1978: Born, Laconia, NH 
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Tarun hit the open mikes in Boston before attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and worked the New York comedy club circuit. Amongst many comedy experiences, Tarun worked the door at the Boston Comedy Club for two years before ultimately fired and spent the next several years honing his craft. It was in New York where Tarun made his first national television appearance on the Nickelodeon Show ‘Laugh Out Loud.’
In 2004, Tarun headed west and signed on as a correspondent for the Bollywood program, ‘Showbiz India Extreme.’ As a producer and host of the segment ‘Generation Desi,’ Tarun travels across California and gets paid to bother people. In addition, he continues to audition for film and television and tours the country to visit fans whenever he can.
Read on for Tarun's Interview with Tarun Shetty Himself!....
So what made you want to get into comedy?Well, I never really wanted to be a comic. I wanted to be a tv writer, hence the Michael J. Fox tv show I used to intern for. I always did stand-up, since 18, so when I graduated school, I kind of came to a crossroads and decided to just go for it. Is it completely insane that you are interviewing yourself? Not really. I usually talk to myself anyway, so now I’m really just transcribing my thoughts. Fascinating. My you are good looking. Thank-you. It’s the alcohol you’re drinking. It’s altering your perception. You mean the alcohol you’re drinking. We share the same mind. Yes, that’s true. Anyway, so you grew up in New Hampshire and came to NY. What was that like? New York was interesting. I don’t have a lot of good memories of NY because that’s really where I learned my craft, and I really had to suffer to get good at stand-up. You mean, you weren’t always a genius? (Tarun laughs at his own joke) I’m still far from where I want to be, but I’m pretty good. I did every type of room in the city. I used to get heckled off stage and whatever. It takes a while to find your voice. That’s why it bugs me when people come up to me and say ‘Hey you were great! Man, a lot of the other comics sucked!’ Hey, why don’t you do stand-up and come talk to me. It’s not as easy as you think. So what was NY like? I had to hustle for my spots. I worked at a comedy club for a couple years and did stupid stuff like passing out flyers in sub-zero temperatures in return for stage time. Looking back, it’s all good. I now know that I can do anything, and NY gave me a lot of confidence, which has carried over to LA. You also know that everyone thinks you’re a jackass. Oh, from that Bollywood show I’m on? Yeah, is that a character or what? Not really. I don’t wear an earring, and I don’t go around telling people ‘Hey, I’m better than you.’ I am like that to some extent. I think most people like me, and I try to be nice to people when they e-mail or come up and talk to me. It’s always in the back of my mind that one day somebody’s going to come up to me and just deck me because I did something to make them look dumb on national tv. It’s all in good fun! So why did you move out here to L.A.? It felt like it was the right thing to do. I wanted to be an actor in NY, but I thought I could do better out west. Did things happen right away? Not off the bat. I ran through an amazing amount of money in like six months. All my NY friends dropped off the planet, I totaled my car and selling movie passes for money. I got kicked out of so many malls it was unreal. One time the police thought I was a pedophile because I was trying to sell children’s movie passes to the kids at the playground. It wasn’t good…. Then what happened? Things started picking up. I was getting booked to do stand-up. Mostly casinos and more comedy rooms in Los Angeles. I was hired on SBIE to produce and host. I got new film/tv representation so I now audition for Hollywood pretty frequently. What about Bollywood?You’ve never really been in the desi (south asian) scene till now. Do you like it? Yeah, it’s cool. I think it’s cool being a desi, and we have a lot to be proud of. F- white people. Do you mean that? No. I have a lot of white friends. That just slipped out. So what are your future plans? I don’t know. I like what I’m doing right now. I’d still like to act and am getting lots of opportunities to do more tv. Also, I’m getting incredible offers to do stand-up. I charge a lot of money but when people see me they know I’ve earned my stripes. Right now, I’m setting up a new tour, which should be a lot of fun. Who’s on it? You are. Oh, right. Well, Tarun. I want to thank-you for taking the time to speak with me. Anything you want to say to your fans. Yeah, ‘if it ain’t broke… I’m coming.’ What the heck does that mean? I thought if I was a rap star that would be my motto. I can’t rap. So that’s my comedy motto. That you come to towns and break stuff? … well that, and I make people laugh. It’s what I do best. Thanks again. Your pleasure. |