In the lap of comedy

Funny acts

An advertising professional by day and a stand-up artiste by night, Satish Perumal talks about everything in between the two! Though he gave up his dream of playing cricket for the nation, he set the ball rolling in stand-up comedy around two years back.

His charming persona and body full of funny bones can get anyone eating out of his hand for the quick thinker and complete clown that he is! His script sparkles of experiential comedy and he has performed in popular, power-packed venues in the City.

This is not the end as Satish wishes to continue doing what he does best — cracking jokes and making people laugh!

How did the journey start?
Through an extremely awkward conversation with comedian Sundeep Rao in the bathroom. I had gone to watch his show in July last year at Indiranagar. He then told me to try out a few open-mics and see where it goes. I attended a few open mics, bombed many more times and the rest is history.

Your favourite comedians from Bengaluru.
Sundeep Rao, Sanjay Manaktala and Praveen Kumar.

The inspiration for your material comes from...
The quirks of growing up in a South Indian defense family, my experiences as an introverted child...my life, generally.

Worst/most difficult show ever.
Open-mics are a scary lot because we are always trying out new material on stage.
The audience also don’t pay much attention because they don’t pay for the show and keep thinking why there is an idiot cracking jokes on stage. We might have written amazing material but we don’t know until there comes an effective response.

The weirdest audience reaction.
A girl got up in the middle of my show and said that I could come to her house and perform any time I want. I just smiled and moved on with my show. Later, she gave me her number. It was pretty awkward.

Three things you would wish for if you’re stranded on an island...
My mother’s ‘rasam’, a raincoat and a boat to get back home.

If you happened to act in a movie, what would be the title and your role in it?
I would definitely play the part of the guy who is friend-zoned. The movie will be called ‘Second Fiddle’.

Something in today’s comedy scene that you would like to see change.
Comedy is not mimicry or jokes off the internet. It is original content and helps the audience peek into the comedian’s life and gives a perspective on how the comedian thinks. It’s very close to the comedian’s heart and I hope the audience realise this soon.

A female comedian you would kill to see on stage.
Sumukhi Suresh. She is hilarious!

Tell me a joke!
Was Rahul Gandhi’s disappearance after the elections a part of the ‘Swacch Bharath’ campaign?

Your New Year resolution...?
Write more material. I have been working on the same material for over two years now.