Papa CJ, the award-winning comedian whom Forbes described as “the global face of Indian stand-up”, has appeared on NBC, BBC, MTV and Comedy Central. The Oxford management graduate kick-started the New Year on a positive note with his memoir, Naked.
Q/ Is it fun to be a stand-up comedian?
A/ I love the uncertainty of live stand-up. I love interacting with my audiences and not knowing what they will say to me when we converse. I love the challenge of getting something unexpected [out of them] and instantly turning it into something funny.
Q/ Unlike stand-up, writing is a lonely and often boring job. How did you cope with its drudgery?
A/ Contrary to popular opinion, I think one of the greatest mental health challenges of stand-up comedians is loneliness. Sure, we perform in front of many. However, almost everything else we do, we do alone. The upside of being a comedian, however, is that we are able to mine all our pain into humour. That can be cathartic not only for us but also for our audience. When they see us laugh at our misfortunes they are able to find it within themselves to do the same.
I wrote the book the only way I know—like I would write a stand-up comedy routine. I wrote anecdotes on post-it notes and then divided them into chapters. Then I put them in an order that made sense. Then I wrote each of the chapters and added depth and emotion to them. Finally, I fought tooth and nail with my editor to make as few edits to the manuscript as possible.
Q/ Your show, Naked (2016), laid bare your life. Is sharing it with readers a different experience?
A/ I do have experience with sharing my life and being vulnerable publicly. With my stage show, I opened up in ways that I never thought I would have the courage to. Yet, while doing that, my audience was in the room with me, where I could see them. If needed, I could adapt my performance, albeit in a tiny way. I had some degree of control over how they processed what I presented. With the book, I did not have that luxury. Also this is not a work of fiction or a business book. It is an autobiography. Which is an even more daunting venture for a first-time author. Because not only will readers be judging the quality of my work, but they will also be judging the quality of my life! And I have tried to be as honest and vulnerable as I can in a medium that I have little experience with. However, early feedback from readers has been quite heart-warming, so my nerves are a lot more settled now.