‘Whole family can watch it together’: Comedian Amit Tandon on his show Goodnight India

Goodnight India on Sony Sab (starting 31 January) is a late-night comedy show with hosts, stand-up comedian Amit Tandon and TV actress Jiya Shankar. Each episode has a broad theme (relationships, marriages, schools, etc.), and Tandon and his guests- stand-up comics and hasya kavis- will explore the theme from different perspectives.

Tandon speaks about how the barrage of misinformation and bad news has led to tremendous stress and negativity among people over the last couple of years. We can't stop scrolling on our phones even if the news is terrible, and people often take this pressure and stress to bed with them. The creators wanted the audience to watch something fun and positive in the last thirty minutes of the day before going to sleep- something funny, which brings a smile to your face. "So you don't go to sleep thinking that the world will end tomorrow morning," Tandon says. It's Sony Sab's latest spin on the adage laughter is the best medicine.

Not only is it supposed to leave you in a positive frame of mind, but it's also something the whole family can watch together, unlike most comedy shows. "The idea is that the whole family can watch the show together, from a seven-year-old kid to a seventy-year-old grandfather. No one has to sit in different rooms or use headphones," says Tandon, who will also be performing a stand-up set in every episode. The show, he believes, is an extension of his style of comedy, with everyday observations and relatable humour.

Tandon is a seasoned comic, performing live comedy for over a decade. He's previously been seen on Netflix with his special Family Tandoncies and in Comedy Premium League. He's also co-written a sketch show on Sony Liv called Chalo Koi Baat Nahin. Goodnight India is his first brush with television, though, and he's excited to see how this will help him reach new audiences. He's also one of the firsts from India's stand-up comedy scene to make the shift to television- a medium and process that's vastly different from a usual comedy show or special. The writing process made him extremely apprehensive. While a team was working with him, he says he wasn't sure if there would be enough material that he could use in the several weeks of episodes. Further, it wasn't like the usual process of writing your jokes and doing trials and open mics till the set is perfected. Here, Tandon worked with a team to shape his ideas and observations, and write in his style and voice.

His rehearsals were more personal, too. "The biggest advantage here is that you get the liberty of a retake," he says. "Plus, here you can work with a teleprompter, so it's not so much about remembering your lines as much as it is about getting the right expression." Another major challenge for him was to curate line-ups in a way that talented comics would get the platform, yet also choose comics who fit the vibe of the show and had TV-friendly material. Each episode features three performers- in some episodes, there are stand-up comics; in some, there are hasya kavis. These performers brought their content- there was no separate writing process with them.

Amit Tandon and Jiya Shankar from Sony SAB's Goodnight India

The first indication that the show was working was felt by Tandon when he saw the live audience's reaction at the shoot. He was worried the audience wouldn't laugh or be tired after long stretches of shooting. Yet, the jokes got a great response, and the audience was on-board throughout.

Tandon finds the current state of the comedy scene very exciting. "Comedians are all writers in our own right as we all write our material. As a writer, you have different ideas, different opinions. Some of these ideas can be expressed on stage, with a mic in hand. Some of these ideas, you think a movie will justify more, or a series or an animation will justify more. And that's what's started happening in India now. So you will see series that are being written by comedians, shows being produced by comedians, and that's growing. I've written a movie that we're pitching and working on. There will be lots of different things that are going to come out of the scene in the next 10-15 years."

Goodnight India is a harbinger of what the comedy scene has in store for us.