BORED of being the opening act for comedy icons like Uncle Roger, Dr. Jason Leong, Douglas Lim and Harith Iskander, Klang-born Hindra Bose dreamt of becoming a comedy icon himself.
Come June 22, this comedian by night and water filler maintenance man by day will be closer to achieving his dream with his first-ever hour-long comedy show 'Don't Bring Your Kids!'.
Hindra is no stranger to the big stage. Thanks to his multilingual charm — he speaks fluent English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Mandarin — he is a much sought-after host and has done so for crowds of more than 10,000, such as during the recent concerts by celebrated Indian composers Vidyasagar and Yuvan.
Off stage, he is one of the newest faces on Astro Vinmeen's Saravedi live talk show.
'Don't Bring Your Kids!' is staged at PJ Live Arts in Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya, at 9pm and is produced by Laugh Labs Entertainment Sdn Bhd.
In a recent interview, Hindra described his brand of comedy as "storytelling with punchlines".
"I first started my comedy journey 8 years ago at the famous Crackhouse Comedy Club. I was the second runner up for the Crackhouse Comedy Club Open Mic competition 2017.
"Two years later I won the Audience Choice and Stand-Up Comedy categories in Short & Sweet 2019 at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur."
Hindra, who also produces English and Tamil language stand-up comedy shows, has shared the comedy stage with local and international comedians such as Zainab Johnson (United States), Vivek Mahubhani (Hong Kong), Carl Joshua Ncube (Zimbabwe), Gurmit Singh @ Phua Chu Kang (Singapore), Jinx Yeo (Singapore) and Malaysia's very own Harith Iskander, Dr. Jason Leong, Douglas Lim, Nigel Ng @ Uncle Roger and Kavin Jay.
"I first thought of becoming a comedian when I saw an ad for an open mic night at the Crackhouse Comedy Club 9 years ago. I wasted no time signing up, going on stage and falling in love with all the attention."
The latest edition in his family of three, Hindra thanks his supportive parents, two beautiful elder sisters and wife for encouraging him to become a comedian.
"My dearest wife is my biggest influence to do comedy and I love being in a room full of random people laughing hard to my words. I live for those moments!"
Hindra's favourite comedians are Dave Chappelle, Jo Koy and Katt Williams.
"If I did not become a comedian, I guess I would have excelled in sales marketing. I would be back in sales and making customers feel extra good about themselves before they buy things they don't need."
Hindra's most memorable show was when he became the opening act for renowned Indian music director Vidyasagar at his concert held in Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, last year.
"A stadium full of people laughing hard is pretty memorable!"
The best comedians Hindra has worked with are the Malaysian ones.
"I'd rather not choose as each comedian I've ever collaborated with brought something different to the table and I learned a lot from all of them.
"But if I'm forced to name someone, then it's Phoon Chi Ho. He is producing my comedy special!"
Hindra's next big project is a movie debut later this year called 'Simple Manusan'.
"It is a new local movie that takes a comical look at the different generations of Malaysian Indians, directed by Haraan and Shoban, and I play the lead!"
Tickets can be obtained at https://www.cloudjoi.com/shows/dont-bring-your-kids