The other side of Hong Kong’s funniest comedian

MANILA, Philippines—Getting invited to a Comedy Manila show is something this writer looks forward to because attending one always equates to a night of genuine and nonstop laughter.

That in itself, to be honest, is already great.

But in truth, what’s even greater about this production, Comedy Manila that is, is that the people involved in it—Founders GB Labrador and Eri Neeman, and regular fellows Victor Anastacio, James Caraan, Red Ollero, Ryan Rems Sarita, and Allex Calleja—will stop at nothing in bringing the best of this revolutionized brand of stand up comedy to the country.

This weekend, the Comedy Manila production is treating the Filipino populace not only to its usual, extremely funny sets but to a two-night show that will have Hong Kong’s funniest comedian, Vivek Mahbubani, on board.

And to give us a glimpse of what’s in store for Filipino stand up comedy fans this weekend, here’s a couple of things about Comedy Manila’s main man this week:

Vivek Mahbubani

Vivek is an Indian national who was born and raised in Hong Kong and grew up speaking both Cantonese and English. According to him, he has always been fascinated with stand up comedy as he finds “the simplicity of just holding a mic and talking for an hour while the audience cracks up” mind-blowing.

But before he dabbled in comedy, Vivek was into web design and development, as well as music. In 2007, his career took a 180-degree turn after he joined a stand up comedy competition where he won the “Chinese Funniest Comedian” title at the Hong Kong Comedy Festival. He bagged the “English Funniest Comedian” award at the same festival in 2008.

Although still working as a web designer and developer and a musician, Vivek started doing stand up shows across Hong Kong and even abroad following his success.

More about Vivek

Asked what made him decide to accept his November 28 gig at Music Hall in Metrowalk, Ortigas and November 29 at Treehouse Tavern in A-Venue mall, Makati, Vivek said “As a comedian, you’re always looking for that next funny adventure… So being invited to perform in the Philippines alongside some of its funniest and brightest comedians (some of whom I’ve met, seen perform and even shared the stage with) was definitely an adventure I wanted to engage in as well as an honor to add to my comedy history.”

But in terms of stand up comedy audience, the Hong Kong-born Indian comedian who considers Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Eddie Murphy as his biggest influences shared that in his point of view, stand up comedy in the Philippines is slowly changing as “people are craving for more sophistication in what makes them laugh,” similar to Hong Kong where “the English comedy scene has a lot of more mature, Western performers,” he said.

A little personal

Vivek said that the topic of choosing just one among three his careers; comedy, design, and music, is a “very, very, very tough issue” for him. But if forced, Vivek said he will go with comedy for the reason that “it’s a very human-connection type of performance where I can’t talk to a wall (though I often do) and consider it a great show. It feeds off of the energy provided by another person and that’s something you can’t easily replace with another career/activity.”

Asked if he considers himself a comedian by nature, his response was “Not really. I don’t find myself particularly entertaining nor do I feel a need to be entertaining off stage. I’m generally quite quiet off stage,” but whenever he is with people that he gets along with, “things flow naturally,” he explained.

“My comedy does take effort but through practice and experience, it definitely has become part of my system, like if you throw me into a situation and said ‘make me laugh,’ somehow my reflex reactions would kick in and a joke should happen before I even realized it…..at least I hope,” he added.

In terms of “happiness,” Vivek said, “I guess being a comedian has its darker side in the sense [that] you learn to see all angles of a situation and when you see something go horribly wrong, you wonder ‘why didn’t they just do this instead?’ and it frustrates you because often times things may seem simple yet they don’t happen. Nonetheless I’d consider myself a grateful person.”

Fulfillment in comedy

And while stand up comedy seems like an easy-going job, Vivek finds it both challenging and fulfilling when he sees “someone try to keep their arms folded, their face still while watching your show and eventually breakout out a smirk, then a giggle then just letting loose and enjoying themselves.”

“It’s a different type of accomplishment where you didn’t ‘make someone laugh’ but made someone who had no intention of laughing… laugh. That feeling is awesome because you can’t fake it,” he said. “In other words, I could have told the guy ‘put your hands down, smile a bit’ and he may have followed those orders and loosened up, but instead, I could make him do that voluntarily, breaking through his own decision to cross his arms at first, through my originally crafted ideas/comedy, that is a fulfilling feeling,” he continued.

Just do it

And when asked whether he encounters “cold feet” before hitting the stage, Vivek answered, “Before every show I get nervous, but it’s a good nervous where I’m excited because I want to do a great job.” “If I was clam, I’d be worried because it would seem like a part of me didn’t care or wasn’t excited about what was to come,” he added.

“There have been situations where right before I go on stage I’m super duper worried, but I always remind myself, the hardest part of a lot of crazy things are that first step. Like bungee jumping or having your first swim. Once you push yourself off the edge, it’s no longer an ‘Am I ready for this? Can I do this? What will happen?’ but more of a survival thing where ‘OMG!! I better deal with this nowwwww!!!!!’ and I find once you get the motions going, things are usually scarier in your head and reality is usually much easier than you expected.”

For aspiring stand-up comedians

Given his “go for it” attitude towards things, Vivek’s piece of advice for aspiring stand-up comedians is to “always believe [in] yourself.” “No matter how seasoned you are, every single joke you write is a rookie-joke and that means if you keep doubting yourself, you’re going to be making a rookie-mistake for the rest of your career. Don’t try to imitate but try to find your own voice through self-discovery,” he said.

For the Filipino audience

For the crowd that he will be seeing this coming weekend, Vivek said, “Guys, I know you may be wondering ‘this guy looks more like a terrorist than a comedian’ but come to my show I promise to prove you wrong.”

The Vivek Mahbubani Live in Manila was organized by Comedy Manila.