Malayali content creator Harikrishnan US on finding an audience through wordplay

“Even though my sanction is Harikrishnan US, I americium presently moving successful Australia,” jokes the Melbourne-based contented creator, popularly known arsenic Iyyer Cook arsenic helium sits down for a chat with me.

Still reeling from the precocious of being recognised by idiosyncratic astatine a cafe moments ago, helium says, “Even though I americium from Poojappura (in Thiruvananthapuram), it’s astir apt the archetypal clip idiosyncratic has approached maine aft watching my content.”

Harikrishnan, a 36-year-old concern expert by day, has carved retired a niche online assemblage with 13-second-long reels featuring one-liner jokes, chiefly utilizing wordplay successful English and Malayalam. He is gearing up for his archetypal stand-up drama amusement successful Kerala, Iyyer Cook: Live & Unfiltered, successful Thiruvananthapuram connected June 7.

“No 1 ever had to unit maine to get connected stage. They conscionable had to ask. I person performed successful Melbourne for a section transmission and person besides done stand-up drama arsenic an engineering pupil during assemblage fetes, and arsenic a firm employee,” says Harikrishnan, who considers American comedian George Carlin and Malayalam histrion Jagathy Sreekumar his idols.

“I person ever liked being connected signifier and making jokes since I was a child,” says Harikrishnan, who antecedently worked arsenic a bundle technologist and lecturer. “I person ever loved stories and storytelling, thing that stayed with maine crossed professions,” helium says.

Harikrishnan has been a subordinate of the International Chalu Union, a fashionable Facebook assemblage that posted memes connected politics, film, and media, since 2012 and credits the radical for sharing immoderate of his earliest works. “There were a batch of accounts with peculiar monikers, with popular civilization references. Even my handle, Iyyer Cook, is simply a notation to the precocious Sankaradi’s quality successful the 1994 Priyadarshan-filmMinnaram. I related to however his quality narrated incidents successful the movie successful a convoluted manner, which is however I often archer stories,” helium says.

Harikrishnan’s videos often travel a question-answer pattern. He begins the video by posing a riddle to his audience. “I often statesman by turning my caput distant from my laptop screen, facing the audience, since astir of the time, I volition beryllium moving portion shooting the videos. The crushed wherefore the video is lone 13 seconds agelong is, I person lone that overmuch clip to spare,” says Harikrishnan, who moved to Melbourne 8 years ago.

Harikrishnan notes that helium engages with the assemblage with his contented successful 2 ways. “One, by reeling them successful with a question, starring them connected successful a definite absorption and coming up with an unexpected answer. Two, you tin springiness radical the reply and past hold for them to marque the connection.”

He adds, “Initially, radical utilized to find my jokes silly and pointless and beryllium somewhat annoyed. Later, they began interacting with it and started taking it arsenic a situation to travel up with the answers. Now, immoderate comments nether the posts are adjacent amended than my archetypal ideas.”

When asked astir taking up stand-up drama arsenic a profession, Harikrishnan says helium is acceptable if helium is capable to get a dependable income retired of it. Commenting connected the uncertainty astir performing, helium says, “There’s nary warrant that a gag mightiness land, beryllium it online oregon offline. But, erstwhile I look back, I realise determination person been times erstwhile I person been done worse. So adjacent if a gag doesn’t land, I brushwood it disconnected and determination on. In the end, my purpose is to marque radical laughter without hurting them.”

The amusement is astatine TAC-The Artists’ Cafe, House No: 23, Sree Nagar, Sreevaraham, connected June 7, 6.30pm. Entry is escaped but volition beryllium connected first-come first-serve ground since seats are limited. Contact: 7907433995