Indian stand-up comedian Amit Tandon will be performing on Tuesday, February 22 as part of Expo 2020 Comedy Club’s special night with a spectacular line-up of talent. Atul Khatri, Zakir Khan, Biswa Kalyan Rath, and Prashasti Singh will take to the stage in a not-to-be-missed show hosted by locally based comic Nitinn R Miranni.
We caught up with Tandon ahead of his gig.
You will be performing at Expo 2020 Dubai alongside a host of other comedians - how do you feel about bringing your act to such a global stage?
I was in Dubai a couple of months ago and went to Expo 2020 Dubai as a visitor. Coming back as a performer - because I’ve seen the kind of people who are representing their countries - is a big honour and it’s very exciting to be a part of it.
What can fans expect from the show?
Fans can expect a very crazy show because this kind of line-up has rarely performed whether it’s India or outside in the last few years. This variety and the size of this line-up by itself… I don’t think we’ve been in the same city since a long time, let alone performing together.
You’ll get to see a variety also in terms of the kind of performances that are happening. The acts are all known for the different kind of stories that they are doing.
The need for laughs is felt now more than ever with the onset of the pandemic which has showed us the importance of not taking life too seriously. Do you feel more people are opening up to the the impactful role that humour plays in one’s life?
People are opening up to the impact that comedy makes in their lives or at least that’s what I feel. During the pandemic we used to get so many messages from people - that they were in a hospital or they were stuck alone and they would watch our videos, that kind of helped them a lot.
In fact when we were in the lockdown I used to watch a lot of comedy because that would keep me happy and would keep me distracted from all the tragedy that was happening around us, especially in the second wave.
I remember I used to do shows for Covid patients in the second wave, and the kind of messages that we used to get after those shows were really heartening.
So humour definitely helps you forget your miseries or your problems at least for a day or so, if not more. In the lockdown, if you were sick you were locked away from the rest of your family - it played havoc with your mental health. If you had somebody who could make you laugh, it definitely made a big difference.
Do you ever feel nervous before going up on stage? How do you deal with that?
Whenever I am trying some new material - new jokes on stage or a new set - I will always be a little bit nervous about how it will be received. It’s always the audience who tells us what is funny.
You could be the biggest comedian, you could be funny in your head but you don’t know what people actually find funny.
Nowadays people are quick to take offence, especially on social media. Do you feel there is too much pressure on comedians to behave in a certain way or steer clear of certain topics?
There are topics that I anyway don’t touch, so it doesn’t really make a difference to me. But then there are people who want to take offence at everything!
In the beginning I used to react to it a lot but now I’ve realised that these kind of people are anyway not going to buy tickets! So I am okay with them taking offence, I still continue… as long as I’m not saying anything that the courts of the country take offence to, I am okay with it!
EVENT DETAILS:
The Expo 2020 Comedy Club event will take place at Dec Arena, Expo 2020 Dubai. Show starts at 8pm. Tickets available at Platinumlist.
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