Sapan Verma: Life in the Funny Lane

Charlie Chaplin famously said that a day without laughter is a day wasted. Sapan Verma is thrilled to be leading a life where he gets to make people laugh, but it wasn't always his dream, and his road to success wasn't a bed of roses.

Sapan was a studious boy who was ready to pursue engineering. Luckily, fate had different plans for him. His father, who worked for the railways, was transferred to Mumbai just after Sapan finished his 10th board exams. When Sapan came to visit his father during the summer vacations, he decided to apply to the city's top three colleges, and was accepted to Jai Hind. He continued with IIT coaching classes for two years, but finally, when he knew his heart wasn't in it, asked his parents if he could pursue a degree in mass media instead. His parents weren't entirely convinced at first, but Sapan's brothers came to his rescue, and he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mass media.

At this point, all Sapan knew is that he wanted to do something in the writing and comedy space - but he didn't know what exactly. He tried his hand at many different things, taking up several internships and jobs. He worked as a copywriter, a scriptwriter for television, and even wrote for wedding shows in his free time. Eventually, he tried stand-up comedy, and everything came together perfectly. The comedian knows why stand-up is for him: “Finally, I took up stand-up and it just worked, because I was writing for myself and talking about things I wanted to talk about, without anyone telling me what to say or what not to say.”

But, Sapan's road to success wasn't easy. He wanted to do something different, and that meant he had to really commit to it and work hard. He started working while he was still pursuing his degree, and he wasn't paid a lot at his first few jobs. He was quick to understand that he needed to put his money away safely. When he worked as a freelancer, he realised that once the work was delivered, the payment may not come for several months, and he knew he needed savings for times when there wasn't any money coming in.

Sapan was lucky to have his family who helped him financially in times of need, but most artists don't have that kind of help. They have to make do with getting by on bare necessities, or have to take up more work to be able to make ends meet. At such times, it's important to make prudent financial decisions. A good way to make your money work for you is by putting your savings away in secure investments. When you're just about getting by, these savings, and the returns you get on your investments, will help tide you over until your next pay day.

Today, Sapan is happy setting himself short-term goals. He doesn't always think about the bigger picture, and enjoys being impulsive and doing things that will make him happy. Offering some great advice, the EIC (East India Comedy) comedian says, “You'd rather fail at something you love doing and chose to do, instead of being moderate at what people around you forced you to do.” Sapan took a leap of faith when it came to doing stand-up comedy, and it's led him to where he is today, but not without a few road bumps and financial troubles along the way.