 Okay, hi everyone. I'm here with the comedian, funny man, author, host, actor, what not, Sairaz Pocha. He really doesn't need an introduction. He is the person who brought us the revolutionary MTV, Bakra, MTV Love Line. Still to be slapped at an award show. Still to be slapped, yeah. I'm going to skip that part and move on to the first question with Sairaz. Sairaz, we are here talking about the business of comedy. We really wanted to know about you because you've been here before English and even Hindi stand up comedy really took off in India from the great Indian laughter challenge in 2005 and then in 2010 with AIB and TVF and all these guys coming in. So how is the business of comedy changed from the time when you were there, when you were like literally one of the very few people to write now? So coming back in, first let me apologize for not honoring yesterday's commitment, but Mumbai cast, studios, Indiscipline is another story altogether, something started three hours later than it should have. So I didn't even want to even try to come back on time. Going back to the question, remember 1996, around that time MTV Joe actually thought it was a music channel. Before it became roadies and whatever it is today, it was basically actually playing music. So at that time, I just wanted to, when they auditioned me, I didn't know what to do here because I was not an expert on any sort of music. And I was not a trendy guy. I was not a hip guy in any way. And the other guys at the audition that they had called all these models, millions of women looking good looking adornesses with great bodies and hair and one guy's hair was like, you know, beyond Bog, the famous tennis player, one of those, I mean, I was like, what the hell am I doing here amongst all these guys? So I just was myself and said, what the hell, I've got nothing to lose because I can't compete with these guys. It's like a model contest. What happened is they basically actually wanted someone to just talk like normally and sort of, you know, urban Indian boy, a boy I'm saying, but I was 22. And so that just lucked out for me. And the good thing is that no one in MTV was trying to be funny. They were always taking themselves very seriously. So it was great fun being me. Because I could just say anything and get away with it because it was great fun. I shuttle to think what will happen if I had to go through a VJ hunt, or if I had to go through a comedy contest or am professional, am night or whatever they call it nowadays. It would have been really hard. But it was fun, right place, right time, always tell people, just like politics, be it the right place, right time, that's your karma. Okay, that's a bit of the week that was in CNN, IBM sort of a commentary which is coming in for you over there. But to make people understand, you know, when did comedy start becoming a proper profession? So many of these people, for example, whether it is a TV network, whether it was an AIP or whether it was the East India Comedy Club, founding their own companies, getting into the whole entrepreneurship, founding angle and then making it forward. So what are your thoughts about that? How did that actually come about? The specific date is November 24, 1999. No, I'm just kidding. There's the way I remember it, the Vir Das is the first guy who came here. He was, I think, only 5 or 3 inches tall at that time and decided to do something with his life. And he's the guy who brought some structure to it because he started these formal nights. We didn't take them seriously also because we thought, you know, our bar owners want something different. In India, my ekhi phrase, I think every time you try to do something, they always ask, kush different hai, kush different ho ka. You know, you just say the same thing in a different accent or something and they'll buy it. So he brought something actually different which is the idea of the comedy night where the people would come and perform for 2-2 minutes, have a contest, 3 judges, free prizes and whatever and everybody's happy. So I think as soon as the English comedy goes, it started with that. Hindi comedy got a skew from English comedy. They realized it's the same style, just change the language and references and which they did. And then I think vernacular comedy actually grew also in the South, in Bengal, I just came back from Cal. So they also followed the same format. So that was a whole revolution sort of that happened in the early 2000s with people like Veerdars and others. Now, let me explain to you why I hate these guys and I'm disgusted by them. It's because they give comedy a bad name. Comedians are supposed to be people who can't do anything else. See what happens when a comedian runs a country, look at Ukraine situation right now. So let's understand our core competence. It's because we failed in engineering, couldn't get an MBA. Dad's business, they're saying, okay, you get the money, you sit at home. That's the whole concept of being a comedian. These guys are actually motivated, ambitious, hardworking. They're everything that they should be to be a comedian. So I'm very disappointed. I hope the next generation doesn't let us down and they continue to be wastrels. And after drinking too much and misbehaving in parties, finally decided comedies for them. I thought that would be the correct route. But it's amazing that how much talent is out there and they're all structured and hardworking and ambitious and they work. I mean, they're so professionally scary. I really sometimes wondering, maybe this would be better if I go into engineering. Maybe that'll be funny. Really sometime because I'm surrounded by young comics. I work at the podcast, IVM podcast and they're there all the time. These guys are so different from us in terms of maybe in cricket and in business also. It's like that. You'd never want to be that guy. He's got a loser written on him, that chacha of yours who always mentions that there was a singer, there was a Vishwanatha, these guys play with Red Bull etc. So we can do that space. But having said that, I just feel sometimes that they try too hard. They work too hard and I just feel I would have never got into comedy if I knew this was the business. Hardworking professionals all over the cutthroat business which it is now today. But you have to give credit to Veer Das. Do you realise that it is primarily because of people like you that they have come into the picture? See, it's possible that a couple of people here and there said, maybe they try. But it's not necessarily a compliment. They must be thinking that this guy is so bad that such bakwas even I can do better than that. Second thing is, the corporate structuring only happened in my generation. We first started getting some events. We were the first people to get events, anchoring events, shows. Many of us live off that because corporate India, thank God, is always, even during the pandemic, has some work going. So that was one of the reasons why I think comedy grew because there was outlets to work. So you had the bar culture, then you had the sangheets and the corporate culture. And then you had these private shows where the bigger comics, you pay money and go and see the guy, big name or whatever. And then of course, off that radio, podcast, television work, commercials, voiceover work, cinema. So there's no end to it. And you've seen various names going for left-right and centre. I mean, Kapil Sharma for that matter, Anthony was a simple comedian and today is probably one of the most famous comedians in India. Then you look at the Archive Minister of Punjab right now. He was very much a contestant on a comedy show. I have actually performed in Calcutta. Yeah, and you're a Calboy. Yeah, I'm a Calboy. I was there for four days. I know, I know. You were there for the Kolkata literary meet. How was that? I mean, what are your favourite haunts in Calcutta? I may ask since we've come onto the topic. Well, thanks to Zomato. We ordered it in. So it was all great. The hangla, the roles, of course, we have to have that. And then what is that Biryani? We went to the Biryani place. There are a lot of them. Famous one. They all told us to go there. I don't know. There are two or three famous ones. That's Arsalan. Arsalan, that's it. And hangla is more famous in Bombay, Delhi types. In Calcutta, of course, there are other roles. You should check out Park Street next time for sure. No, sorry. It was from Park Street. Boss, I didn't do the ordering. I used the eating. So then... One thing just coming to my mind after all that you said, Out of curiosity and I'll be wrapping up this interview in the next two minutes because you put a 10 minute time limit. How many death threats have you got till now? No death threats. I will mention one Chief Minister filed a suit for I did not go to a certain city in the south for four years. I know about my lawyer. Please, you also don't mention the name because I don't want to end this video. True. And also our lawyer said, see the great thing about India is the rules change. No matter what you say about the constitution of India. So once you're there, you're basically the mercy of that particular state government or whatever. Having said that, hopefully that's gone and done and dusted. But we have got a lot of death threats but a couple of people have got offended. I've always apologized. I totally apologize. What happened with Will Smith and Chris Rock, I think I would go into that situation. I mean, I just can't accept what he did here. I mean, let's end on that note. What is your view about that issue? Brother, I'm saying if Will Smith and his wife are taking offence about these kind of things. How can you point fingers at right wing factions? Political factions have that PC. I mean, there's no end to it, right? So I'm very disappointed with them. They are part of our tribe. They are entertainers. These are amongst the richest people in the world. Most powerful people in the world. Most lucky people, if you want to use the word privilege, Americans use that word a lot. They are the privilege. So what's the problem? She's dealt with a hair issue. It's not cancer. It's not HIV AIDS. It's a hair loss issue. And she's dealt with it for seven, eight years. She's a beautiful woman, successful woman. So what's the problem? They all know each other. They want fraternity. He made a joke. And if it was so bad, you felt really bad about it, you could have talked to him in a certain way. But raising your hand, brother, sorry, man. Then it makes America look like India. Or maybe even worse, the neighbor. The neighbor is undergoing their own problems. The greatest cricketer has been removed from power for some reason. Okay. Actually, when you're talking to Cyrus, there are so many things to talk about. I can actually extend this for the next one, but probably add some later time. Cyrus, thanks a lot for talking to us and taking our time and all the best to you. And take care. Thank you, Kabir. Pleasure. Bye-bye. Thanks. Bye.