Kenny Sebastian on breaking rules in stand-up comedy and finding self-worth

NEW DELHI: With comic Kenny Sebastian, you don’t just get a stand-up act, you get a performance.

Often accompanied by a guitar on his ‘Chai Time’ sets available on YouTube, in his first solo Netflix Original comedy special, “Kenny Sebastian: The Most Interesting Person in the Room”, Sebastian included a harmonium to somewhat give the experience of a fusion concert to the audience.

The 29-year-old comedian-musician said his journey began with music and after graduating to theatre and films, he “luckily” came into comedy.

“Music has given me a lot of joy. I’m very close to music. I had a band where I used to make the audience laugh in between the performances,” Sebastian said in an interview.

When he started out, he found that the usual rule about stand-up – a comic talking in front of a microphone – “extremely restrictive”.

“I was like who made this rules because I tend to make jokes in multiple formats. It was very obvious to me that why won’t I use every avenue – lighting, stage, props and music – I have to make jokes.”

Sebastian said he was initially averse to putting a lot of music in the special, but fellow comics-friends Kannan Gill and Abish Mathew urged him to not “undermine” this aspect. (AGENCIES)