Kenny Sebastian, who rocked the Riders Music Festival with his new series Don't Be That Guy, talks to Sangeeta Yadav about comedians getting death threats and how he come up with an impromptu song
How is your new series ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ doingIJ
It’s doing great. It talks about the regular things that men do but which should not be done, be it in their behaviour, treatment or attitude. It’s a one-hour special show which I am taking around the world and have got a huge response.
Comedians like Aditi Mittal, Kumal Kamra and the AIB comedians talked about getting death threats for their acts. How unsafe is it for comediansIJ
I know comedians and their families who have got death threats. It is true that we are unsafe but it all depends on your audience. In 99 per cent of the cases when I had a bad experience with the audience, they were first-timers to any comedy show. An audience which has seen comedy before is super fun. If the audience is not used to comedy, they get negative about an honest, blunt and opinionated performance. I feel that is what freedom of speech is all about. But we can’t practise freedom of speech on all platforms. So you have to be careful. I am hoping that in the coming years, people will become more tolerant.
What do you do when your audience gets offendedIJ
If my audience is getting offended, I drop the topic because in India people are very sensitive. If we do the same show in Singapore or America, I will do what that audience needs. It’s completely dependent on the audiences’ taste. I customise and that’s why I keep myself as clean as possible and not be offensive. Some comedians want the audience to react which is great but I don’t have the guts to do that. Most of my audiences want to interact with me and I gauge that from the answers I get. I have been very lucky to get amazing audiences. When the audience takes a joke sportingly, it makes it easy to make fun of myself.
What kind of a comedian are youIJ
For me, comedy is all about entertainment. There are two types of comedians. One who is using comedy for social change or render social commentary. Other, who perform purely for entertainment. I fall in the entertainment genre. I am not trying to change social perspective. I feel I am not qualified for it. There are comedians who are amazing social commentators and talk about things which are taboo in our society. I wish I have the knowledge and guts to do that.
How do you innovateIJ
Being a comedian is not a job for me. It’s a passion. I am like this in real life too, making fun of day-to-day situations. It’s not difficult for me to think of new ideas. What’s challenging is to make others feel funny. So, ideas are there but the way you execute them is what matters the most. I experiment a lot and feel that the audience is the best judge. If the audience is laughing, it is a good joke. If it’s not,, it’s a flop show. But one should not stop going on stage. It makes you stronger. So you have to keep doing it.
How do you select your subjectIJ
I am very particular about the fact that everybody in audience should understand what I am saying. I don’t take up any pop culture reference. I don’t talk about a particular movie or TV show because my filter is that if my father is sitting in the audience, he should be able to understand the joke. For example, if I am talking about a movie, I will give enough context so that even if my father has not seen the film, he will find the references funny. Comedy has to be simple, clear and relatable.
Your USP is that in every performance, you etch out impromptu songs from the words thrown at you by your audience. How do you do thatIJ
The funny thing is that for me to make a song is far easier than remembering it. I can’t remember any of my impromptu lyrics. If you ask me to stitch up a song on the spot, I can do it easily. People think that I am very talented and cool. But this is how I am wired.
What is the best part of being a comedianIJ
Comedy is a humbling profession. You can be the best comedian in the world but if you do a show and people don’t laugh, you are no good. Every show reminds you where you stand. As a comedian, you make people laugh every minute. In any other profession, people just accept what they do as routine work. People think that comedy is easy and that comedians are arrogant but if they do a couple of shows, the self-realisation will set in.