Funnyman Gursimran Khamba joins the newly formed NBA Hindi commentary team, in their attempt to reach out to a wider audience. t2 caught up with him over phone.

Tell us how you got this job. Was it just because you’re tall?

(Laughs) I post a lot of basketball stuff on Snapchat and Instagram, so somebody from NBA figured out that I watch. Plus, by coincidence, our offices are really close by. They wanted something other than stats and serious commentary and wanted to experiment with the fan voice as well. And it’s always fun with Hindi because you’re reaching out to an audience which is mixed, because you’re reaching out to a lot of people who aren’t familiar with the rules and the names and stuff.

When did you start following basketball?

In school, by virtue of being the tallest in class, I was made to play centre. I was terrible at it, I had no balance! (Laughs) It then continued through video games. I remember playing Double Dribble on the Nintendo system and on PC, the EA Sports NBA Live 97. I remember harassing my father for 2,000 bucks for the game… and back then it was huge!

The games there happen really early in the morning for us in India. Is waking up so early everyday a challenge? 

No man, there’s this thing... I don’t know if you know about it… it’s called the alarm! (Laughs)

But there’s also this thing called the snooze button…

(Laughs) Yeah, but I manage to avoid it, luckily. Early on when I used to watch it alone, it was difficult at times. But now it’s not a problem because I just don’t watch but also interact with a lot of fans. It becomes a fun experience. There’s trash talking going on with other people on Instagram. I look forward to that as much as the games now! 

So you’re as funny as a commentator?

Actually the purpose of Hindi commentary is different. The commentators pull each other’s legs and stuff but we’re also clear about what we’re trying to achieve with Hindi commentary. It’s okay to not go extremely deep into nuances because a lot of people who are watching are new to the game. So you want to simplify the game for them. So I’m okay to sacrifice a couple of jokes as long as more people get to know about the game. 

Speaking of jokes, how often do people ask you to tell them a joke?

It has luckily reduced. With me personally it’s happened because people who know me know not to ask me those questions. Because I’ll just look at them and be like, ‘bro, really?!’

Is there always a pressure to be funny in real life? 

For me… no! But it’s different for different people. I don’t walk around thinking I’m a prude. I know I’m funny… I don’t need to justify that. I’m very secure in my understanding of my own self. If you carry that pressure, you end up trying too hard and then you don’t end up being funny. 

What happens when nobody laughs at a joke?

It happens all the time! That’s how you become better. There’s no guarantee a joke will do well. There are times you write something and you think it’s really funny and then when you test it out on stage, there’s this deathly silence.... But as you get more experienced, you don’t get scared of silences anymore. I am perfectly comfortable being on stage for 30 minutes without getting one laugh.

Going by the lack of tolerance Indians now have, has that made you slightly guarded?

Not so much. It’s about where you are, what sort of audience you have. Suppose I am doing Hindi commentary, I know some jokes are going to fly, and some jokes don’t fly. You have to be true to yourself and do the best you can, and cater to your audience.

Do you think Indian parents have finally accepted stand-up comedy as a full-time profession or do they still ask you to get a ‘real job’?

No man, my parents are really chill. On the ground it seems a lot more acceptable than it was five years ago. When we had started doing stand-up comedy, there wasn’t an industry to begin with. It was more like shooting in the dark. But it is one of those things which opens up so many new avenues. 

Are you guys open to getting into the mainstream? Say movies? Or go on creating your own space?

I think we are pretty mainstream now like my sabziwala took a selfie with me… so that’s pretty mainstream! I think the digital platform is as mainstream now. I don’t think they are indie or whatever. But being mainstream and having to appeal to the masses are two different things. We aren’t massy… we aren’t for everybody, but we aren’t non-mainstream.

And AIB completes five years this year! How would you sum up the journey?

It’s been fantastic, man. When we started it we didn’t think we’d end up where we are now. One thing that continues guiding us is that we like doing stuff we find fun and nobody else can do.... Whether it’s YouTube sketches, screenwriting programme, or a show that we’ll do with Amazon later this year... it’s driven by the same passion. Now I’m really looking forward to the next five years because I feel we’ve done a few things which we can maximise and harness to be able to do much bigger things. Lots of international tours, lots of movies coming up… we’ll be in your face all the time... don’t worry!

Rwitoban Deb