Global Cool »
From code to comedy: Manoj Prabakar’s bold leap into the spotlight
A comic who swapped corporate life for global stages, Manoj brings sharp wit and disarming honesty everywhere he performs
By Pranay J
Chennai-born stand-up comedian Manoj Prabakar has built a career on sharp observation, quiet charm, and the kind of honesty that sneaks up on you and lands the loudest laugh. From moonlighting as a comic during his IT days to becoming the first Chennai-based comedian to pull off a full solo run at the Edinburgh Fringe, his journey is anything but ordinary. Thoughtful, self-made, and instinctively funny, Manoj speaks about growth, grit, and finding his true voice on stage.
Excerpts from our conversation:
You moved from the world of engineering/corporate life into stand-up — when did you realize comedy is your calling?
I always knew I would end up doing something creative; I was actually doing stand-up comedy parallelly to my IT job. Once comedy started picking up, I thought I will quit my IT job and try comedy full-time for a year and reassess it end of the year. I am glad that it worked out for good and I now only go to corporate offices if and when they invite me to perform a show for them (laughs).
How did your early environment shape your sense of humour? Were you always the funny one growing up?
Trying to be funny and creative was my defense mechanism, which in a way helped me get attention in my group when I was growing up; slowly, it started growing on me. I owe it to my father who I think was really funny, and to few of my friends who are not stand-up artistes but they are the funniest people I have ever met.
You recently performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival for a month. This was the first time a Chennai-based comedian had a full solo run at the festival. How was your experience there and what did it teach you?
Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival has been my goal for the last few years. I was working towards it by getting to know more about the festival. I also went to visit the fest as an audience before registering to perform, which gave me a lot of insights. A comedian friend of mine, Deepu Dileepan, who has performed at the Fringe earlier, helped me out a lot in terms of getting my show there. It was a great learning experience to perform for a diverse international crowd, where almost 75% of the audience are non Indians. It has resulted in a new-found confidence – now I can perform anywhere in the world irrespective of the crowd diversity. Watching a lot of other artistes and their shows brought me a new perspective about comedy writing.
Before you became Manoj Prabakar, the comedian, who were you trying to be?
I grew up in a very humble household in Chennai and being the first graduate from my family, I didn’t have much career guidance or didn’t even know what career options existed. I had to take up things that came my way and the goal was to find a steady job immediately after my engineering, which I successfully did. There was very less scope to analyse and find out about my passion or choose a career path. But whatever I ended up doing, I always made sure to give my best.
Was there anyone who told you not to pursue comedy—but ended up becoming your biggest fan later?
My parents were not approving of this in the beginning as they were worried how this would be as a career choice and thought of stand-up comedy as a futile exercise. As long as I was doing it as a hobby, they were fine. But once things picked up, they understood well. I am however not sure if they have become my fans yet (laughs).
Your comedy often feels observational yet personal—how do you decide which part of your life is ‘stage-worthy’?
After doing this for 11 years now, your brain gets tuned to things around you automatically and I guess that’s what has happened to me. By default, now I can distinguish things and filter them and find out what’s worth being told on stage. Once I am convinced, I work on that a bit more and take it to an open mic. At the end of the day, it’s the audience who is the judge.
Do you tend to write jokes first or stories first? What’s your creative flow like on a good writing day?
I try to make a note of things that happens to me or if I see the potential of something being funny. I then later go through all the ideas again and filter them and see if they are still worthy enough to proceed with. Whichever makes the cut, I start working on them. I try a mix of both jokes and story-telling and go with the flow. Based on audience response, jokes keep changing until material gets old or I feel bored of doing it, whichever happens first.
Whose laughter do you trust the most when testing new material—
family, friends, or strangers?
Strangers. Their response is genuine and reliable.
What’s something people assume about comedians that is completely wrong in your case?
That I am an extrovert and talk a lot. Also, they expect us to be funny off stage as well, which is an unnecessary pressure.
Which performance do you think changed the trajectory of your career?
I was one year into doing open mics and shows on and off — there was this show where I did a 15 minutes set for the first time and it killed really hard. That gave me so much confidence and made me feel like I belong here and should continue this.
What was the hardest period in your comedy journey, and what did it teach you?
There was this time when a joke of mine was taken out of context and a particular set of people came at me online, targeting me, my family and friends for a few days. It was difficult to make them understand the point of what I said. But then it was also a great learning in terms of how to act when such online trolling happens.
What’s the biggest misconception about success in stand-up that you wish newcomers understood?
That the success is not eternal and it takes a lot of effort to keep at it. Every new show and every new joke needs same enthusiasm and sincerity. Everyday is Day 1.
Who’s a comedian you’d be terrified yet thrilled to share a stage with?
It’s fun to share the stage with any comedian. There are a lot of comedians I admire and follow. If I had to choose one, I think it will be nice to open for Louis C.K. I like how his brain works.
Where do you see yourself five years from now as an artist, not just a comedian?
In 2025, I I took a big step in going international by performing at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. I would like to continue in that path and try to reach more global audiences. Five years from now, I would be happy if I end up having a Netflix special.
