It is humour unlimited for stand-up comedian, Naveen Richard

“Kottayam was great. I enjoyed the crowd and the vibe,” says stand-up comedian Naveen Richard. He was recently in the city for his show, 'Family Friendly Jokes for Friendly families and Unmarrieds Also' organised by The Purple Crayons at Hotel Aida.

Naveen took the stage following the opening act by Vinay Menon. His topics were many: RT-PCR test, internet privacy, online buying habits, bachelor life and so on.

Naveen agrees that it is not easy to come up with back-to-back jokes to last a one-hour show. “It is unpredictable when an idea for a joke strikes. We cannot force it. When it comes, I note it down. Some of these jokes work and some won't. With time, I tighten it and make it better to make it more relatable to the audience,” he explains.

Though he is one of the sought-after stand-up comedians in the country now, it was not always his dream profession as a child. “It was not a thing back then. I secretly wanted to be on television. I used to try out different characters and voices in front of a. I used to participate in plays in school and towards the end of my college studies it (stand-up comedy show) started picking up in India. I started doing it and continue it,” he says.

Though the lockdown was hard on most artistes, Naveen says that he did a lot of online corporate shows then. “I enjoyed it, but I don't think it worked out for a lot of comedians. It was easy because I could keep a list of my jokes in front of me. At a venue, getting the light, sound and seating etc right is very important. But when the show goes online, we can forget about all that,” he says.

What about the stand-up scene in Kerala? “It is very young. There are many upcoming artists and we still have a long way to go.”