Funny man Ashwin Srinivas is back with a new set of jokes

Two months since his last performance in Chennai, Ashwin Srinivas is back with his new material, which he says is “basically about just me getting sick in the last two months. So, it’s about hospitals, doctors, etc”.

Chennai is Ashwin’s hometown, but he moved to Bengaluru eight years ago. “I want to travel across the world and do stand-up. With Chennai, what’s happening is, it’s getting a little regional. And I don’t want to restrict myself to something that’s regional, just to be relatable for the people there. That way, a place like Bengaluru helps me stay relatable across the country,” he shares.

Ashwin didn’t shift to Bengaluru for stand-up comedy though. “When I moved to Bengaluru, I didn’t know what I want to do. But I, for sure, knew that I did’t want to work in an office space. I happened to be at a café  one day and I watched a stand-up act. I really liked  it and kept going to all open mics there. The comics had started recognising me. One day, they asked if I would want to try. I didn’t have the courage. Then, another day, there were less comics, so I just asked them, ‘Can I just go up?’ That’s how it started. It was very impromptu. And I have never looked back since then,” he says.

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With a passion for travel and stage, Ashwin has just quit his corporate job, something he does not want to go back to. “Now, it’s only going to be stand-up comedy. I am into this full-time. And I hope I don’t have to go back because that will be a kind of failure,” he says.

As an artiste, Ashwin likes to direct his jokes at himself. “I do make fun of myself and my personal life. But apart from that, there are a few things that I have added to the set for Chennai, because I had to fill up the 30 minutes slot,” he says, adding, “For the first 10 minutes, I make fun of myself, then I move on to the government. I’m just pushing the limits to see how people take it.”

Explaining further, he says that whenever he comes up with thoughts, he goes to open mics to try and see if anybody is getting offended. “I have phrased jokes in such a way that even if you are, let’s say, from the right wing  and I’m making fun of the right wing, you wouldn’t be offended  because I’m talking about the facts and not going anywhere to change the facts. At other cities, the jokes have worked, I am hoping they will work here too,” says Ashwin, who has, by his own admission, “have offended people quite a bit” though.

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“I want people to get offended and interrupt my show because you have something you’ve written and you keep performing that for one hour everywhere. The fun part is if someone interrupts and I talk to them. I want that to happen so that I can listen to their perspective, and of course, make fun of them,” the artiste says.

However, fortunately Ashwin’s shows have never got cancelled and he says it is because “I was never approved to start with for me to get cancelled. I’m just starting, so I’ve got very less audience base, I guess.”

Tickets at Rs 349.
February 3, 8:30 pm.
At Medai - The Stage, Alwarpet.

Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
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