Sorabh Pant is a stand-up comedian, author, YouTuber, former television writer, and founder of comedy company East India Comedy. After writing novels such as The Wednesday Soul: The Afterlife with Sunglasses (2011), Under Delhi (2014) and Pawan: The Flying Accountant (2017), doing two comedy specials for Amazon Prime Video, and travelling extensively with his show “Pant on Fire” – also the name of his YouTube channel – he is out with a new book titled Vote For Pant (Rupa, 2022). An email interview with him:
Frankly, I thought it would be easier to write than fiction. As a comedian I'm essentially writing non-fiction on a daily or at least weekly basis. During the pandemic, there were no stages. So, I decided to write stand-up for an audience of myself. Since it is non-fiction, it couldn't just be written as stand-up; that would not go over 200 pages! And 30 pages is just not enough to get an advance from publishers – which was my end goal – so I loaded it up with some basic research and also a few chapters that would not translate into stand-up but are quite fun for a read. The book is a mixture of stand-up, columns and downright silliness.
Was it hard to be funny during the pandemic, seeing so much suffering around you?
It genuinely was. To hear the news stories and also talk to friends and family who were struggling as well as wonderful people who work for me telling stories of illness, death and joblessness in their own homes – it was a lot! I wanted to try to be there for people, as well as my family. I needed to write and create for my own sanity, and I also needed to keep making some money to run the family and keep all the people who work for me employed. And, of course, I also needed to keep some spare money to buy cheap alcohol for myself.
I was grappling with all of this and discussing it with a friend and she told me, "Enough of this. Get out there and make us laugh. We need it more than ever. Everyone has a role – and yours is to do that – so, please just do it." And she was right. So, I tried. Also, to be honest: the folks at Rupa have been very kind to me and were onboard with the idea quite quickly. Plus, they gave me an advance payment - which makes them absolutely heroic in my book!
Also read: I'm jealous of Bhagwant Mann, for two comedic, non-political reasons
With stand-up comedy, the feedback is instant. With books, how does it work for you?
It's odd for sure. People come for my shows and tell me they liked my book. Or they tell me on social media. It is definitely not as much as my other projects but their feedback has a different energy. Because reading is such an involved and intimate relationship, there seems a deeper connect. These days most people come and tell me they loved my YouTube Lives that kept them happy for the last two years but I hope a similar response happens for the book too.
What's one joke you can never get tired of telling?
I think self-deprecating jokes in general. The only person getting offended there is me.
Which stand-up comedians do you look up to?
I am not sure about looking up to anyone but I do admire people who work hard. It is almost impossible to be a truly funny comedian without putting in a lot of hours on stage. So, when I see my peers hitting the stage relentlessly, that is always motivating for me. Comedians that inspire me or just make me happy changes every six months. Currently, the comedians that I am enjoying the most are probably Mark Normand, Sam Morrill and Mohd Suhel.
What do you do when you run out of jokes? Where do you look for new material?
Consume. Relax. Write. Get on stage. That's roughly what most of us do. I find all parts of that process interesting. Trying to do them calmly is my current goal. 'Consume' doesn't necessarily mean consuming content; it also means getting out there, doing things, seeing the world or talking to people. Doing the show Wake Up With Sorabh was an eye-opener for me. I got the chance and time to talk to comedians – who are my favourite people, of course – and historians, journalists, actors, cricketers, cricket journalists, authors, even folks from the armed forces. I would say that's enough insights to last me a couple of years, and some more!
I just did a show at a research institute in Bangalore (Bengaluru) and it reminded me why I love doing college shows - it's talking to researchers and students about the interesting work they are doing and why they're doing it. And feeling their enthusiasm, which I feel wears off some people as they get older. Of course, getting paid for doing all that is a happy bonus!
Are there things that you will never joke about?
No idea!
What kind of humour puts you to sleep?
I have done a lot of shows at medical colleges. On two separate occasions, I found three students asleep in the auditorium. I was going to wake them up but their friends told me they had worked for 20 hours straight, with no respite! I let them get their well-earned sleep. My humour gives medical folk some well-deserved sleep, call me for shows as a sleep therapist.
Have you ever lost friends because of jokes that you've cracked?
What are friends?
This year, at the Academy Awards, Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith for cracking a joke. Have you ever faced violence because of a joke that didn't go down well?
Not yet! And I hope not!
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