INTERVIEW

Afood writer, author and television personality Kunal Vijayakar is well- known for, among other things, his great comic timing. He has associated with several acclaimed TV shows, and anchored one of the country’s most popular food shows The Foodie: With Kunal Vijayakar.

He is now set to return, with his longtime friend Cyrus Broacha, on stage, where he’d be doling out comic insights on how life changes at the age of 40. He speaks to Guardian 20 about political satire, and why he has always found it difficult to be funny about food. Q. You are doing a standup comedy show on life post40. Could you talk about that? A. Well, I don’t think we should call it a standup comedy show completely, because it is a little different to what a standup comedy show actually is. Standup comedy has one person standing and telling jokes, this show of ours falls a little into the formats of both a standup and a review. We’ve got a little bit of interaction with the audience, there is Cyrus [Broacha] telling jokes and then there is me with a little bit of sketch comedy on stage. You could call it “Standup comedy +++” Q. You have always been a connoisseur of food. And yet, your humour —going by the sketches you have presented — rarely touches upon the topic that seems to be closes to your heart, food. Why do you think that is so? A. Because I take food very seriously! So I find it difficult to be funny about food and when there is food in front of me, I forget all other things. I forget about being funny, and end up making a point, about society, about geography, history, everything else. Hence I don’t have any humour coming out of it, but since you have brought it to my notice, I am going to make an effort to do that. Q. You are a food writer, author and also a television personality. Which