Internet sensation Biswa Kalyan Rath is debuting as a writer with a web series. He speaks to Kritika Dua about his show and the need for letting kids chase their own dreams
The best way to address “India’s Toxic Education System” is to talk about it with a dash of humour. 3 Idiots addressed all that is wrong with the country’s education system and Indian parents obsession with engineering. And now Biswa Kalyan Rath, graduate of IIT Kharagpur and a ‘victim’ of engineering has decided to go the same way. With his series laakhon Mein Ek, he talks about parents burdening their kids with their ambitious dreams rather than allowing them follow their passion. The show talks about a relevant problem and hopes to bring a change.
But humour and Rath go together. He started off with Pretentious Movie Reviews on YouTube and followed by numerous open mic gigs and with prolonged dedication got his maiden stand-up special titled Biswa Mast Aadmi. His latest series laakhon Mein Ek is inspired by Rath’s own life.
Centered around Aakash (essayed by Ritwik Sahore) who wants to pursue Commerce in Raipur so that he can make a living out of mimicry, it plays out the conflict between the ambitions of parents and children. Aakash’s authoritarian father is indifferent to his son’s wishes and sends him to Genius Infinity, an IIT coaching institute where he discovers a whole new world and that he is an absolute misfit there.
Akash is placed in the notorious section D along with roommates Bakri (essayed by Jay Thakkar) and Chudail (essayed by Alam Khan). His attempts at understanding the syllabus prove to be an epic failure. But he does learn to answer life’s multiple-choice questions. The show is helmed by Abhishek Sengupta. Rath plays a teacher in the web series.
Rath was inspired to write laakhon Mein Ek by his own life. He says, “I went to an IIT Coaching institute and always thought it’s an interesting story to narrate. I started writing the story simultaneously with doing comedy. Although from conception to the idea it took two years, the actual writing time is 8-12 months as I was doing several other things alongside.” The dedication paid off as the show is getting a positive response from the audience for the six episodes that have been telecast so far.
The comic series has a social message embedded in it as it emphasises on the grass root realities and peer pressure.
“I think any compelling story inherently has a social message. Through this project, we aim to bring change in the lives of at least one person or the mindset of parents to enable them to comprehend the importance of allowing children to chase their dreams. That will spell the actual success of the show,” he adds.
There are similarities between Rath’s life and the web series.
“Many instances are inspired from my experiences, although they have been dramatised for the screen. We have tried to stay true to the essence of the story and the place,” he apprises.
Sharing his experience behind Rath’s first fictional series and a shift from stand-up comedy to the web series he says, “It was an enriching experience to work on this story with several other writers. I hope this will help my stand up in some way.”
Rath’s initial fame came primarily from YouTube and his latest show is on Amazon Prime.
However, he feels that the medium has its own downsides. “Sometimes the amount of tweets and posts I receive are overwhelming. It feels like the whole world has set its eye on you and that can make you feel very vulnerable,” he mentions.
He also reveals that he is nescient of being a mass favourite. “I don’t think I am a hit. It’s hard for me to say why people like it, but I would like to think they just connect to the emotions at some level. I don’t think that I have faced many hurdles in order to become a renowned stand-up comedian.”
Rath admires the work of louis CK and Brian Regan. Sometimes the best comic material doesn’t receive the kind of response one expects from the audience. “It happens every day because of which all comedians have started staging open mic gigs. It takes around a month to come up with five minutes of material,” he adds with a shrug.