Comedian Pranit More is someone who has been taking Instagram by storm. The comedian has amassed a following of 1,50,000 on Instagram on the back of his relatable takes on cricket and Bollywood films, making him a viral sensation. But if you’re looking for a bigger and better fix, More is set to tour India with his solo show Baap Ko Mat Sikha. He’s kicking off his tour today with a show in Ajmer and has dates lined up till 17 March. This is the second run of his tour with the first one getting a positive response from the audience. So, he’s cautiously confident. More told us all about his debut solo show, the inspiration behind the name and why he thinks standup comedy is best enjoyed live. He’s also channeled his inner cricket pundit to make a prediction about the ongoing India-England series. Read on!

1. Quick! What’s this show about?

The show has a few stories. Two of them are about my father and one is about a friend of mine. There’s also some crowd word involved.

2. How many shows are you doing, across how many cities?

I’m doing around 45 shows across 28 cities. Last time we did 21 cities and got a pretty good response so we decided to do more this time around.

3. How long did you spend writing the show?

The show has some bits that I’ve been doing for the last 3-4 years. I’ve also written new bits in the last year or so. It’s my first solo show so all of the material is tried and tested. And obviously, the crowd work isn’t written. All of it depends on the audience.

4. Is this already leading up to a recorded special for a streaming platform?

There’s no plan in place for that as of right now. I’m just enjoying the live shows currently. Every time I perform a new joke or tag gets added to the show. When I feel like, “Okay, this is completely done and I’m done performing in all the cities,” I’ll think of releasing it on YouTube. Or I’ll sell it to some streaming platform if they’re offering me a lot of money.

5. Why should we watch it live?

I think people should watch standup shows live only. It’s like a cricket match. If you go to the stadium and watch it with other people, you can enjoy it more. When you watch it alone on YouTube, you don’t even laugh a lot. That’s why people write, “Hasna tha kya?” So, all the people who think that the audience is paid to laugh at live shows, they should come check it out once. It’s an experience.

6. According to you, who would be the ideal plus-one to bring to the live show?

According to me, your friends are the ideal plus-ones. If you bring them then maybe your friendship might become stronger. You’ll relate to things and have someone to laugh and cheer with. You might not be able to enjoy all the jokes fully if you come with your parents. But if they’re cool then why not?

7. Why are you calling this show ‘Baap Ko Mat Sikha’?

Like I said, it has two stories about my father and one about my friend. To that friend I keep saying, “Chal, baap ko mat sikha.” Even the crowd work segment is like I’m everyone’s dad. That’s why I’m calling it Baap Ko Mat Sikha.

8. On a scale of 1 – WTFAMIDOING, how nervous are you?

I’m not that nervous anymore. When I was doing my first tour, I was very nervous. I was thinking about whether people will like me? Will they even come to watch? Stuff like that. But that went well so it means that the audience is enjoying my work. Obviously, there’s some nervousness before getting up on stage that is necessary. But other than that I’m pretty confident.

9. Which city are you most excited to perform in and why?

I enjoy performing in Mumbai the most because I’m from here. But I had other than my home ground, I would say I like Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad. I particularly like Ahmedabad because the best show I’ve ever performed was there. Pune because they always buy the tickets and make sure the shows sell out. And Bengaluru obviously has some comedy culture. The weather is also nice so it’s nice for after-parties as well.

10. Who will win the on-going series between India and England?

Obviously India. England was talking a lot about bazball before they came to India. They even won the first match but they lost the next two. Our spin bowlers are too good and they end up batting well as well. You can win a game or two but winning a series is next to impossible.

Get your tickets for Baap Ko Mat Sikha here!