Winning over the audience with clean humour

“My first three specials were about my observation on movies, cricket and current affairs. It was easy to do. The fourth was my first Tamil special called 36 Vayathinile — it was a combination of personal stories and observation. After that, I decided to challenge myself by saying only stories without taking anybody’s names. I took time to work on it because it is really challenging for a stand-up to writing a special without any name dropping. Somehow, I managed to do it,” says Praveen. 

His recent Tamil stand-up show Mr Family Man that’s on Amazon Prime Video is about the difficulties of being a family man. Praveen believes it is easy to be a superhero, but extremely difficult to be a family man. “While superheroes come to save the day once in a while, a family man has to do the same every day and he is no less than a superhero. I always wanted the stand-up comedy to be watched by everyone in the family and not just youngsters or adults. So, while writing this special, I have made sure that it is clean humour and appropriate for all age groups. The show is based on my personal experiences and observes the life of common south Indians. I like to find humour in the everyday activities of people, which makes it easy for the audience to relate,” he adds.

Being in the stand-up industry for over a decade, Praveen says that the best way for a comedian to improve is by challenging him/herself. “I have come a long way in this and it’s not an easy thing to master. Throughout the day, you cannot sit and think about jokes. Live your life, see the world around with funny eye and jokes will come automatically. For me, talking about my life and whatever happens around me is easier. Because I don’t have to clarify with anyone and nobody will get offended with my jokes,” sums up Praveen.