Stand-up comedians Sapan Varma, Prajakta Koli: Be open to feedback

Sapan Verma and Prajakta Koli share a laugh along with plates of food at Sancho's in Khar West. Pics/Ashish Raje

Youtube sensation Prajakta Koli and ace stand-up comedian Sapan Verma bonded over a delicious meal at Sancho's restaurant as a part of mid-day's Lunchbox series. The duo spoke in detail about critics, fans, social media trolls, creating content on a digital medium and much more.

Excerpts from the interview.

Can you tell us about your interaction with fans?

Prajakta Koli happily stated that she likes meeting her fans personally than on social media as it gives her fan face and not just a username. Whenever my fans ask me for a selfie, I encourage them to first talk more about their selves like their name, what they like and what do they do? Because I love talking to them in person and I think its a great feeling. She also stated most of her fans are warm and sweet as people on the internet know that they are consuming hence they are responsible and she never had to face any crazy fan moment.

Have you been trolled ever on social media?

Prajakta Koli said she has been trolled all the time but in a light and fun way. When asked the duo how do they prepare themselves for it, Sapan Verma replied saying the moment a political and religious stand is taken, the trolling begins. He also added that this kind of trolling is vicious and has never gone beyond the digital platform. He believes trolling is pointless and there's no point in discussing it.

Sapan Verma also stated how the audience feedback is important when it comes to stand-up comedy, "The viewers have to laugh at your jokes, so when I put a video on YouTube, I am skeptical about which punch line will work and which will not. Stand up comedy gives you instant response but when it comes to YouTube, you have to wait for the comments and likes to know if people liked your content hence you have to listen to be open to your audience feedback in stand up comedy.

Prajakta Koli, on the other hand, said she is proud of her fans as they are sweet, warm and appreciate all the artists. She also said, "Tattoos on her fans put her a little off. I had 4 instances where three of my fans had a written tattoo and one had a face tattooed on his arm. I did not know how to react to it."

Where do you see stand up going in the next few years?

Sapan Verma explains that Stand up live started around in the year 2010-2011 and reached YouTube around 2014. So earlier, stand up was only a scene but now its an industry. Scene meant everybody knew everybody. When I started out, I knew everybody's punchline by heart but now there are more than 500 open mics in Mumbai itself. The stand-up scene is now bursting which is great. So two things are happening at the same time with stand up, one is comedians are reaching the roots of the country like Zakir performed in Bhavnagar and Jammu and Kashmir, I did a show in Shillong.

Earlier, stand up was only limited to cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad but now if I go for a tour, I know I can do 40 states easily and get a good response.

Do you think there is a saturation point for Indian comedy?

Sapan Verma stated that there would come a saturation point when a lot of people find their voices and try to ape other comedians like people trying to do Zakir voice. So to avoid this, you need to find your own voice. While creating content you have to majorly think of the consumption of the content and it is very important as a content creator to understand your audience's psyche.

How do you get to know your audience?

Prajakta Koli explained that in order to know your audience you have to be open to feedback and to meet midway between the content you like and enjoying doing and the content your audience like watching. But, according to Sapan Verma, it is different for stand up comedy as relatable content revolving around Indian parents, mentality and small-town jokes work more. He added, "My recent special has two themes, one is slightly evolved but I don't think it will appeal to the larger audience but its a next-level thing for me and the second theme is broader about parents and India which is very relatable and I know it will get good views but I won't be very happy with it as I know it already exists on the internet.

Watch the full video: Prajakta Koli and Sapan Verma on fans, trolls and critics!

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