<img style="float: left;" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/aug/SMD-Logo.gif" alt="" width="150" height="65" />Thirty -four-year-old stand-up artist Sorabh Pant was recently surprised by his reaction to Star Wars' patricide, &ldquo;When Vader tells Luke, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m your father&rsquo;, and Luke rejects him &mdash; I feel horrible!&rdquo; Pant found himself wailing at Luke as he watched this old favourite: &lsquo;Why are you rejecting your dad? Come on, Luke. Your dad loves you.
He may be a bit evil, etc, but, he&rsquo;s your DAD!'
<img title="Sorabh Pant" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/may/29-Sorabh-Pant.jpg" alt="Sorabh Pant" />
Sorabh's new stand-up act is the outcome of the soul-bending adventure of child-rearing after 14 months as a stay-at-home first-time father to a boy. And having offspring has changed him, "I&rsquo;ve become more emotional. I&rsquo;ve started empathising with everyone! I never thought I&rsquo;d love anything as much as I love this little human."
He finds himself on the road a lot more, too: "I am accepting any show anywhere just so I can get eight hours&rsquo; sleep! Titled My Baby Thinks I&rsquo;m Funny is about how as a society we&rsquo;re all getting stupider though there is more information than ever before. I also talk about hope." It shall feature humour resulting from the comic going slightly baby-soft in the head, "it's the insanity that came with raising him," he said. But one does doubt Pant&rsquo;s marbles when he says, &lsquo;I give him free shows,&rsquo; relying on the discerning skills of his toddler for feedback on his work. &ldquo;My wife is convinced I wanted to have a kid only for the jokes. She may be right!&rdquo;
He shall revisit his childhood and 90s' adolescence and 'weird' things like sonographies and talking to a swollen belly. He says while people with babies will enjoy his show, those who do not want children will also be validated. And you don&rsquo;t have to be a parent to like his jokes.
Pant mainly reaches and retains his following from the web &mdash; which is a younger audience, while his following from live stage shows is slightly older and responds to jokes about kids, marriage, divorce, family planning, etc.
"I&rsquo;ve tested the jokes in front of 17-year-olds and they loved it. The jokes are funny and I&rsquo;ve made all of them relevant and appetising. There are stories in this show about my love marriage, planning a kid and grandparents.&rdquo; There is abundant 'silliness' for younger people, and physical &lsquo;stupidity&rsquo; that babies respond to but so do, surprisingly, the adults," he believes.
"I&rsquo;ve realised since my son was born that no matter what your age the essence of comedy is surprise. It&rsquo;s something I always knew but, it&rsquo;s helping me shape a slightly different and simpler approach to doing comedy.&rdquo;
There is 'a little bit more clarity' based on the realisation that there is something now competing to be his number one priority &mdash; usurping his work, one imagines, or perhaps his wife but we don&rsquo;t ask which exactly.
When: June 4, 8 pm Where: Tata Theatre, NCPA,&nbsp;Nariman Point, NCPA Marg Entry: R300 &mdash; R1,000 Call: 66223737

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My wife is convinced I wanted a kid only for the jokes: Sorabh Pant

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My wife is convinced I wanted a kid only for the jokes: Sorabh Pant

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