Every Tuesday, comedians Varun Thakur, Neville Shah, Kautuk Srivasta and Aadar Malik come together to discuss some of the most random, interesting, shocking, weird, absurd facts, stats, trivia and personal stories in their DACA award-winning podcast, The Internet Said So. Neville’s obsession with Aaron Sorkin, Varun’s accents, Kautuk’s weird food habits, and Aadar’s obsession with the monkey facts, have helped them build a loyal TISS Army.
And this year is their five-year anniversary. Over the course of 230 episodes, the comedians have built a special bond with their fans across the globe and they couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to go out on the road and give their loyal audience a live taste of their favourite podcast with The Internet Said So: Uncensored. They’ve already completed one leg of the tour and are kicking off the next one tomorrow in Mumbai with shows lined up in Bengaluru and Chennai before they jet off for some international shows.
What’s the uncensored part? How’s it being on the road with four of your best friends? And what’s the weirdest thing Kautuk has eaten on tour? We caught up with Aadar, Varun and Kautuk to get the full scoop. (Before all the Bawa simps come at us, Neville was busy at work).
How did you guys decide to do a live tour?
Varun: We had done a few live shows in Mumbai previously which gave us the chance to meet a bunch of fans and perform live for them. And those shows really worked out well. Our chemistry among ourselves and with our audience is really special. We have a super-engaged audience and a deeply emotional connect with our listeners/watchers. So, the live show feels less like a podcast and more like a group of friends coming together and doing bhankas. Our entire vibe is not taking ourselves too seriously, having a fun chat and taking the fans along on that ride with us.
Kautuk: Another interesting thing about these shows is that unlike standup we’re touring with our podcast. And I’ve felt the difference between going on the road as a comedian versus as a podcast. Especially our type of podcast where over the course of 200 episodes, we have shared so many personal stories and revealed so many parts of our personal lives that the fans know. So when we are finally in the same room, it feels like we all kinda know each other in some way. And we’ve done so many episodes online and in the studio, this felt like the the best opportunity to meet them.
How has it been to do the podcast in front of a live audience?
Varun: To be honest, some of our fans know more about us than our wives do. I’m not even kidding. If you have watched 230 episodes of TISS, you know more about me than Nikita does about me or Siddhi does about Kautuk.
Kautuk: That’s also because our wives don’t listen to the podcast.
Varun: Don’t listen to the podcast or to us while we’re talking. But yeah, in all seriousness, the fans know so much about us that the vibe of the show is completely different.
Kautuk: Yeah, it’s a lot warmer for sure.
Varun: There are times when we are just chatting about random shit and the audience gets it because they are very well-versed with how we are and even our chemistry. Like, if we’re pulling Neville’s leg, they know that this is something Varun and Kautuk do. That pre-existing context that they come with makes the show that much more interactive and engaging.
Why are you calling the show ‘TISS Uncensored’?
Varun: Kautuk and I got on a call on 6 April this year and decided that it’s time we do a tour of the podcast. But the idea was to make it slightly different from the usual episodes. Give our fans something extra as opposed to taking a random topic and talking about it.
Kautuk: Yeah, the idea was to give the audience an incentive to come watch it live instead of just waiting for the next episode to drop on YouTube. We wanted to zero in on that one major difference between the shows.
Varun: And for us, that difference meant talking about things that we haven’t discussed or probably won’t on the regular episodes yet. Because once it’s on the internet, it’s there forever. So, to avoid that we thought we’ll do the live shows with our highly engaged audience. But what we talk about is something you have to come and find out at the show. We don’t want people to come with preconceived notions of what will be said. It’s just very different from what we usually do and you won’t see these shows anywhere online.
Kautuk: In fact, our tagline for the show when we promoting it was, “The TISS episode that will never air.” So these are those episodes where you get an exclusive experience if you’re in the audience. You won’t see this on YouTube or Reels or anywhere.
What is something interesting you guys noticed about your fans during these shows?
Varun: It was the relationship that our fans have with each other. That was one of the most heartening things we experienced during the first leg of the tour. People are making plans on our subreddit, asking others to join them since they were going alone. And those people have then been invited to go with another group of friends. That sort of camaraderie between your fans is really nice to see. So these shows are like an event where the TISS army gets to hang out with each other.
Kautuk: Another thing is that we do AMAs and meet-and-greets at the show. So, at the Pune show this one girl stood up and just said, “Varun, my mom hates you.” And she said it as if she’s known him for years. And now, our meet-and-greets are probably as long as the show itself. The reason is because people actually want to have a chat with us as opposed to get a picture for social media.
Varun: On top of that, people have actually made bonds and formed relationships because of the show. Couples have come on dates. We’ve had people come to the show and meet there and now they are chatting and about to date. It’s really lovely to see that this goes beyond being a podcast for everyone involved.
What’s the most endearing interaction you’ve had with the fans?
Kautuk: There’s this one thing that happens a lot, where someone will bring their partner with them and then their partner will tell us, “Oh, you’re the four people they’re constantly on a Zoom call with.” So there are people who are listening to us on loop. I find that so interesting.
Varun: It goes beyond that. Girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband… sure. The other is, people have come with their parents. And then we have to apologise to them before, during, after the show. But the beauty is that after the show when we meet them they tell us there’s nothing to apologise for. They enjoy the show just as much. That’s so sweet. At our last two shows, these two women who were easily 65-70 years old and they had a lovely time. They told us how their children love to see us. These things are what make it all worth it.
How has it been like to be on the road together?
Aadar: So, right from the improv scene we’ve been travelling a lot. It’s been for various things like standup, improv, music, storytelling. I feel like this show is a culmination of all of that.
Varun: In the 10-12 years that we’ve known each other, these last four months have been the most we’ve travelled together. We’ve never taken a holiday together. So this becomes a bonding experience for us as well, which according to me, is the best part of it. We’re doing hectic travel but it’s so much fun. You are with your close friends and just constantly laughing. That does so much for us as performers, for our chemistry as a group and for our overall friendship. We have very different personalities but the four of us are genuine friends and we gel together seamlessly.
Aadar: I don’t think Neville has a personality.
Kautuk: The idea behind the vlog was also to capture these moments on tour. But there’s so much happening all the time that some of the best moments haven’t been filmed. That’s the real uncensored. Another thing is that everyone has their own quirks when they’re travelling. For example, Neville is the father of the group. He’ll do everything at the hotel, airport and the three of us are the shararti kids at the back embarrassing him. So, despite having a decade-long friendship, this is a good practice.
What’s the weirdest thing Kautuk has ordered to eat during the tour?
Kautuk: Momo burger toh you must have seen on the vlog. But one thing that didn’t get captured was when we went to a great Indian restaurant in Delhi. We were waiting for the food and I saw that there was a bowl in front of me and there was something in it. So I thought, “Chal, khake dekhta hoon.” I put it in my mouth and guess what it was. Decorative stones. I have dabao-ed them thinking it’s some starter item.
What’s the best restaurant that Neville took you guys to?
Kautuk: I’ve realised Neville only does the tour so he can eat food at different places.
Varun: 100 percent. He does it more to go to a particular city to eat at some fancy five-star restaurant that he wouldn’t go to otherwise because he has work. So this becomes an excuse. Toh Bawa khane ke liye aa raha hai aur side mein show kar raha hai.
Kautuk: There have been so many instances where Varun and I are talking about working on some bits on the group and Neville comes in with four options to eat in Ahmedabad asking us where we want to go.
Initially, Neville was averse to being in the vlogs. Has he finally warmed up to it?
Aadar: He is not averse to being on camera. He just pretends to be averse. If he sees me recording Kautuk doing something fun, which is Kautuk’s moment, he’ll sneak in somewhere in the background and then act like he didn’t want to be there.
Varun: His entire thing was tum log vlogger nahi hai, tum log se nahi hoga. Because we tried it previously but it didn’t work out very well. But we needed something to promote the shows and also capture this entire experience. In the beginning he was on the fence about it but then he saw that the videos are turning out well. So now, we make him apologise to us on stage.
Kautuk: The greatest character arc of Bawa has been going from saying “kyu kar raha hai vlog?” to telling us what to film and all. That’s when the director in him comes out. I don’t think he’s warmed up to it as much as he has resigned to the fact that this will happen.
You guys also have some international dates lined up. How did that work out?
Varun: So basically, the podcast massively took off during the pandemic. Because people were away from family, in some different country. They were sad and depressed. Specifically for people who were homesick, we became their connect to India. Because we talk about very Indian stuff that evoked nostalgia, that they grew up with. That’s where the emotional bond with a lot of international fans got formed. And from our comments and live chat during our streams, we realised there’s a huge base of people abroad who would come to watch us. So we did some research and found out that there are lots of people in America, Canada, Europe, UK, Australia. Keeping that and the logistics in mind, we announced a tour in Europe and UK. And the response has been great. With two months left to go for those shows, we’ve already sold a bunch of tickets. That’s encouraging because these are the hardcore fans who have already shelled out money 2-3 months in advance.
You can book your tickets for the India tour here and the international dates here.
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