Rolling with the punches

WHEN reviews of Netflix Standup Comedy 2018 series by Hollywood bibles The Wrap and Indiewire came in, many Malaysians zeroed in on the fact that Harith Iskandar came in last with his show I Told You So.
However, most people forgot to celebrate another local comedian who ranked quite high in the rankings. Comedian Kavin Jay's show Everybody Calm Down was ranked 8th on The Wrap, and 11th on IndieWire.
Kavin's journey to stand up comedy started when he was studying engineering the the UK and used to frequent comedy clubs.
"I was interested in comedy but I never wanted to do comedy there," said Kavin, 38.
When he returned in 2002 he really that the stand up comedy scene here was severely limited, with regulars being Harith, Joanne Kam and Jit Murad doing it on a regular basis.
It was something he knew he could do but pushed it aside opting to concentrate on his career as an engineer.
"My brother would always encourage me to give it a try. When my brother suddenly passed away in May 2009 at age 29 of a heart attack, I was left thinking life is too short to not do what you want to do."
In August that same year, Kavin and his cousin Andrew Netto, took the plunge into the world of stand up comedy by inviting 150 friends to a pub in Damansara Intan for a one-off live show.
"For Andrew it went very well, for me it went horribly wrong," said Kavin.
"A month later there was an open mic event called Free Flow in Actor's Studio at Bangsar Shopping Centre, Andrew heard about it and said we should do it. Harith was there too.
Andrew stood out during the group and Harith roped him to be the opening act for his shows."
Though he did not set the comedy world on fire then, he did get to meet other up and coming stand up comedians such as Papi Zak and Kuah Jenhan. They became close and even did shows together.
Kavin cut his teeth performing in local pubs, eventually moving on to local comedy events in Kuala Lumpur, and later performing across Malaysia and Southeast Asia. He has also done shows in India, Australia and Scotland.
At first, he juggled his comedy with a full time job, first as an engineer (maritime and mechanical), and finally as a radio presenter. But four years ago, Kavin moved into stand-up comedy full-time.
So how did he get on Netflix's radar? "Well there were
looking for three comedians. They had already zeroed in on Harith and Fakkah Fuzz (from Singapore) and they had six months to prepare. I was helping Harith with his content and then I flew to Edinburgh. When I came back, they were shooting (for the show in August 2017) and I said to Harith 'good luck!'.
"He said: 'You too!' I was wondering why and he said: 'You are the opening act'."
Kavin only had one month to prepare. He said: "What they said was 'Do you. Do what you do and people will find out'."
Kavin gave up some gigs in Australia to concentrate on this show on Netflix and it paid off. It also helps that his comedy had always been designed to appeal to a wide audience.
Regarding his show being overshadowed by Harith's poor reviews, Kavin said: "I believe it is sensationalism. People wanted to read about Harith coming in last and not about someone coming in eight, because it was not first place."
Kavin in fact did better than acclaimed comedians such as Ricky Gervais and Marlon Wayans.
"These reviews are great but I am happy that my special is out there and people are enjoying it. The bests comments I am getting are from private viewers. Ninety percent of my viewers are from US and Canada."
He also has plans to work with Netflix in the future and is even writing a script for a sitcom with some partners.
"One of the first things I learned as a comedian, is that if you want to make fun of other people, you have to first make fun of yourself. I have always applied that. You have to laugh at yourself. Comedy is a reflection of self anyway. We see ourselves as a reflection of society.
"I only make fun of things I know. I don't make fun of things I don't know about."