My wife and daughter are my first critics: ‘Mr Family Man’ star Praveen Kumar

Popular comedian Praveen Kumar is in the limelight because of this latest stand-up special Mr Family Man that went live on Amazon Prime Video a few days ago. Speaking exclusively to DH, he opens up about his professional journey and his ‘first critics’.

(Edited excepts)

What encouraged you to come up with Mr Family Man?

The show is my way of showing how men do not often get enough credit for the work they do at home. They do chores and other things in the house but it is overlooked. The show is titled Mr Family Man as it has a superhero feel to it. Just like we have Batman and Superman, there is Family Man.

You daughter conveys a message to the audience right at the beginning of the show

I have used her voice/video in other shows as well as it acts as the key for the family audience as it sets the stage for clean humour.

Did you take inspiration from your personal life for the show?

I am at home most of the time and do a lot of household chores. So, there’s no doubt that a lot of the jokes used on the show are based on my personal experiences.
 

How did your wife and daughter react to Family Man?

They are my first critics and make it a point to troll me at each and every opportunity. My wife gave me inputs for the shopping gigs that are used in Mr Family Man.

How did you tryst with comedy begin?

I did comedy skits during my college days. Later, in 2008, I read about the stand-up comedy scene in India and this interested me. In 2014, I took it up fulltime as a profession.

Did you face any challenges during the initial years?

The transition was quite smooth as I got a good Word of Mouth (WoM). So, that way, things were easy.

How different is performing for the Indian janta when compared to performing for a western/International audience?

Performing for non-Indians is a bit challenging as the humour has to be generic and you cannot have too many culture-specific (desi) references.

How are you coping with the (extended) lockdown?

The initial days were difficult but now we have realised that this will be a part of life.