Femina India – August 09, 2019

THE BIG STORY

CANNON

ouknowhowpeopleshow

potentialfora particular

skillfromchildhood?

Inmycase,I grewup

witha verypainfulolderbrother

whohadnoqualmsbeatingthe

crapoutofme.Tobefairtohim,I was

alwaysa tomboysoheneverthought

hewasbeatingupa girl.I remember

beingthescrawnyone,andobviously

couldnotbeathimback.Theyears

I considermygoldenyearsaretheones

whenhehadbraces.I couldliterally

smackhimonthemouthandrunlike

crazytosavemyself.I usedtowrite

nastylimericksformybrother.

I wouldwaitforhimtogototheloo

andI’dstandoutsideandrecitewhatI’d

written.HewouldburstoutandI would

run.It wasthereforediagnosedthat

I waseithergoingtobea longdistance

sprinterora comedian.I wouldliketo

believethatwastheorigin.

Thenlater,mymotherthought

I wouldbea misfitina regularjob,so

suggestedI takeupadvertisingandit

turnedouttobegreat!I spenta good 12

yearsinthefield,andretiredassenior

creativedirectoratJ WalterThompson.

I wasdoingwellformyselfbutit was

a lotofgriefwithclientsgivingbriefs

aswellasdictatingtheheadlineto

me!Once,forthisparticularlydifficult

client,I rememberspending 48 hours

straightinofficetomeettheirtheme

brief,andgoingintotheirofficewith

multipleoptions.Suddenly,instead

ofdiscussingthecreatives,theywent

backtodiscussingthebriefs!Atthat

moment,I stormedoutoftheiroffice,

buthadtostormbackinbecauseI had

leftmychappalsbehind.It reallyruined

theeffect,man!Afterresigningfrom

there,SesameStreethappened,andI

totallyfellinlovewithmuppets.I spent

fiveseasonswithit andlovedit.

I rememberbeinga fanofthe

improvshowWhoseLineIs It Anyway?.

I rememberattendinga showwithColin

MochrieandBradSherwoodinIndia,

wheretheyneededvolunteersforevery

round.I wascalledfora soundeffects

round,whereI didthesoundeffectsfor

Colinwhentheyplayedouta situation.

Forinstance,if ColinsaidI openedthe

cardoor,I’dgolike‘aaaaiiiiinnnnn’. He

wentontocrackjokesonmysound

effects,like‘OhmyGodthat’sa creaky

car,I mustfirstoilthecar,’butI was

relentless.I went‘chinkichinki’forthe

oilingeffect.I amreallyonomatopoeic

inlifeaswellsothisroundwastailor-

madeforme;I hada blast.WhenI was

gettingoffthestage,Colinsaid,‘Suchan

innocentfacebutsucha devil!’It washe

whosuggestedthatI trystand-up.

Atthatpoint,I didn’tevenknowthat

aisakuchhaiIndiamein. I gotluckythere

becausea fewpeoplewhoranopenmics

approachedme,askingmetotryit out.

I wentonstagefullofconfidenceand

I didreallywell.Gradually,I pickedup.

InmyheadI wasleadinga Superman-

likelife—theonlydifferencebeingby

dayI wasa writer,bynightI was

a comic,nota superhero.

That’showit started.I ama fairly

happyperson,andI onlywanttomake

peoplelaugh.I havenoaimofchanging

anythoughtprocesses.I can’teven

convincemyownpeopletoletmehave

a puppy,whatwillI goandchangethe

thoughtprocessesoftheworld?Besides,

I alwaysremindmymomabouthowshe

usedtowarnmenottotalktostrangers;

now,I makea livingoutofit.

—AstoldtoShraddhaKamdar

NEETIPalta

FROM BEING A TOMBOY

TO OFFERING SOUND

EFFECTS AND SHOOTING

OFF HER MOUTH, SHE’S

COMEA LONGWAY

CREATIVE

Y In my head

I was leading a

superman-like life_

the only difference

being by day I was

a writer, by night

I was a comic.

PHOTOGRAPH: OML ENTERTAINMENT PVT LTD