Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
Victor Hugo
For the students of IIM Kozhikode, the months from September to December are a little more power-packed than usual with a series of festivities including nationally celebrated festivals like Navratri and Diwali along with various signature occasions like the Food Festival & the International Day, that constantly keep them busy. Apart from these usual cultural events, it is also the season of IIM Kozhikode’s annual Management festival – the Backwaters festival.
The festival spanning three days, is considered to be one of the most renowned & sought-after management festivals of South-India. A usual day during the festival begins with nail-biting events during the day which is followed by spell-binding performances by veterans from the entertainment industry.
The second entertainment night of Backwaters 2014 saw extremely engaging performances from Mr. Karan Singh Magic & the talented duo - Mr. Biswa Kalyan Rath & Mr. Kanan Gill (Pretentious Movie review fame). While former flabbergasted one & all with his bizarre tricks based on psychological illusion, the latter, with their rib-tickling comedy, made people laugh like never before.
Here are some excerpts from the interview Media Cell of IIM Kozhikode conducted with the entertainers.
KANAN GILL & BISWA KALYAN RATH
How did you find the Kampus and the audience?
Kanan and Biswa: The Kampus is too relaxing. Nothing is stressful here. It doesn’t feel like a management college. The audience was very nice and receptive.
What are your views on viral marketing and its future?
Kanan and Biswa: Something that portrays and provokes a strong emotion goes viral. If it’s funny or sad or is a social experiment, it goes well. A lot of brands come to us with an idea and ask if it would go viral or not. Nobody knows what would go viral but we do have a fair idea about what would go well and what would not. The future is strong and it is going to change with an understanding.
Are you planning to move to the traditional media like TV? What are your future plans?
Kanan and Biswa: Audiences that watch TV and our live shows are different. Internet is growing. It is reaching a larger audience. So why do you want to go to dying media when the dying media wants to come to internet.
We are going to do a lot of videos. We do live shows called Pretentious nights and genuine nights. We will be hitting a few major cities and even tier 2 cities. We will be focussing a little hard on life for the next few months and then focus hard on videos.
KARAN SINGH MAGIC
Karan, can you tell us something about your journey so far as a mentalist?
Karan: I first performed professionally at the age of 16, and have performed several shows. Magic was something different, it was something I was fascinated by. I learned it on my own, from books, DVDs, videos, following renowned magicians, understanding people’s reactions to certain situations. As long as my audiences are entertained, I am happy.
What are your future plans, do you intend to teach this art form?
I love this form so much, I know it requires a lot of dedication. If I feel that someone really loves it, then I might teach, but maybe not on a mass level. As far as my future plans go, I don’t really believe in setting goals, I take things as they come.
(This article has been written by Sneha Singh, Venu Merh, Tanya Gupta - Media Cell Coordinators, IIM Kozhikode)
Kanan & Biswa with Media Cell Coordinators
For more details, contact us at - media@iimk.ac.in
