.

So he was also on that show interning and he's in the transport department. I was in another department. Then a year I worked in MTV as an intern from the time I was 16 to 17. And then I joined an advertising production company where I worked for the next decade.

What did you learn in the advertising company?

What was it like being in an advertising company? Advertising requires you to just tell everybody that it will all be fine. That's the major skill that you are. I started as like in many departments, so I interned, production, this, that. I ended up as a producer. I was producing for, at one point I was producing for four directors at a time. I was like, I was, the job didn't

require me to, the job, the thing with jobs in smaller companies which do decently well is that with every passing year your work will get easier and easier. So when I became a producer in 2013, I just realized that I don't have... I have a lot of free time. That's when I started doing stand-up in the evenings, going out for open mics, going and watching stand-up.

How are ads made in India now?

Now it's the same, whether you want to sell saris or cement, if you have confidence in a person, buy him. At that time, a lot of creative ads were made. I must have worked at least... So the company I worked for was Kaukhoi's Films. It's owned by this person called Cyrus Pagdiwala and Prasoon Pandey. And Prasoon Pandey is the guy who's made every Fezzikol ad ever. So it was brilliant working with him. I must have worked on five six Fezzikol ads because I was working with all the younger

directors in Kaukhois. But yeah, it's an institution. I must have worked about 200-250 commercials in different departments and different work responsibilities but it teaches you a lot because finally the real now is those TV commercials from the start that in 30 seconds you have to tell a story, sell something, keep your attention these were the TV commercials

so it was very interesting to do this. Now you don't see a good TV commercial. Earlier you used to see a good TV commercial. Be it Google or even the newer companies used to make good TV commercials. The company I worked for, we did a Bajaj TV commercial with Jackie Chan Bajaj I'm forgetting the bike Bajaj discover 135 We did it with Jackie Chan. I remember I was not on the project, but they did a

Pepsi commercial with Messi Messi or Ronaldo I'm forgetting one of the two but I'm a level way Advertising katha and it it just it was exciting and Ronaldo I'm forgetting, one of the two. I mean, this was the level of advertising. And it was exciting. That, oh, it's getting hot now,

let's go, cold drinks will start. Oh nice, now it's, financial year is over, car commercials will start. Great, IPL is coming, now all the commercials will be there,

from mobile phones to data, everything. Now there's nothing. You don't see a good TV commercial. You just don't.

When you were working in advertisement, are there any memorable fairy call ads?

One of the fairy call ads was very memorable which was about a girl who goes for a play in her childhood and she puts a moustache with fairy call and that never leaves her

through her life. It was very funny and very memorable. I had worked on that. There were a lot of ads. But I can't remember. It's like if you ask me to choose one of my jokes, I'll be like, which one? My whole grudge was I lost out on Vodafone. Every time I bid for Vodafone ads, I never got them. It was always Prakash Verma from Nirvana Films. Every time I kind of bid, Rajiv Rao, who was the creative director, he never gave me the ad.

I must have bid 8-9 times. I never got it. So, yeah, I feel like, why didn't I get Vodafone? So, yeah competition is also to do a better creative job. By the 6th time, I was like, Vodafone is worth crores. You guys will do it with Nirvana films. I tried everything with Vodafone.

I used to undercut, I used to undercut, I used to keep undercutting. And then I realized, I have to give it to someone so why should I give more money to them in their budget so in this the fight or the competitiveness at that point used to be to put out a better creative product

Micromax was there, Motorola was a big spender I think one of my first ads was Motorola Motorola was a big spender in my time I think one of my first ads was Motorola I worked on Cadbury he would spend He would spend very creative

Ramesh Suresh's 5 star ads were done by our company But those times it was very exciting to do good ads

it's very strange that a North Indian is living in the South

if you change the strange to challenging, but challenges are the only thing that make you normal so these kind of things are important for you in life temperature wise it's very similar because we are coastal humidity so is Pondicherry coastal humidity and it's a vibrant society there like 147 nationalities are in and around Auroville I'm not saying they are great people or they are the best people to be around but I'm just saying that diversity only helps you grow that was one reason and then my assumption was

I mean I was proved right that here property prices are going to be increased and there is not enough space here

so where I had bought the property, the price of that was 3 years ago it's already like 2-3 times that value because people are finding value in staying at a place where maybe they make less money maybe they spend less money

but end to end their life is more sustainable so a lot of people are choosing for it

give us a little inside the house tour of Kunal Kamra.

You will come when I take you. So basically on the ground floor we have a kitchen and whatever work is done there, there are their rooms. On the first floor we have 5 rooms that we open out to homestay, Airbnb. Second floor we have a gym because the gym was 15 km away

so I thought that the gym was 15 km away from here so I thought it should be a gym because if there is no gym around here that's our way of interacting with the community then there is a boxing club above it because boxing is a sport I really like so there is just this

like it's an approved boxing ring and a very good boxing coach we have Prabha and Pratap two coaches and then there is like all the usual like there is a pool I won't say that I am living a simple life but it's mostly for the guests who use the property there is a pickle ball court and then there is a farm

yes, so people also say that you are doing farming now.

Not really. I tried something, it didn't work. But yes, I want to do something with farming.

What were you growing?

We were aiming to do deep water culture farming. So where you use water instead of soil and you use foam boards to grow all the leafies and then you use coco peat to kind of grow under all the potatoes and stuff Problem is that we just planted our first seeds and cyclone came and cyclone destroyed that entire system

Do people in Podvicherry watch your videos?

Not really. Because, again, Hindi. So they don't watch my videos. But whenever I hit the news cycle, they find out, yeah, he comes to eat breakfast.

OK, sure.

So does Kunal have 24-7 security?

Funnily enough, I don't have security here where people think they should have But in Tamil Nadu, when I applied for interstate anticipatory bail they saw that I was getting threats by sitting MLAs, CMs So, they asked me why I didn't give security Everyone said that I didn't they give security so everyone said

we didn't ask for it so there is a police personnel there for 24 hours, so they keep changing so actually there is no need for security because no one recognizes you

but worst case scenario you are travelling somewhere because it's still a tourist destination so they kept it secure My advice was to first find out what you are doing with your life and now you are in the phase of giving exams

you can take promotion by giving exams so bring a book and sit here if I am going to walk in the compound, you will start following me that is not helping anyone give an exam, pass it so I passed the exam and got sweets

I was happy

There is also Khabre Aazam

which is a news reaction

which we'll shoot today at 4 o'clock

Who is the guest this time?

This time the guest is Madhuri is always there Medusa is always there Today we've called another journalist who is a critic Because there is an episode on Dhurandar

And I and that journalist have seen this film The other 3 are saying that they won't give money to Dhurandar I said okay, I will watch it Whatever you feel, you should not give your opinion only after watching someone's work

Did you watch it?

I watched it last night

It was 4 hours long

I left just 2 minutes before it was over because I knew the last flip so I just didn't want to wait till the end credits and all because I didn't want to give that homage to this propaganda film so I left just 2 minutes before the movie ended

So you are not the type of person who doesn't believe in ideology and doesn't consume it

I understand that, don't give them money to the war mongers or those who want to spread unrest But I feel that if you are going to have a point of view on someone's movie Then watch it It just takes that argument away that you haven't even seen it

So now you are going to shoot this show So how is Khabar Lahariya?

Our superstar Sunil Raufel is a funny person He makes great jokes He has tweeted 80-90 thousand times in his life He talks in jokes Ask him how he feels about the leader He says he likes the leader

He has so many achievements that you can write anything for a bus ticket He talks in that format Sunil is our superstar This is the simplest show, Khabar Lahariya We sit for 4-6 people We watch the weekly news, memes, react to them

We shoot for 2 hours and put an episode of half an hour 20 minutes to half an hour depending on how entertaining it is for people and at any time, like going to office or eating food or whatever it's just a show where you have to watch it while you are doing something else also you won't mind it. So that's the lightest show, Khabriyaazam, News Reacts.

So Shut Up Ya Kunal is just basically getting political guests and just asking them more comfortable questions and some uncomfortable questions. That, abhi wo show toh main bahut kam karta hu. The other is NOPE, which is a highly academic show I just put it out as a journal Views don't come on it, it's not for views, it's for me to learn

So basically, the guests who come They are teaching or they are In that space of educating so when they come to Pondicherry, I spend time with them I understand them, how they are handling the classroom how is the university system outside

whatever I want from them I am privileged that they are talking to me I see other artists who use their privilege that I am an artist so I will meet a big artist in a 5 star hotel I think I will always want to meet a good teacher and if you note that we have put 75 episodes it's just academics

it's just nobody else and they just talk about one thing and in every episode I think I talk maximum for a minute I don't talk more than a minute, I just open the question and then I just listen to them and it really broadens your general aptitude that I didn't know that I am so old This is how it is

When you talk to an expert, do you easily disagree with someone's opinion but academic people who have worked in history, social sciences, math, geography they have their own PhD, thesis, teaching kids you should have facts to disagree with them you need facts like if someone is explaining the concept of whaling that where did whaling come from and what is its history

or if someone is explaining food that this is the perspective of food then how will you disagree with them who are teaching and day in and day out they have studied this specifically and the only people you can disagree with are the experts

the experts opinion that I had written in the news channel you can't consider them experts They are just people who are available to go on news channels Just auditioning for a better role in politics

This is a question I deal with though If I want to bring in a guest who I genuinely appreciate

and who has worked on that for a long time But then the critique that we get is

that you are not drilling them

what will you drill them? basically it is about what?

very small thing

like if Kunal has come he will have 100 critiques which will be in his comments that you are left or you are just saying comedy but you are propagating a particular ideology

ok we can talk about this also but why are you not talking about it in a very risky manner why should I do your propaganda on my channel, I will do my own if I feel that my channel is biased, you say it is biased, I will say it is an informed opinion but I will do my own work, I never claim that I am neutral neutrality is a privilege and I am not neutral when elections are rigged if I believe this

when you are spreading hatred then where will neutrality be? between the sword and the neck you cannot be neutral and plus I believe that our opinions

will differ but what is the common ground that we get the problem is that they don't have a common ground constitution good question, what is a book, a text, right? So, do we believe in that book? Yes, if we believe in that, then the discussion is valid.

But if you are saying that this is a constitution, which I have to change, in this way, then there is no scope to talk. Then what is the point of there is no conversation then there are just two people who are very different from each other and nothing good is going to come out

so that's what I have and plus you should ask my point of view is that whenever the freedom I want

people to enjoy I want to give the freedom that I want people to enjoy If someone is roasting me, I won't ask them what joke they are going to make If I like someone's work and they want to talk to me, I won't ask them what they are going to ask Please don't talk about this or that I think if you are saying that the Prime Minister of the country has not done a press conference but you are not in a political post but are you okay with sitting in front of someone and giving them the entire freedom of them asking you anything

are you okay? till the time you yourself are not ok and you want to be understood you want to be projected, you want to be perceived in such a way that you are palatable and then you are asking the Prime Minister to hold a press conference so this hypocrisy, I try to avoid it

I always work towards that Like we were talking about Khabre Azam You said that you and Raffle have the same stake What is stake?

I enjoy it My editor, official being human, runs a channel Ramit, I don't know if his name is out yet

It's out right? I don't know if his name is out there It's out there I don't know, I knew it

So Shut Up Ya Kunal is our show 50-50 I have done bigger shows He also says to do it He doesn't have time He is working on his own channel

But I don't enjoy doing it And the same news comes Sometimes Sunil will say that he is coming this week I'm traveling and I don't want to do it I'll think that we do this show because we enjoy doing it

there's no joy in creating if you have to continuously do this that this is not available today the fact is that whatever is happening we'll meet on Saturday at 4 and record it. That is something I look forward to.

Now that there are 4 people in a react show, do they all play a character?

No, no. In some reactions people do. Like we bring in Shyam Rangeela as Modi sometimes. We got one comic from America called John We got him as Trump Sometimes we bring in Garima, a very good comedian and content creator We bring him as Kangana and Nirmala

So we do get characters in sometimes

And who decides on which memes to react?

Everyone is busy. Me and our editor Vaibhav Sharma, he is in between us. So Sunil's only thing is that he will come and he won't pretend to go and sit for 2 hours. That's the expectation from him'll see the rest. The rest is between me, Amaya, who's a constant on the show, and my editor, Vaibhav Sharma. We'll figure out the rest after seeing it. So I think, in all these news react shows,

I tell people the same thing. If you're reacting to something or sitting with someone, just be present. Because breaking that fourth wall and making someone laugh while they are eating food or doing work or going in an Uber It's very difficult to make them laugh It's only possible if you are present

If you are in your phone or if you are looking at the watch or if you are bothered by what I have to do next So in that you lose the opportunity of cracking good jokes so my whole theory is let's be present let's be available how many episodes have been released? today is the 40th

and how many episodes do you try to record every week?

I try to record on Saturday and upload on Tuesday actually I am not that organized But Sunil has a life He has a family life, work life To adjust that we have to streamline it

What is Kunal's personal life like?

As I told you, all are friends My parents are in Bombay So whenever I come here I am staying with them and apart from that I think it's just a public life there is no personal life I just got to know in the last 3-4 years

when someone asks in South India where is your family basically they are asking if you are married or not so yes, I am not married and I don't have kids I don't know where they are I am not married, I don't have kids, I don't know where I am in the horizon you can learn something from Modi ji I haven't left anyone yet after marriage

but yes, I have never been in that at least not for the last 10 years, that, kids, family should be there I feel that whatever you have it is better if you don't decide on biology I am in that view what if you decide on social contracts? you should not have social contracts

what contracts will love have? I think if you are spending time with every relationship what contracts will love have? I think if you are spending time with every relationship, you should be present with them if you have given someone 3-4 hours, you should be present with them like I am coming here with Uber, I will let the Uber him talk to me He will tell me, I will listen to him

I will speak, he will listen Being present in that moment That is my only social duty

Do you think a person who is creative can ever be 100% present just for listening. I mean, I feel like sometimes when I'm talking, even though I'm listening, I'm loving the conversation, at the very back of my head I'm still thinking how can I create from this and how can I use this as quote-unquote material. See, for a comedian,

being present is far more valuable. But for a content creator, while being present is far more valuable but for a content creator while being present you have to look at what will be the reel cut from this or how will the content go from this like while being present you have to be like my hand is shaking a lot so just close up on it but that's a different genre of work you're doing so you're you're being in the present will require to be in the future or to be in the post-production let's

not call it future you have to be present in the shoot while evaluating the post-production so you have different set of duties I don't have those duties I just have to be present so stand-up time I just have to be present even during stand-up I just have to be present and the paraphernalia of how the shoot will be how it will look

there are people for that that's their expertise, they'll do it

Do you have a team?

Yeah, I have a team but I like people who work with me for a year or two years and then go somewhere else and work because 1.5-2 years I don't know if there is anything to learn from me so researcher, editor, creator Researcher is Anirban

3rd JNU student, about whom I can't say anything

I want to talk about him also, how is he safe?

He has choices, he doesn't have any He is a great person in writing articles, get him to do research, write articles Give him any work and he is like Nice Because he never looks at it as like

I write I tell him I have to write something Tell me what you want to write I will do it right now

He just loves that

We have been working together for 2 years he used to work in policy think tank or in policy research and then he is a little conventional

leftist, conventional left I was telling him that genuinely if you see if there is a freedom fighter or a freedom fighter then he would definitely have a channel on YouTube because the formal ways of communication have been disrupted

so no one reads, no one watches news, no one is worth watching news so this is a space, when he is convinced that he should work on it then he works wholeheartedly he doesn't ask any question or ask for any episode he won't say no, he will say let me get into it

you said you think you will be with them for 1-2 years and then you won not be able to learn I feel 3 years is good

3 years is also good but I feel we start hoarding our resources like if my editor goes tomorrow and starts working with Vishal Maratwaj, I would be so proud of him and they say, go man, the whole world is waiting for you and you can't let some people go after 3 years but teach them new skills like my assistant or helper he goes to the bank, makes cheques,

operates his bank account, he knows about taxation he is growing in some way he has learnt to drive he drives with me like now

I am not there I am touring for a month so I will tell him to learn to cook the food he is cooking I feel this personal growth

should not stop the people around you You cannot pay them as much as someone else would But you can grow their circle of learning That yes, I am doing something else

I hope you liked this conversation If you learnt even a single thing Do let me know in the comments. And let me know who you want to see next. There's a link in the description and pinned comment. There's a link in the description and pinned comment.

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