Stand-up comedian Sundeep Rao is India's only partially blind comic. But, apart from a lifetime's supply of blind man jokes, the condition has affected him little, says Sonal Ved
I'm partially blind, so I can see enough to check out women," Sundeep Rao winked as he introduced himself to a roomful of people at Crossword bookstore in Mumbai. The audience let out a huge guffaw. And that was just the start to his little act.
Sundeep was in Mumbai to talk about how his condition, medically known as juvenile macular degeneration, has worked to his advantage instead of against him. But rather that going on about it in a rant-like fashion, he had the audience doubled up in laughter at the launch of Gifted: Inspiring Stories of People with Disabilities by Sudha Menon and V.R. Pherose last month.
While Sundeep has been doing standup since 2010, it is only recently that he started talking about his disability in an openly. "From being a comic who never spoke about his lack of sight on stage, I've now become a comic who talks only about it."
He admits that he initially tip-toed around the topic because he feared being typecast as a blind comic. But now, says the Bangalore-bred, "I do it anyway. For the attention, drama, empathy and mainly because it allows me to be who I am. Being on stage is liberating."
The funny man was once an IT company employee but realised after working for three years that it was boring. He made his debut at Vir Das' amateur night. One thing led into another from there on, and Sundeep is today one of the most established comedians in India with gigs across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Dubai and Singapore.
Apart from physical limitations like not being able to drive or walk around freely on the streets (well, that applies to everyone in Mumbai as well), Sundeep believes that there is nothing he can't do. The 31-year-old not only writes his own blog, he is prompt on email and text messages and is active on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter where he promotes himself as a comedian and puts up endless selfies.
For his acts, Sundeep comes up with fresh material and rehashes old jokes with every new show. His best ideas come to him at 4 am. "But I lose all of them as I go back to sleep," he jokes. The heart of his matter comes from his general observations and real life characters. "I will always have a distinct perspective to things because I have a filter through which I view life." According to Sundeep, India's standup comedy scene may be on the rise but there is also a dearth of those who are willing to nurture it. "As a comedian, I think it's our responsibility to explain the audience about the different kinds of comedies. Like what is good for a YouTube video is different from what works on a stage. But here everyone is doing everything."
His pet peeve is Indian comics shamelessly borrow jokes from international performers and pass as their own. "Since not too many Indians are exposed to good comedy, they end up liking what comes their way. But that's not an excuse to come up with mediocre stuff," says Sundeep.
Another problem he has with this country is that it is not friendly to people with disabilities. "I once asked aid from an air hostess telling her that I am partially blind. She said, 'Okay sir, I'll get you a wheelchair'." But there are ups too; "I've been driving on the streets for years but no one notices," he laughs. We laugh too.
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