In the last two years, Rahul Dua has established himself as a notable standup comic in India. He shot to fame with Amazon Prime's reality show, Comicstaan. Post that, many clips from his standup performances have gone viral on YouTube. The mellow, humourous relatability of his material is charismatic. He teamed up with Prime once again for a ten-minutes special that he shot for during the lockdown. In an exclusive chat with LatestLY, Rahul talks about his set, his past experience in banking and sales, and, of course, the comedy discourse about drawing the line.

What is your set about? What was it's inspiration?

My inspiration was nothing. When this deal came about I looked around and tried to figure out what will work as it was very different from a live stand-up recording. No audience, no mic in my hand, no auditorium. So, I thought lockdown will definitely work but not too much of it. So, I tried to strike a balance; I talked about finding myself in a house and around family.

How did the lockdown treat you? Were you scarce on inspiration or were you able to use it to your advantage?

I am so very grateful that this lockdown happened - it did get stretched a bit - because I could work on my personal as well as professional growth. I am a workaholic, so I don't take a lot of breaks. This was a forced break and I am enjoying it with no deadline.

As far as my personal growth is concerned I have started focussing on what I eat. I try to get up early. I try to work out. I try to meditate, focus on physical and mental health.

I got a lot of time to spend with my family which otherwise would not have been able to. I have been out of my since 2008, so after 12 years I got to spend time with my family.

As far as creative inspiration is concerned, I do not usually find myself in a creative block or writer's block. I keep pushing myself to try out different things. Initially, I found it difficult to adjust but gradually I tried to use this platform for experimentation. I am trying to use this spare time, so to say, to my advantage.

How har your life changed since your breakthrough on Comicstaan?

Comicstaan happened long, long time ago. It was shot in 2017, and aired in mid-2018. So, we are taking two years down the line. Of course, credit where it is due, Comicstaan catapulted me into the big league. Then, of course, my YouTube videos also helped. It was a cumulative effect with Comictsaan being at the helm of it. It was a great learning experience, interacting with my mentors and idols, the best of the industry. Trying to figure out what their creative process is.

My work ethics during Comicstaan was amazing but post that I have not been able to match it. I regret it. If I matched even 50% of my work ethic that was during Comicstaan, I would be doing much better in terms of material generation.

How were your years in banking? Must have gotten a lot of content?

My years in banking were...during that time I used to think how badly my life sucked. I have to work seven days a week. I have to report to a shitty manager. I have to be a part of a toxic work environment. I am not doing any productive work because initially, you are only assisting the relationship manager. I used to crib which is the reason I quit. But in hindsight, I am very very grateful to that work environment because baking taught me how to work properly. In fact, banking taught me both - how to work and how to get the work done.

After that, I worked with Star also but the kind of work ethics from banking is what I carry with me to date. There are countries where army training are mandatory after graduation, so in India if there cannot be a mandatory army training at least there should be one year of mandatory banking experience. They make you human.

I try to find content from good and happy things, from nice memories and stories. I don't like to revisit those lanes that gave me sadness - or not so much happiness - to create content. And that is why I did not create a lot of content on banking.

You have also worked at Star? How was it trying to bring ads?

My experience of working as an ad sales manager for Star was quite to opposite to banking. It was a fun ride for the first year but then the pressure started mounting when other channels started doing well and my channel dipped. Leadership also changed. It all started going downhill after a year. I quit after 22 months.

But unlike banking, the reason was no displeasure with the work, work environment and the boss. I quit Star because I was doing well in the comedy scene and I was making just enough money for bread and butter. With the age on my side, I could have experimented and I gave myself two years to see where comedy takes me. If nothing works out, I had my education and qualification to fall back upon and I could take up a corporate job. So, I took that leap of faith and came to comedy. But it was a great experience visiting clients and negotiating with them, trying to get more and more business which helped my interpersonal skills.

Do we draw a line comedy? If yes, where?

Comedy is for fun. Comedy is a way to spread happiness and a very good way. It is an art form. You cannot put art into a mould. You cannot box it. You cannot cage it. It is a web of words after all. But when the comedy stops being fun for the audience, hurts them, I think we should draw a line there.

Now, the hurt is also of two types. One is when you actually get hurt. It is scientifically, logically, emotionally, in every sense of the word, letter and spirit is a hurtful statement to give.

While the second kind of hurt is more prevalent these days. People are getting hurt for no rhyme and reason. If you made a sexist, classist, homophobic, racist joke that hurt the feelings of a person or a group, I think that is wrong.

But if you have joked and made a political satire, and feelings get hurt, now that I think is unwarranted for in my opinion. That should not happen. Comedy is a plant, keep watering and fertilising it, and it will bear good fruits. Don't try to cage it. There can be a line but don't draw unnecessary lines. If there is any such line, if it's with a pen, tear up the paper and if it's drawn by pencil, take an eraser from me.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2020 12:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).