Indo-Japanese comedian Dan Nainan is a humble man who is untouched by the vices of his profession. He talks to Divya Kaushik about how he overcame stage fright, his multi-cultural upbringing and lessons he learnt from Jerry Seinfeld and Russell Peters
It is obvious for one to be conscious and little nervous in the first meeting with Dan Nainan. Not that he is intimidating, it is just that the comic genius can make a joke of anything that is around. “But picking on people is not something that I do,” he said with a smile. After having a packed day in Mumbai, this Indo-Japanese comedian landed in Delhi to perform on the same day to a high-profile gathering. But he neither looked exhausted nor nervous. May be it is that the calm and composed make for better comedians. And Dan is humble, too. Even after impressing people like Obama with his wit and humour, he doesn’t consider himself “as famous as Russell Peters.”
It has been 10 years now that Dan is performing on stage. It is interesting to note that this techie-turned-comedian once suffered from stage fright and to get rid of it, he sought professional help. It was then that he realised that he can do comedy. “My technical job at Intel involved speaking on stage with the CEO and other senior executives. These events would happen all over the world. The executive would bring me on stage to demonstrate the latest technology. However, it was terrifying to speak on stage in front of thousands of people. I had to do something to get over the fear, so I took a comedy class. I figured if I could do comedy, presenting on stage at corporate events would become easier, and that turned out to be the case,” shared Dan. Being a techie has been of immense help to Dan. He said, “Technical knowledge is like a blessing for my job. It gives me tremendous advantage over other comedians. I was among one of the first people to know how to use YouTube and all the other social media that can be of immense help to a comedian. Knowing to edit a video is so important and so many comedians still don’t know how to do that. Knowing things like creating a master for my CDs and DVDs which I have manufactured is incredible.” And what happened to the stage fright, we asked. “Now there is no nervousness about the performance. I only get nervous when put in a wrong situation. like sometimes people tell me that I will have to perform during the dinner time and I explain to them that people cannot laugh with food in their mouths. Sometimes there is a bar operating while you are performing and no one wants to listen to you. Such situations make me nervous, but it’s not stage fright,” he replied.
Dan was born to an Indian father and Japanese mother and has been staying in America. His multi-cultural upbringing and later corporate experience also helped him as a performer. “When I was in first class I asked my teacher, ‘Do you think being an Indian Japanese will be a disadvantageIJ’ She replied, ‘Oh no! This will be the most incredible advantage that you have.’ I didn’t really know what she meant or if I should believe her but it has turned out to be absolutely true. As comedians are travelling all over the world, we have Asian comedians, Arab comedians, Filipino comedians, Indian comedians and we all are making big money. Then there are mainstream comedians in the US who are struggling and crawling over each other, begging for $25 parts in the night clubs. So it feels good to be on this side of the fence and to be known as Indo-Japanese. I love the opportunities that I am getting, meeting people, travelling the world,” he said. What he speaks on stage is partly scripted and partly impromptu. He shared that one of the secrets of stand up comedy is that a lot of it is scripted before hand but the way comics speak it appears like they are talking out of their hats. “Comedians create an illusion. My comedy teacher says that you may be doing a scripted show but if you do it right the audience will never come to know that. So comedians like Russell or Jerry Seinfeld or louis CK may be repeating jokes but the way they say it, the audience never realise it,” he said.
Dan picks up bits from real life experiences to prepare for his performances. He says that the more diverse the experiences in real life, the better comic you will be. He believes that the more you see, the more you travel and interact, there is more you can write about. There is a larger pool to draw from. “For example, my uncle who stays in America said that ‘I will commit suicide if my daughter marries someone who is not from Kerala.’ I didn’t understand why he should say that living in America. I really found that funny, so I will twist it and say on stage, ‘My uncle says that he will commit suicide if his daughter marries someone who is not from Kerala and then he will kill his daughter.’ The second example can be this. I texted a lady in America that I am in Mumbai. She replied, ‘Is that in AfricaIJ’ And she asked that on a device which can be connected to the Internet. It’s one of the jokes that wrote itself.”
Keeping his acts free from profanity is one risk that Dan took and it helped him succeed. “I love Russell Peters for his unique ability to talk to the audience. I toured with him for two years and it was great. But someone I really look up to as an influence is Jerry Seinfeld who doesn’t pick on anyone. I met Jerry at a comedy club very early in my career. I was terrified to even speak to him but I asked him if he had any advice for me. He suggested that I work clean because I could work in many more venues. This has definitely turned out to be the case. Ninety nine per cent of my shows require a clean comedian and would never tolerate dirty material. Also, my Asian parents would kill me if they knew I was doing profanity on stage,” said Dan, who has performed in India a couple of times but doesn’t know much about many Indian comics. “I only know names like Raju Srivastav and Kapil Sharma,” he said.
lastly, when we asked Dan if he is missing his corporate life, pat came a reply, “Not at all. Comedy is like my own business. I get to travel and perform only for an hour and earn better money.”
Dan will perform tonight at Trident Gurgaon (entry by invite only)
photo Pankaj Kumar