It's a busy day for Russell Peters. Bringing The Deported World Tour to India, he will be performing in Bengaluru, Delhi, and finally in Mumbai next week as part of Supermoon, an intellectual platform. He's an hour late and it's understandable. What doesn't make sense, though, is his team's insistence on screening our questions beforehand — especially when you market someone who wouldn't endorse getting his material vetted before performing on stage. In sharp contrast to most of us, Peters is cheery-faced on a Monday noon at a Lower Parel five-star, where we meet.

The scene
Peters began his stand-up career in Toronto back in 1989 — navigating through daytime jobs at shoe stores and DJing at night. Today, he figures on the list of the highest-paid comedians in the world. "You've been in the game for 30 years. Does it ever get exhausting?" we ask, and he is quick to answer, "No, it doesn't at all. I feel that when you really love what you do, you don't really feel that way."