Everybody loves a home-grown hero, a local lad
or lass that you once knew, who’s gone on to achieve celebrity
status. The recent visit of Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of Portugal, has
proven that. The person in question, as far as being in the limelight goes, at
the moment, has much in common with a politician, give that more often than
not, his statements have us in splits. However, unlike the politicos, for a
change we are laughing ‘with’ and not ‘at’. The person that we speak of is none
other than legendary comedian Daniel Fernandes.
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Generally describing himself as a man who
likes a quiet life, Daniel, who has his roots in Goa, has had just one
standalone show in his home state thus far. His next one unfolds today, and
will see the man who has the knack of turning the darkest of matters into a
cause of glee (check out his tweet on the Las Vegas shooting as a point of
reference), wreak havoc on the state’s ‘funny bone’.
Of course, this is Goa, at the end of the
day, and people always want a little sneak peek as to what they can expect from
a performance. Despite being a tad cagey, Daniel spills a few proverbial beans
in the form of a curtain raiser, saying “Lots of jokes, laughter, some silence,
a few gasps and may be someone fainting. My live shows are different from what
you see on YouTube, because there’s a lot of comedy that happens in the moment.
You’ll get to see a brattier side of me that you don’t usually see online, so
there’s lots of fun to be had all in all.”
And while his podcast ‘You Started It’ has
amassed quite the fan following, Daniel sees it being unlikely that too many
references may come up on a stand-up platform, given that there is a particular
format that he generally follows. “’You Started It’ is a comedy podcast where I
host two guests on every episode and we talk about stuff that people have said
to us on social media. It’s a very light-hearted take on serious issues like
sexism, politics, religion and ‘Game of Thrones’. I recently wrapped up 10
episodes of season one. We’ll begin filming season two very soon,” he shares.
What one can expect though, is something
that Daniel has become particularly popular for. He is one of the few comedians
who takes on politics and issues, and converts these topics into an awareness
drive through his humour. And given many things that have unfolded in an age of
not-so-clandestine intolerance, there’s every chance that his views could well
lead to a situation of adversity. However, Daniel doesn’t believe that that
kind of reaction would ever deter him from handling his signature style in the
way that he does.
“People want to hear a comedian’s take on national and global
issues. If anything, talking about these very real issues that affect us on a
daily basis has helped carve out my own space. I think it’s very important to
stand out, and thankfully, I really enjoy crafting comedy around stuff like
this. But again, my live shows are not all politics and social issues; there
are other facets to my comedy, all of which are on full display once I get on
stage,” Daniel says, adding that there’s more to him than just a more newsy
side.
Daniel
Fernandes will take the stage on October 14 at 7:30 pm at Novotel Resorts,
Candolim. Tickets available on bookmyshow.com and at Champs, Panjim and Margao
