Excited by lighter side of life

KOCHI: Punit Pania is like most other standup comedians in the country: has an ambitious degree yet craved for gratuity, left monotonous corporate jobs to finally pursue his passion and living the exciting life in the comedy scene. But, performing in Kerala for the first time, his latest gig was a different one. A day ago, he wrote on Facebook: “Travelling 1,500 km [from Mumbai] to perform in a non-BJP city.” Punit’s standup show ‘Gainfully Employed’ was held at ChaiCofi in Kochi on Sunday.
Substantiating the post on his social media handle, he tells Express, “That’s the first thing that came to my mind. Kerala is unique and different in many aspects.”

Now that the conversation took a turn towards politics, when will the Indian audience get to see comedians commenting on current politics? “Standup in the country is still new. The audience is mostly urban and elite. In India, it is not exactly groundbreaking when comedians speak about relevant issues. People are already happy when you make good jokes. When you portray life in the most relatable way, the audience is generally pleased. On a serious note, art reflects what is happening in society. For standup, we still have a long way to go. But things will surely change with time,” says Punit, who is also the founder of Chalta Hai Comedy.

But, he says, that does not mean standup will soon be swinging electoral politics. 
“Politics in India goes on a mass level.  It is impossible to change the national opinion. Standup comedy is an art form in which you can express your personal opinion,” says the Mumbai-based comedian.
And that’s what is great about it. Compared to its state a decade ago, the standup comedy scene in the country is doing really well. “A lot has happened. It is an exciting time to be in standup. With globalisation, a lot of comedians have the opportunity to perform abroad. Other than the occasional issues of censorship, this is the time to experiment,” says Punit. 
Active in the scene for three years now, Punit left his corporate job to follow his passion. 

“I worked in corporate strategy for seven years. I used to write since my college days but soon realised a career in writing was slim. Soon I got to know about the standup comedy scene in Mumbai. I thought, ‘Why not? I’ll attempt to present what I write.’ And it worked like a charm,” he says.  
Punit calls this as his lucky break. “Whenever I have a bad day, I remind myself how lucky I was to have discovered standup. Though I loved my corporate job, there is much freedom and scope in this,” he says. On Sunday, Punit gave “his best jokes from his time as a corporate machine to his current avatar as a standup comedian.”