Writing humour and bringing it to the readers, many authors have tried and succeeded but transitioning from a stand-up comedian, who is supposed to write witty punchlines while working in a time frame and word limits to going overboard and penning down an elaborate narrative of one’s work, is extraordinary. But Papa CJ, one of the most acclaimed stand-up comedians of the nation, recently took up the challenge and published his autobiography under the name ‘Naked’.
The ‘Global face of Indian stand-up’, Papa CJ was in the town talking about his book at Merak, the newly launched urban oasis at JW Marriott Hotel, Bengaluru. The Tete-a-tete event saw participation from Bengaluru’s elite crowd, who came to hear their favourite celebrity speak.
The event started with an introduction to the guests followed by a conversation between Shreya Krishnan, a gender activist and Papa CJ, who kept the evening cheerful and the crowd, engrossed. The comedian shared a few anecdotes from his life and told the audience about his gradual shift from comedy to writing. When asked what he would choose, CJ answered, “Anyday Stand Up!”, without any hesitation and that’s when we realized how deeply the act to spread happiness among the people is rooted in him.
In his conversation, he also joked about his choice of entering the writers’ club for the free subscription of Amazon. The winning streak of the event was when Papa CJ got up from his chair and came into his own zone putting up a small act for the audience which totally came in like a surprise. The entire area occupied by almost 50 people instantly lit up with laughter and applause and why not, after all, it was Papa CJ.
Talking more about his book which surely is going to make you laugh and is inspired by his own show ‘Naked’, Papa CJ said “Naked is the story of my life and the book has given me the opportunity to create an enriching experience to the audience by including anecdotes from life and layers of emotion that a stand-up comedy stage would not allow me the luxury of. The end result, therefore, is a manuscript that has five times the content of the show and the punchiness of stand-up integrated into the narrative freedom of print. I thank the team at Merak, the newly launched space at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru for offering this platform to me to share my story.”
The evening was followed by a book signing session by Papa CJ where the comedian turned author wrote special messages for each and every person and made the evening even more memorable for the audience.
