Lilly Singh, also known as IISuperwomanII, held up a peace sign while saying hi to Neeya Devanagondi in a prerecorded video in 2017 as Devanagondi stared at the screen, stunned that her uncle, Indian comedian Tanmay Bhat had collaborated with someone so famous.
The next year, Devanagondi had the privilege of talking to Indian comedian Hasan Minhaj over the phone when her uncle was visiting her family.
Devanagondi said she felt really lucky, since she is a huge fan of Minhaj and a close follower of his work.
“I was so excited,” Devanagondi said. “I didn’t know what to say. “It wasn’t like I wanted to talk to him because I knew that he was famous; I was a huge fan of his work beforehand.”
But even though her uncle is well known, Devanagondi said that he remains humble and hasn’t let his fame go to his head.
While Bhat is not internationally famous, he is an influential figure in the Indian comedy industry and has partnered with Netflix and interacted with many celebrities like Minhaj and Singh. Bhat also met former First Lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton at a UN conference and several Bollywood stars, with whom he had brief, casual conversations.
Bhat, now 32, said that when he was new to fame in his early 20s, he felt pressured to impress people more famous than him. Now, he has a “healthier relationship with fame” and feels indifferent, instead preferring to spend time with his close friends who aren’t famous.
“I think there is an element of performance that is always on when you interact with famous people, especially in a public setting,” Bhat said in an email interview. “Largely due to the constant scrutiny, I find myself not being entirely honest around famous people.”
Bhat began his career by co-founding the podcast “All India Bakchod” in 2012, which became a comedy group in 2013 and a creative agency in 2015. His rise to fame began when he started writing jokes on Twitter and hosting open mic nights.
But his popularity skyrocketed when he began posting comedy sketches and parodies on his YouTube channel in January 2012, enabling him to reach a wider audience. Currently, his channel has 3.58 million subscribers and more than 422 million views.
Reflecting on his rise to fame, Bhat said he didn’t face many difficulties. However, after he gained recognition, media attention has proven overwhelming at times.
“Being constantly scrutinized for every action or word you speak was very challenging since a part of being a comedian is constantly experimenting with your audience, and sometimes your experiment could fail,” Bhat said. “Most people have bad days at work, but a bad day for a comedian means being lynch mobbed online for making a tasteless joke.”
Bhat added that he has an unhealthy relationship with validation from others, which he only realized after becoming famous.
“Finding deeper meaning in life becomes a challenge when your life revolves around being a public figure and having an opinion on everything,” he said. “You start to believe that the universe revolves around you — but in actuality, it doesn't.”
While Bhat spends less time with his relatives than he used to due to a busy work schedule, he strives to maintain ties through visiting them as often as possible. His niece, Devanagondi, said that she likes how her uncle doesn’t let the pressure of the media impact his “down-to-earth” personality. She said she appreciates how much Bhat values his family and takes time out of his busy schedule to reach out to them.
Devanagondi said that her uncle’s work ethic, determination and ambition inspires her, and she hopes to apply those qualities to her life, regardless of whether she becomes famous.
Bhat, however, said that the most consequential impact of his fame has been the introspection it has given him.
“If I was never famous, I think I would be too busy trying to attain fame to recognize my own flaws,” he said. “In a way, I'm happy that I had this phase of life. I think I now know that there is more to life than just fame.”