India@70: The corporate guy who became a comedian

Back in 2007, one wasn’t accustomed to Indians being routinely told (by fellow Indians) to go to Pakistan at the slightest difference of opinion. The society was still agreeing to disagree. Clouds were what brought rain, not where you sent your files to hibernate. Commerce hadn’t gained an ‘e’, retail hadn’t lost its ‘r’ (Flipkart was launched in September 2007, Amazon arrived in 2012). Twitter was a toddler (the company was a year old, and Katy Perry hadn’t even joined!). Music meant effort, it was burned, rather than streamed. And Tinder was what you needed to light a fire (which you still do, but in a very different way).

Seems much more than 10 years ago, doesn’t it?

We bring you the stories born in the last decade, that didn't exist during India@60. This is the story of an individual who may not have been what they are today, if not for the changes that India has seen over the decade between 2007 and 2017.

The corporate guy who became a comedian

Comedians love picking on subjects around them. Often, their favourite targets are themselves or their immediate family. “I became a proud father today,”

Mor

says in one his gigs, with a deadpan face. A congratulatory applause follows from the audience, which turns into laughter when he adds, “Actually, I became a father 16 years ago but I became proud of my son only today.” His friends, and colleagues at

Microsoft

, would have been familiar with his funny bone but India’s growing comedy club got its latest full-time entrant only last year when Mor gave up his senior executive job at the

MNC

. It seemed the right time to take the plunge because standup comedy was beginning to shape up as an industry and become a part of the entertainment scene; today, an evening at a weekend comedy gig is a perfectly acceptable alternative to, or even preferable to, going to the cinema. “Most of our good comedians have been around for 6-7 years or longer and they went through a phase when there was nothing, no platform to perform, no clubs, corporate shows or gigs at pubs. That way, now is a good time,” Mor says. “It’s also a great time for content. There is no dearth of issues around with all the drama that is unfolding.”

One must, however, be aware of the limits of laughter, he says in his trademark style. “Everything in the country is today at a tension level. I don’t know why. You can’t talk about issues, you can’t point fingers and you better stay away from controversial topics.”