‘Daddy Issues’ and The Story of How Kavin Jay Became a Dad
When it comes to grumpy jokes, no one can do better than Kavin ‘Grumpy’ Jay. The local stand-up comedian filled the entire theatre with laughter when he performed his first solo show ‘Daddy Issues’ last week.
Keren Bala Devan, Kavin’s protégé, opened the show with a few jokes.
Keren was a hyper little guy on stage. He hates Bruno Mars’s love songs and he loves mutton despite his cholesterol levels. He also mentioned his love for movies but not the babies that cry in the movies. His jokes felt like a warm up session for the jaw and tummy.
Shortly after Keren’s slot was Kavin’s.
Kavin appeared, triggering loud applause that affirmed the audience’s love for him. Before beginning officially, Kavin started by asking questions to a few audience members. He also complained about the way Malaysians pluralize every word.
He began “Daddy Issues” with his trip to Korea with wife, Nisha Gopalan. Although the couple had a dispute about going to North or South Korea, they finally decided – Nisha decided – to go to South Korea.
Both of them had an amazing experience except Kavin was grumpy about some absurd rules the Koreans made. One of these include not looking into the eyes of North Korean police officers.
After the couple returned to Malaysia, Korea decided to give them a gift. A gift of life. Kavin was going to be a father to a child that was made in Korea.
Shocked with the positive result he stared at the pregnancy test for at least thirty minutes. He told himself he was going to be a father. At that point, audiences didn’t see Mr. Grumpy on stage anymore; they saw a father.
Nine months passed and the day came. There was slight disappointment on Kavin’s face when he admitted he wasn’t there for his child’s birth. Luckily for him, his wife had approved his absence prior since he told her that he would be paid a lot if he did a show in Singapore instead.
He got news of his newborn the moment he arrived at Singapore but that didn’t stop Kavin from complaining about Singapore. He spoke about a restaurant called ‘The Hooters‘ and how he, a Malaysian-Indian, had to do a show about ‘Drinking Responsibilities’.
When he finally got home to his wife and his newborn he was thrilled.
He held her for the first time and he told himself that he can’t drop this fragile thing or he would go to jail for it.
Holding Kashaani Rhea in his hand, Kavin’s memories from his own childhood flooded right back. The childhood he had was no different than what his peers had but seeing little Rhea made him afraid that the new generation will be worse than how he was.
Now that Rhea Kashaani is already two years old, she seems to be smarter than her father.
He ended the show by telling of how she said ‘no’ to her mother and it seems like Kavin Jay needs to be taught by little Rhea to say ‘no’ to his wife too.
We managed to sneak in a few post-show questions to Kavin after ‘Daddy Issues’ ended.
How did you feel as this is your first solo performance? Did you have stage fright?
I don’t know, it was like a buzz. It felt like bungee-jumping. I had stage fright but as I went on it felt great.
Do you think your daughter might follow your footsteps?
To do comedy? No. No. Too little money.
What is your inspiration to all your jokes?
It’s all true. No inspiration I am just telling the truth. All I say on stage had happened to me before.
Will you be doing more jokes on your daughter after this?
I don’t know. I joke about everything that happens which just comes from everyone, everywhere. So nothing specific.
You are voted as the grumpiest comedian. Do you think about coming out of that comfort zone?
That was a joke. It was voted by me. No, no. I am going to continue complaining. Doing stand-up comedy, many people think you have to play a character. No, that is who I am. It’s very personal to me. It’s not a comfort zone but it’s who I am. Not changing. Never.
What is your reason to do comedy other than your brother?
Ever since I was a kid I watched stand up comedies in video, such as Harith Iskandar in Malaysia and lots from the UK. I looked at them and I told myself I can do it too but it was very hard. Then one day I rounded up 150 friends and performed in front of them with my cousin. My cousin did very well and I did very badly. Then later, the next few years, I wanted to do comedy properly and maybe someday become good at it then quit.
Have you thought about what you did do when you grow old? Maybe put your jokes into a book.
I don’t know what is going to happen when I grow old. I hope I got money when I retire. I don’t even know if I can retire.
* ‘Daddy Issues’ played for one night only on April 16 at PJ Live Arts, Jaya One. Follow Kavin on Twitter and Facebook for football commentary and if you’re lucky, maybe even free jokes.
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