IT WAS at university that Gajen Nad got his first taste of comedy. A native Penangite, the lively 33-year-old spent much of his formative years in the Pearl of the Orient. The third child in a family of six, he studied at SK Batu Lanchang and later at Penang Free School.
After completing his Form Five education, he attended KDU Penang for his A-Levels. He would later move down south, in 2009, to commence a four-year engineering degree at Monash University in Sunway, Petaling Jaya. And that was to be the start of it all.
ANSWERING A CALLING
We're chatting over coffee in a quiet cafe located in Taman Mayang Jaya, Petaling Jaya. Only one other table is occupied by a couple of patrons. Smiling broadly, the KL-based Gajen, who is of Chinese and Indian parentage, rewinds back the years to when he first discovered stand-up comedy.
"I officially started in 2012," he begins, taking a quick sip of his drink before continuing: "When I say 'started', I mean being serious about it. My first time was at the Monash Talent Night, a talent competition organised by the university's student council, in 2009. I was a first-year student. My friend said that since I look like a talented guy, why don't I join the competition?"
That was also the year Michael Jackson passed away. So, Gajen contemplated doing a dance performance as a tribute to the pop icon.
"(But) Singing and dancing are very common in a talent competition," he says, before confiding that he doesn't like to do what everyone else is doing. "I like to stand out, so I thought why not tell some jokes? In the end, I decided on a mix of stand-up comedy and a dance routine."
How was it, I couldn't help interjecting, but not before noting the grin on Gajen's face.
"My jokes were horrible," he exclaims, with a roll of his eyes. Elaborating, he remembers: "But at that time, it worked for the crowd. I was placed second. After that, they kept calling me back to perform for the annual event. I was only performing once or twice a year then. Once I uploaded a video of my stand-up routine on YouTube. Someone saw it and asked me to perform in an actual comedy show, like Comedy Kao Kao at the Bee, Publika with Dr Jason Leong as the host."
His first show was in February 2012. "It's like an internship for stand-up comedians," explains Gajen, adding that before long, Dr Leong asked him to come back — which he did — in April. Gajen was given a paid spot for a show in May, where he was the opening act. "That was my first pay from comedy. And that was how I started," he announces proudly.
COMPLETELY HOOKED
The then aspiring comedian started accepting offers of gigs that came his way and making an income from it. This continued even when he had graduated and started his first job as an IT consultant at Accenture. Gajen eventually resigned to become a full-time comedian in 2018 after doing stand-up comedy part-time for more than six years.
He made sure that he could earn a decent living from comedy before taking the plunge.
"When you decided to go into comedy full-time, did your parents have anything to say about that?" I ask, my curiosity piqued.
"Nothing too serious, actually," replies Gajen, matter-of-factly. Continuing, he shares: "The fact that I didn't leave my job and wasn't starting from ground zero helped my cause. Actually, I'd already started comedy while I was studying in Monash so I had more stand-up experience than my work experience. My parents already knew that."
Secondly, adds Gajen, his parents were aware that their son was a financially savvy person and made it a point to keep track of his expenses. "I know how much my comedy income is, so they know that I have done all the risk management stuff," he confides, elaborating: "Of course, they had some questions as they come from a different generation. Questions like 'You know you won't have EPF and Socso?' and 'You know you won't be able to claim for your dental and scaling and all that?'"
Suddenly, a sheepish chuckle ensues as Gajen recalls their early conversations. "I told them I was well aware of everything and that I knew what I was doing. Thankfully, those were the main concerns they had. Otherwise, I think everything else was fine."
SILVER LINING
With a smile, Gajen, who was awarded "Most Promising Stand-up Comedian" by Top 10 Malaysia magazine, tells me that two of his passions are travelling and stand-up comedy. "Because I was so into stand-up, I'd kill two birds with one stone," he says, continuing: "The main reason I travelled was to do stand-up. When I had some free time during travelling, I did site visits. I've performed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and the Philippines. I'd make it a point to ask for a spot at the local comedy clubs to perform."
His intention has always been to continually up his game. "You cannot just stay in one place. It's important to get more and more exposure as you go along," he muses, adding: "When you return after performing overseas, you're definitely on a different level. You learn so much."
It's also true that by performing overseas, one gets to build a wider network. "That will stand you in good stead," says Gajen, adding: "When you perform overseas, you meet comedians who will one day become superstars. The networking could lead to future collaborations."
Things were going swimmingly well. Until the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, that is. With a frown, Gajen admits that its effects were harsh, not only on many other businesses but also the entertainment industry. The Movement Control Order (MCO) was introduced nationwide on March 18, 2020, and everyone had to stay indoors. They were allowed to venture out of their homes only for essential purposes.
Recalls Gajen: "When it first started, I thought I would just take a short break. From January until March 2020, I had quite a number of gigs planned. In April 2020 when I was watching the news, it looked like the situation was going to drag on a bit longer than expected."
Incidentally, that was when his parents told him to get a job. However, Gajen chose to see the MCO as a positive thing for him. Looking thoughtful, he says: "Sometimes you need a downfall and some kind of pain point to move forward. There may be another pandemic so you need to look for a long-term solution."
He then decided to switch to virtual comedy. In May 2020, Gajen started performing in virtual open mic shows. He became progressively better at this as time went on. He focused on developing virtual stand-up comedy skills and invested a tidy sum of money on a podcast mic, webcam and other recording equipment.
It was during this time that many multinational corporations were figuring out how to conduct virtual engagement with their employees. HSBC Malaysia gave him his first virtual gig. From August 2020 onwards, more gigs started coming in, ranging from employment engagement events and motivational talks. Prior to the pandemic, Gajen derived his livelihood largely from in-person performances. By the end of 2020, virtual gigs became the mainstay of his income.
This continued the following year. With a grateful smile, Gajen confides that contrary to what was happening, the year 2021 turned out to be his best year — even better than before the pandemic.
CONTENT CREATION
It was at the end of 2018 that the driven comedian made the decision to delve into content creation full-time. "I need to be known for something," he says, simply. Adding, Gajen admits that he didn't want to do "cheesy stuff". "I wanted to appeal to an intellectual crowd from the beginning."
Elaborating, he explains: "I rather grow slowly but, along the way, build a solid following." It was then that he came up with "What's Going on Lah?", a comedy talk show that centred on current topics, with Gajen giving his take on various issues.
"I do it in the talk show format because I'm a fan of late-night shows," shares Gajen. He tells me that his favourite late night show hosts are Conan O'Brien and Trevor Noah. He also expresses admiration for local stand-up talents like Dr Jason Leong, Kuah Jenhan and Kavin Jay, as well as international stand-up comedians such as Ronnie Chieng and Jim Gaffigan.
These days, the talented Chindian also does emceeing for corporate gigs, training on presentation skills, motivation talks and content creation or influencer marketing. Once we segue into the topic of content creation, I ask him about what happened to Gaya3 and her parents.
I am referring to the three skit characters all played by Gajen himself. Gaya3, the frivolous Tiktok-loving protagonist daughter, Ms Money, the money-conscious matriarch, and Bill, the long-suffering patriarch, all donning questionable wigs but delivering witty punchlines, have been notably absent for a while from his repertoire.
"Productivity is not my (forte) … I'm working on it. I will definitely do it again soon as I need to promote my show," replies Gajen with a hearty laugh, as if he has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Adding, he tells me that he has been busy preparing for a one-hour comedy show.
"They're definitely coming back?" I persist.
It was during MCO when Gajen discovered that he had quite a bit of leisure time on his hands. So, he contemplated doing a skit. "I came up with a mother, father and daughter. I wanted to channel the Malaysian parent thing into my skits," he'd explained earlier.
"Yes, I haven't retired them," repeats Gajen, with another good-natured chuckle.
Satisfied with his promise, we turn the conversation to the topic of his latest project, among others. So, what's in the pipeline, I ask the smiling comedian. His eyes look excited when he shares: "I'll be doing my one-hour comedy special titled Professional Mixed Breed on Aug 12 and 13 at the Loft 29 in Penang, and on Aug 26 and 27 at PJ PAC in 1 Utama. I was supposed to do this in 2020 but had to cancel it due to the pandemic."
Suffice it to say, Gajen is very clear about what he wants to achieve. Passionately, he says: "The United States is the mecca of comedy. I'd like to do stand-up comedy in the US and the United Kingdom. You should be able to prove that you can stand with the big boys. You naturally up your game when you compete internationally."
Looking thoughtful, he concludes: "You have to enjoy what you do. Life's too short to be a drop in the ocean. It's only when you are at your best that you'll be happy."
Tickets for Gajen's upcoming comedy special can be purchased at linktr.ee/gajennad.
