For the longest time, stand-up comedy was often perceived as ‘a rookie’s passion’. But, if you take a closer look at the scene today, it’s a far cry from the perspective. Open mic events and LOLfests are bustling with IITians, corporate professionals, and engineers, with a flair for making people chuckle thus not confining them to the shackles of a 9-5. We take a deeper look.
Sixth time lucky, Vaibhav Sethia, who is an IIT- Rourkee alumnus, believes his educational background helped him make better career choices.
“As much as I’m accustomed to hearing lame and inane comments along the lines of ‘ Oh you have wasted an IIT seat,’ I’m of the opinion that the institution has shaped me into being a lot more confident about my choices. I also feel breaking your head over a tough degree trains your mind to think harder, hence churning out intelligent humour has been one of the several advantages of being an IITian,” he chuckles.
While the adulation and visibility can be motivating to a large degree, renowned stand-up comedian Appurv Gupta adds that the field is economically lucrative too. “My B.tech in electronics and communications has had people thinking that I’d be raking in good money only via a corporate job. But let me tell you, my first stint with stand-up comedy earned me Rs 2000 for a mere six minutes. And, that got me wondering — If I can make 2k in six minutes, how about doing this frequently for about 60 minutes?. Truth be told, the influx in the number of doctors or engineers doing stand-up comedy is because of the good money in it – if you’re good at it of course!”
Vouching by a similar ideology, popular city girl and radio personality Sneha Suhas adds, “Post college most of my batch mates went in for a regular 9-5. As much as I have nothing against it, I believe stand-up comedy as a platform, offers one absolutely no restrictions. And, that to me, is a huge plus. The dynamics of watching and responding to comedy has changed. Most of the audiences are also IT guys or people with corporate backgrounds. The audiences are a lot more informed, and they expect intelligent humour. So, those with corporate experiences or an MBA tag understand the sensibilities of the crowds better.”
