On Sunday evening, bursts of laughter filled the Kala Mandir auditorium like the intermittent rain outside. The reason? Kenny Sebastian. The Mumbai-based Malayali stand-up comic started his opening set with — “Hi I’m Kenny and my jokes are stupid” — but his hour-long set proved just the opposite. ‘Rawmedy with Kenny Sebastian’ in association with t2 explored topics like things that make him sad (cold tea), poverty, mothers, maid problems, playing the guitar and delayed gratification. He ended the show with a song made with random words suggested by the audience — some of them being dhokla, smile and enema —and of course Snapchatting the entire audience because “if it’s not on social media, it didn’t really happen”. A t2 snap chat.

Many say that Malayalis and Bengalis are basically the same. What are your thoughts on that?

I think Bengalis and Malayalis are so comfortable in their skin that they never want to change. That’s how they’re the same. The more I travel, the more I realise that everyone’s the same.

The funniest English word according to you?

Entropy. Because it means chaotic and not in order but it sounds so refined. So it’s contradictory. And synopsis, just because it sounds funny.

If you were a dessert, what would you be and why?

Vanilla cheesecake. Vanilla because I’m pretty straightforward like vanilla, I’m cheesy as hell, and if I don’t have my base, which is my family and close friends, I’ll fall apart. The base basically makes up a cheesecake. Yeah, that was deep.

A song that best describes you?

I think I Wanna Be A Billionaire. But I’m so lazy that sometimes I’m shocked that I’ve got so much work done. 

Your favourite stand-up comic and why?

An all-time favourite is Jerry Seinfeld. But right now I love Bo Burnham, a 25-year-old from USA. He’s very meta comic. He has recently come out with a special called Make Happy which talks about how entertainers would do anything to get likes and fame. It’s brilliant!

The last thing you took a picture of on your phone?

This stage during sound check.

If one day you woke up as Batman, you would…

First, I would go for a drive in the Batmobile. Then, I would try out all the suits. Third, I would fight some crime, then take a nap. And then I would pretend to be rich and go to parties and listen to the people being corrupt and kick their ass as Batman. See, I have it all figured out.

If you weren’t a stand-up comic, you would be?

I’d be a musician, probably a failed musician. Also, I would love to teach. I was teaching songwriting to teenagers  for a little while, and it was very rewarding.

A signature Kenny joke…

Say a really bad joke and then make it up with funny expressions. Like haaaan? That’s how I make it work.

WHAT THEY SAID

Getting attention from someone you idiolise is a special moment. It was a moment worth remembering when Kenny picked me from the audience and sang a song for me — Vineet Kedia, Class XII, DPS Ruby Park

What I love the most about stand-up comedy is how carefree it is. The comedian doesn’t need to worry about offending the audience and the spectators do not resent the jokes cracked on them 
— Priyanka Jain, homemaker

‘Hyderabad is the wannabe Bangalore’ — I still can’t get over this line by Saurav Mehta! Kenny was brilliant as usual... and his voice is beautiful. It takes a lot of spontaneous wit to take words from the audience and make a song out of it! After the gut-wrenching boards and entrances, this show was just the stress buster I needed! — Namrata Dutta, passed out from Sushila Birla Girls’ School this year

This was my first Kenny Sebastian show. I’ve been fangirling him on YouTube for a while now and to finally see him live! The feeling hasn’t crept in yet. I am so glad I came today, after convincing my parents for a week! — Vaishali Arora, Class XII, DPS Newtown

We worked really hard to organise this charitable event. I was happy to see that it was attended by nearly 1,000 people, mostly in the age bracket of 18 to 25. Kenny has a huge fan following and we have got many requests to do a repeat show soon — Naman Ajitsaria, chairman, Kolkata Spartans Round Table 280

Text: Deborima Ganguly and Tanvi Chattoraj
Pictures: Arnab Mondal