<p>English professor and standup comedian Vinay Menon considers both these professions his full-time job. Someone who believes that comedy is a serious affair, Vinay started his career in standup like everyone else, by trying out a few open mics. <br /><br /></p>.<p>He went on to do shows across South India and is also popular for hosting and judging standup events. He has also opened a show for the popular Vir Das in 2012 here and is the only English standup comedian to pursue the art from Kochi. <br /><br />He is often asked to crack jokes in classes by his students and he can never really fathom why he isn’t a ‘serious’ teacher. <br /><br />He weaves in funny incidents and acts while teaching and believes that standup helps him teach with a twist. An IT professional till 2014, he says that he finds the job of a tester and a standup comedian similar as both find faults with things. <br /><br />He has a candid chat with Anushka Sivakumar about his quirkiness and his journey so far.<br /><br />How does your standup story start?<br />I joined a theatre workshop which was conducted by Evam Entertainment. It helped me explore my creative side and led me to interesting people. Soon I realised that I could actually give standup a shot. My first show was at Counter Culture, Bengaluru. Though <br />I horrendously failed that night, the owner was polite enough to call me back which thus started my journey in standup comedy seriously.<br /><br />How is the comedy scene in Bengaluru when compared to that in Kochi?<br />Let’s put it this way — the Bengaluru comedy scene is bustling. It is undergoing the Industrial Revolution while Cochin is in the Bronze Age. Cochin will take some time to reach where Bengaluru is. <br /><br />If not a standup artiste...<br />I would be a college professor. Oh wait, I already am.<br /><br />The funniest incident in your life.<br />I voted, thinking that the system of democracy actually works in India.<br /><br />A female comic you would kill to see.<br />So many of them. Neeti Palta, Vasu Primlani, Aditi Mittal, Radhika Vaz... I would try to avoid murder though.<br /><br />If people walk away from your show and you are left with an empty auditorium...<br />People get better only with practise which is why people can’t walk away from my show now.<br /><br />Advice to younger comedians.<br />Never stop. It takes 20 bad shows to have that one awesome show and it’s all worth the effort. <br /><br />What if someone tells you can never perform standup comedy in future?<br />I would swipe left.</p>
<p>English professor and standup comedian Vinay Menon considers both these professions his full-time job. Someone who believes that comedy is a serious affair, Vinay started his career in standup like everyone else, by trying out a few open mics. <br /><br /></p>.<p>He went on to do shows across South India and is also popular for hosting and judging standup events. He has also opened a show for the popular Vir Das in 2012 here and is the only English standup comedian to pursue the art from Kochi. <br /><br />He is often asked to crack jokes in classes by his students and he can never really fathom why he isn’t a ‘serious’ teacher. <br /><br />He weaves in funny incidents and acts while teaching and believes that standup helps him teach with a twist. An IT professional till 2014, he says that he finds the job of a tester and a standup comedian similar as both find faults with things. <br /><br />He has a candid chat with Anushka Sivakumar about his quirkiness and his journey so far.<br /><br />How does your standup story start?<br />I joined a theatre workshop which was conducted by Evam Entertainment. It helped me explore my creative side and led me to interesting people. Soon I realised that I could actually give standup a shot. My first show was at Counter Culture, Bengaluru. Though <br />I horrendously failed that night, the owner was polite enough to call me back which thus started my journey in standup comedy seriously.<br /><br />How is the comedy scene in Bengaluru when compared to that in Kochi?<br />Let’s put it this way — the Bengaluru comedy scene is bustling. It is undergoing the Industrial Revolution while Cochin is in the Bronze Age. Cochin will take some time to reach where Bengaluru is. <br /><br />If not a standup artiste...<br />I would be a college professor. Oh wait, I already am.<br /><br />The funniest incident in your life.<br />I voted, thinking that the system of democracy actually works in India.<br /><br />A female comic you would kill to see.<br />So many of them. Neeti Palta, Vasu Primlani, Aditi Mittal, Radhika Vaz... I would try to avoid murder though.<br /><br />If people walk away from your show and you are left with an empty auditorium...<br />People get better only with practise which is why people can’t walk away from my show now.<br /><br />Advice to younger comedians.<br />Never stop. It takes 20 bad shows to have that one awesome show and it’s all worth the effort. <br /><br />What if someone tells you can never perform standup comedy in future?<br />I would swipe left.</p>
