PAPA CJ - AMBASSADOR OF HAPPINESS

Positive energy, charming personality, and focus are the words that define him. One thing is clear, this funnyman has gone where no Indian stand-up comic in English has gone before

- Eshita Bhargava

IT’S A TYPICAL day at work, with deadlines to meet, stories to finish and an important event to attend. But there’s nothing typical about this man, who’s the global face of Indian stand-up comedy. Papa CJ has won awards for being both India's and Asia's best stand-up comedian. In 2018, Harvard Business Review called him one of the most influential comedians in the world.

Tall and lithe, with his long hair tied neatly in a ponytail, he is sitting casually, waiting for me before the scheduled time at Blue Tokai Coffee in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar. Dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans, cap and chappals, he politely asks me what I would like to have, giving me a few options on hearing that I’m lactose intolerant. “You can try coffee with soya milk if that’s not a problem, or maybe hot chocolate.”

I settle down and we start our not-so-formal interview around his recently launched autobiography, Naked. When I got in touch with Papa CJ, he was interested in doing an email interview rather than a face-to-face interaction and it left me with questions. “With humour I have to be particular in what I say because every single word has a meaning and nuance within a joke. If you’re not recording the interview and happen to put one word in the wrong place, it can kill the joke. The reader will not laugh and then think I’m not funny.”

If you have watched the show Naked, you would know that Papa CJ takes offhis clothes on stage. “The book is based on a show that I’ve been performing,” he explains. “While I do take physical layers off, it’s more about the emotional layers. Each time I reveal something, where I feel I’m being vulnerable, as I expose myself in front of the audience, I symbolically take offa physical layer. The book is about being comfortable in your own skin.”