Last year has been quite the journey for Kanan Gill. From his pioneering role in the stand-up comedy scene to starring in a Norwegian Christmas film, Christmas As Usual and releasing his debut fiction, Acts of God, alongside his relentless stand-up tours, Gill has been on a roll. He tackles our rapid-fire questions with his trademark wit and humour.
Your one line stage intro.
The actual intro, I insist upon, is no more than, ‘put your hands together, for Kanan Gill’.
First memory of your performance.
First memory of stand up was being deliriously excited to be on stage, even when there was no stage, just a spot between two occupied tables. I don’t quite remember what I said or whether anyone laughed, I just remember feeling like I could do this.
What does freedom mean to you?
A freedom from fear.
First job you were hired for.
Technically: to write reviews for tech products for a website that never paid me.
If you were to give a blurb of your book, what would it be?
A cat and a mouse game between creator and created, set in a genre that tries to straddle prose and plot.
The one cure you stand by to overcome a creative block.
The firm belief that creative blocks are the many disguises of fear of rejection and thus without tangible existence.
A book that left an indelible impression on you.
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut.
What’s your occupational hazard?
For stand up? Travelling twenty three hours to perform for one hour. It wears you out.
The one ritual you can’t do away with.
A reasonable cup of black coffee at some point during the day.
Three people you would love to invite for your show.
All multicellular organisms are welcome.
If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I think I’ve performed almost everywhere the comedy circuit goes already. I’m yet to perform anywhere in South America, hoping to do that this year.
Which comics did you grow up admiring?
Eddie Izzard, Mitch Hedberg and all comics in India owe a debt to Russel Peters in some way.
Last time you did something for the first time.
Last year I participated in the Tiramisu World Cup. Definitely a first and probably a last.
Your favourite ‘time pass’.
Developing new hobbies to immediately abandon.
The last ‘pretentious movie’ you watched.
I’m an avid admirer of terrible movies, so far too many to name.
If you had a shrinking device, what’s the first thing you will miniaturise?
All my solipsistic concerns and that floating pile of plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean.
If you were a fly on the wall, whose wall would it be?
The prospect of being a fly on any surface also comes burdened with having the mind of a fly, so I think my concerns would shift from any potential espionage to finding some food to sit on.
What’s your overused phrase?
‘I see what you’re saying...’
Why do you do what you do?
Because I enjoy it so very much and in the face of imminent and unavoidable death, doing what you like seems like a good plan.
Words Paridhi Badgotri
Date 17.08.2024