'Comedy chose me,' says Jaspreet Singh

Mona

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The pandemic impacted each of us differently. For Amritsar’s stand-up comic Jaspreet Singh, it had a two-fold impact. For one, it made him feel grateful that despite coronavirus shutting down the world, he could carry on with his life. Two, he watched some good content – South Korean drama Parasite and Afsos, that made him rethink about his own craft. The result is, Koi Load Nahi on Amazon Prime Video.

“Two years of restricted life made me make some changes to how I approach my craft. After watching Parasite and Afsos on Amazon, I want to make content that lasts and transcends barriers.” The more Jaspreet travels, the more he realises that life is the same everywhere. No topic is off-limit for him. “The beauty about comedy is that it takes the seriousness out of anything grave,” he says.

But one rule that he follows is not to pursue the stereotypes. “Enough jokes have been cracked on Punjabis or Gujaratis. I don’t want to perpetuate any stereotypes.” So, his jokes go with ‘mere ghar mein’ which people from different background can relate to. “The other day, an Iranian came up to me after the show to share that he faces similar situations at home.”

Planning a special like Koi Load Nahi has taken Jaspreet close to three years. “A show or a video may go viral instantly, but putting together a special takes a lot of effort. It’s been shot like a film!”

While Jaspreet didn’t choose comedy, he believes comedy chose him. Right from his childhood, a ‘funny’ type kid, he was encouraged by his family. “And the day I realised that there is something like a standup comedy in India, I went for it.”

A computer engineer, he worked with MNCs five days a week and dedicated the weekends for shows. He made comedy his mainstay.

In Amritsar, a city where he grew up, Jaspreet enjoyed the easy pace of life after a long time. “Here everything is chilled out, there’s no mad rush. I enjoyed my extended stay in Amritsar after a long time.”

Basking in the glory that his special is getting, Jaspreet shares that each incident narrated in the show is real. “It has either happened to me, or my brothers. Life is full of material!”

Ask him about the Oscar fiasco, and he says, “For us, both are celebs. We grew up on Will Smith’s films and Chris Rock’s specials. While you should register your grudge against an act if you may, there is no coming back from a slap.” As for touching sensitive issues, Jaspreet says, “Comedy is to take seriousness away from life. And yes, no subject is or should be a taboo!”

Ask him if he has any ‘load’ and he replies, “Nothing much. Life comes with its ups and downs. Whenever there is some ‘load’, I de-stress with music,” he signs off.