From MC to LA: Anand's Unfiltered Journey

Comedian and actor Anand Mahalingam joins me for a raw and hilarious deep dive into his journey from college MC to LA grind. We talk bombing on stage, sketchy living situations, chasing dreams with zero safety net, and finding your voice in a crowded scene. Plus — sports beefs, Robin Williams, and why storytelling always wins. 

You can find Anand's content via his website: yanandbhai.com.

Transcript

Intro Song

Rob Valincius: And we are live. I don't know how many fucking episodes I'm running around. I lose track at this point, which is a good thing, right? It's, it's, it's always a good thing when I'm not like, oh, episode three. You know, uh, there's some credibility to that. But this is the Drink Clock podcast. I'm your host, Rob Valencia.

And Fuck Damnit. I always forget to ask about the last name. gonna, I have the pleasure of having with me, Anand. Let me, let me say it. I think I can do it. Ingham.

Anand Mahalingam: Uh, so it's Anan Ingham.

Rob Valincius: Fuck Damnit shit. Ah, so close. Uh, and, uh, do you, do you have a, a nickname? Anand.

Anand Mahalingam: Onin is, so, like, my full, my, that's actually my full first name is Anan. Chunker. So Onin is the shortened version of that. I don't really, I don't really have a nickname. Um, people have tried and, and failed in the past. Um. I think like one of my, one of my best friends, he calls me a town, so that's like pretty much it.

That's like the

Rob Valincius: I like that. I like that. Um, yeah, so, and my last name's Valencia. So I've had everything from Lanius. My friends sometimes would call me. Uh, my dad was V man, so like, you know, 'cause 'cause you never fucking say the last name. But anyway. You are an Indian American actor and comedian man. Welcome to the show.

Anand Mahalingam: Thank you very much. Thanks for having

Rob Valincius: So, yeah, man. So you got a, a pretty, a pretty cool backstory and you got a lot going on. So I love to start the podcast with, um, the kind of your background and journey. So, um, if you could tell me and the listeners like, you know, gimme kind of a shortened version of, you know, what got you to where you are now.

Anand Mahalingam: Sure. Um, so when I was growing up, I guess like, it kind of starts with, 'cause I, right now I'm a comedian and actor and like everybody asks like, how you got started in comedy and stuff. And it's very, um, innocuous things like, I think I. Um, what really got me started in comedy was just being like a clown for my family members and like getting my mom to laugh and like making jokes and getting her to laugh.

And then when we were kids, she would let me stay up until like, I think, I wanna say like midnight every day, which, because like every day she would watch. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, like without fail at 1130. And she let me stay up for the monologue part of, and that's it. And then like if Jaywalking was on, then I could watch jaywalking or something, but it was like monologue in the desk bit.

And then once the guests start coming on the show, then I have to go to bed. So we got to watch just joke after joke after joke for. Pretty much years together, um, which definitely like made me more, made me see the impact and the value and, and making people laugh and stuff. So that's kind of where it started.

And then like, it would go from like the Tonight Show to the Late Show with David Letterman. And then I. SNL reruns in the summer. Like I, I wouldn't like go out, um, and play outside with my brother and the friends in the neighborhood. I would like stay inside. I would watch SNL reruns at like, uh, 3:00 PM and then, uh, that would go until five and then five o'clock mad TV reruns started.

So I would watch that.

Rob Valincius: love me. Some good old fashioned mad TV man with, with Stewart. Stewart was so good. Loved Stuart.

Anand Mahalingam: And then I would watch, like, like I, I would look forward to the Oscars every year. Not for the movie stuff, but just to see which comedian was hosting it. And I would just watch the monologue and I would, that would be it. So I was like really interested in that part. And then when in, uh, I was in college.

I was not really a great student. Like after, I wanna say like after 10th grade of high school, I really just did not, uh, was not a good student. I just didn't, um, try that much. I didn't know what I wanted to do. But when I was in college, we would have these, like cultural shows. Being an Indian, you'd, like, I was on a dance team and like, um, there would be all these dance teams that would come together and put on a show for other students and parents that were in the area.

And I, uh. They, they had like auditions for mc of the show like one year, and I went in and I like, I'm the only person that I know of during that time that would actually like write down like sketches and material and like perform it and stuff. Whereas everybody else was just like, get up and just announce the acts and like do a shitty little Indian accent.

And that would pro be the end of it. But like, um, but I actually like wrote down sketches and bits and stuff that I, that I would like rope my friends into doing for with me and then, uh, get up there and then, so there was like a time period in college where I like. A two year time period where I hosted like every show on campus, uh, doing that, just like writing my own sketch, my, my own material.

And then, um, it came time to, I, I think it was my junior year of college, uh, we were running our own dance competition on campus and. I was in charge of one department, but we really need to get people in the seats for, for the show. So I would, um, so I torrented Adobe Premier and After Effects illegally, and I taught myself through YouTube how to use both of those things.

And I created Yep, the internet baby. Um,

Rob Valincius: self-taught as well.

Anand Mahalingam: It used to be such a, like a stanky thing to say that you're self-taught, but now it's like everybody is self-taught. Um,

Rob Valincius: Everybody, dude, and, and with the internet, there's no excuse.

Anand Mahalingam: exactly. Like,

Rob Valincius: to not be able to fucking do shit on your own. Now because YouTube has a video for everything. I installed a garbage disposal myself, and I'm a tech guy. I could build a computer, but when it comes to the manly shit, I normally pay somebody.

But I'm like, nah, fuck that man. I'm doing it myself. And it did it, and it still

Anand Mahalingam: and people are like, like my, uh, girls just ke she asked me, she, she's like, you Google everything, don't she? I was like, yeah, I mean, like, everything is available. If, if you have a question about anything, why are you asking? Like my roommate will ask me questions of like, what to do with this and what to do with that.

And I'll be like, Google it, dude. Like, I, I don't know. You don't know. Just fucking Google it. You find the answer. Um, so. I made all these videos, like promotional videos, marketing videos, and again, like comedy sketches and stuff, and, but like really learning the editing side of it. I got really interested in filmmaking.

Um, and then I was like looking up a, a editing tutorial one day. And I saw, like YouTube suggested, I saw, um, a, a like a bunch of videos about the whole filmmaking process, like going, like editing is post-production. And then like I saw a bunch of videos about production, pre-production development, screenwriting.

So I kind of learned backwards, um, the whole process of filmmaking and I really just fell in love with that. And so I was, you know, it was summer of, I wanna say 2011 or 2012. Um. And it was time for me to sign up for classes at the University of Pittsburgh again, and I did not, I, uh, found, I was like on Facebook and I saw this ad for this film school in Florida and I, uh, wasn't full sail, but it was full sail like shit.

I like to say it's full sail shittier cousin. Um. And I signed up. I just like clicked the link and I signed up on a whim, like secretly signed up. I asked, I had a friend of mine write my recommendation letter for me, and then my mom came downstairs one day and she's like, I got an email from your school saying you didn't sign up for classes.

What's going on with that? I was like, yeah, I'm not going back to school. So she was like, excuse me, can I see you in my office upstairs? And she reamed me pretty good, but to her credit, she like, within a month and a half, we were down in Orlando looking at apartments and I was like. Enrolled in the school within a month.

So then I, that school, even that school, like, there was a lot of like self-teaching that I had to do. It was four hours a day for like four days, three days a week or something for eight months, which is just not enough time to learn, like anything, like anything substantial really. So it was a lot of self-teaching.

Like I would come home from class and I would get back on with Peter, go on YouTube and learn a whole bunch more and just, uh, keep learning. I wrote my first screenplay there. And then I came back to Pittsburgh after nine months down in Orlando, I started my own like videography, video editing business for small businesses here in Pittsburgh.

I. And then I met the, I met this dude who eventually became my mentor for a little bit, but he lived in la. We were writing partners for a little bit. He read my stuff and he really enjoyed it. He like, that was the first time I knew somebody in the industry that really gave me like positive feedback. E everybody up until that point was just friends of mine who knew they were never gonna go into Hollywoods.

Kind of thing. So I got that, I got that validation from that dude and um, he was like, you should move out here. You can live with me for a little bit. So I ended up moving out there, slept on his couch for four months, and then he ended up not being not so great. Um, but I slept on his couch for four months.

He had, he had to kick me out, um, because turns out he didn't own the apartment that I was sleeping in. Um, somebody else owned it and they didn't know that I lived there. They were just like, they were in San Francisco. They left LA to go to San Francisco and work in tech. And then I came home from work one day and I took, always took a nap on the couch and, uh, after work, before going out and doing open mics and stuff.

And I was, um, having my post-work nap. And then all of a sudden this guy shakes me awake and he is like, Hey, you gotta go, you gotta get outta here. And I was like, what do you, what do you mean? And he's like, that the dude that owns this apartment, it quit his job in San Francisco and he is driving down to LA today and he'll be here in an hour.

And I was like. Oh shit. Okay, so then I get kicked out. I go stay with a friend of mine and then I ended up staying with that friend for four months. We, or no I that. From there I moved into an apartment across the street from work, which was, uh, studio, apartment that was shared by five guys, five or six guys.

And yeah, it was crazy. Like the landlord, like the guy that whose name was on the lease, he put all these futons around the, the room and then curtains and then our closet was a cardboard box underneath the bed and then,

Rob Valincius: Christ, dude.

Anand Mahalingam: and rent was

Rob Valincius: Living the dream right there, baby.

Anand Mahalingam: rent was 600 bucks for that. That's crazy.

Rob Valincius: Dude. New York and LA man. They're, uh. They're not the places that you want to live if you're trying to survive.

Anand Mahalingam: yes. Even, even past survival stage, it's really hard. Um. But, and then I lived with, uh, my, my friend, um, my childhood friend had just moved to la He was staying in a, him and another friend of ours. We were staying in a one room in a, in a big house. And then I moved in with them and I split a pullout couch with my now best friend.

Uh, we kind of have had to become best friends after. I was like, uh, we split a pullout couch for four months and I remember the first day that I went there to sleep, I usually sleep with my shirt off and like I'm getting ready to go to bed and I take my shirt off and I like put the blanket over. And he said, and he was like, put,

Rob Valincius: He is like, come on man. This is already as bad as it is.

Anand Mahalingam: and then,

Rob Valincius: I, I do the same thing, dude. I, I, I used to be able to, I, so, uh, I used to wear, uh, beaters, uh, and that's, that's what I slept in for the longest time. And then for some reason it just started to like annoy me. 'cause if it bunches or if it pulls, like I move a lot, my sleep, you just get uncomfortable.

So like, nah, fuck that man shirt off. That's how I'm sleeping. Don't give a shit and it, it, you, I sleep so much better without,

Anand Mahalingam: Yes, yes. And like LA's hot, it was the summertime, so I was like, come on man. Like we, we can't, there's no great air conditioning here. And then the other guy slept on a, on a. Air mattress that had a hole in it. So he would like inflate it in the morning and he would fall asleep on the air mattress and then by the, or inflate it at night, and then by the morning he would wake up on the ground because the thing had fully deflated.

Um,

Rob Valincius: there, been been there.

Anand Mahalingam: right last than ideal. Um, and then we're, we're like that for. Four months and then while I was like, I got a job, like when I moved there, I had no job. I had no job prospects. I went there. The guy that I was staying with at first. Um. He didn't have internet in his apartment and, uh, didn't have great, uh, like cell reception or whatever.

So I would just drive to the Starbucks and apply to jobs, um, every day, every morning. And I think within my first two weeks I got like nine interviews. And then, uh, that was back when finding a job was much easier. And I got a, and then I got two jobs. One was an unpaid internship, the other one was like a minimum wage kind of a thing.

So I was making like 400 bucks a week. And then, um. And then, yeah. And then, uh, from there, uh, got an apartment and then I don't think, I think it took like 11 months from the time that I moved out to LA to get my own apartment where my name was on the lease and like have a bed that I like could call my own kind of a thing.

Um, and then, um, yeah, and then from there it's been like a steady climb up, just like booking gigs, standup acting, whatever, whatever could, whatever works. So.

Rob Valincius: So you're out in LA now? Yeah.

Anand Mahalingam: Actually right now I am, uh, back home in Pittsburgh. I came back yesterday. Um, I was, yeah, yeah, I've been in LA for 10 years now, or 10 years in August. It'll be 10 years. Um, but I, uh, this year has just been really, really hectic and crazy. So I was like, I need to come home for like a couple, like at least a month to kind of just like settle down and stuff.

So, but yeah.

Rob Valincius: fellow Northeasterner, man, I'm outta Philly.

Anand Mahalingam: Oh, nice. Okay. We're supposed to hate each other, but respect.

Rob Valincius: honestly, dude, I don't know. Like for, for me, I have never hated Pittsburgh. I, I think the only, like, and I'm a big sports guy, so the only Pittsburgh team I've ever hated was the Penguins, and I'm not even a big hockey fan,

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, I'm not a big hockey fan either. I, um, I don't. Because, and it doesn't really make sense. I mean like the Phillies and the Pirates don't really have any sort of rivalry. The Eagles and the pirate and the sealers don't really have any

Rob Valincius: Zero. Yeah.

Anand Mahalingam: And then I think it's just a inner state thing.

And then, but the thing is like I was like kind of brought up to hate Philly and all things Philly sports and whatnot. And then when I grew up, like when I went to college, I like went to college with a, with a bunch of people that are from Philly. And so we would go to Philly a bunch to just see them and like, uh, like hang out with them after college.

And I was like, this place is awesome. Like Philly's a great fucking town, uh, great city. And uh, now I, one of my, one of my roommates in la he doesn't uh, live in LA anymore. He's back in Philly. He is the only reason why I dislike the Eagles is, and that's only to poke fun at him. Like I do respect the Eagles and all that stuff, but I, my roommate, fuck that guy.

Rob Valincius: it's, look, we're a passionate city, especially like the Eagles obviously are our, are our baby. And that's my number, football's my number one sport. So, you know, the, the easiest way to poke a bear is to just talk shit on the eagles. And then you're gonna, you're gonna get some, some red faces,

Anand Mahalingam: A hundred percent. And yeah, and my, my, um, former roommate, I love him to death, but like it is the most fun thing in the world to shit on him for anything that happens to the Eagles. But when the Eagles just won the Super Bowl, I was definitely rooting for them over the Chiefs. So,

Rob Valincius: Ugh. And you know what, man? I, um, I never thought I'd see another Super Bowl, to be honest with you. I, I thought we weren't going back. And then, uh, when we were in, I was scared for, I, I was still scared up until like. Almost the end of the third quarter and we were, we were whooping their ass, but like you can never count out Patrick Mahomes and it, but they just couldn't do anything.

And then it got, and then I let myself, it was like three minutes left in the fourth quarter when, when they poured the Gatorade. I allowed myself to know that we won at that

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Honestly, when.

Rob Valincius: it was scary.

Anand Mahalingam: I mean, we all saw 28 to three with Tom Brady and stuff. And then, I mean, like conspiracy theories abound about how much the NFL wants to support Patrick Mahomes and stuff. So it's like, there's no way, I honestly don't even think they should have been in the Super Bowl. I think they got a bunch of, uh, calls that, um, helped him out a lot and that like the NFL kind of engineered a three-peat, uh, narrative.

For them. Um, 'cause I thought, like, you know, I, I wanted Buffalo to be in there. I wanted somebody else but the Chiefs to be in there. So,

Rob Valincius: Yeah, I think everyone did, and no one wanted us to be there either. I mean, no offense, I know, I know that no one really likes us. Like I get that and like, but like it's a couple of bad eggs, dude. You know, you get a couple batteries thrown at Santa.

Anand Mahalingam: yeah.

Rob Valincius: You know, and, and, and shit like that. And like that's all people bring up.

It's like, look, it's not really like that. I would say though, if you're going to, this is my advice to people listening to the podcast, my listeners, if you're going to go to an Eagles game and you are an opposing fan, just don't wear opposing, just don't wear the jersey of your team. I know that that doesn't make sense, but if you don't do it, no one's gonna say a fucking word to you.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, and I think I'm, I mean, honestly I think most fan bases are like that. Like Philly just kind of ratchets it up to a different level. But like, that just shows that they care. 'cause like living in la if you go to a Dodgers game and you're like a fan of like any, like if you show up in Giant gear, then they'll, they'll give you shit.

But if you show up with any other team's colors, like they don't care enough to kind of like. Like, unless you're up in the nosebleeds with a bunch of drunk ass people, they don't care enough to make your life hell, um, if you're wearing the other thing. But like everywhere else, almost like I, I know if you're a Steelers fan or if you go to a Steelers game wearing Raven's gear, like what do you, what do you think is gonna happen, man?

Like, what do you, what? What do you expect?

Rob Valincius: and that's the thing with la I feel like I. LA just doesn't really give a shit about sports a whole lot. Like I feel, unless it's the Lakers, I feel. Is that, is that fair to say? I feel like the Lakers are like that. Like, because they're like a basketball town, but like, I mean, when, when the Dodgers won, like there, you know, it's, I feel like the parade was like, you come, the parade here was ridiculous.

We, we didn't even go into the city. Like I live in Northeast, so I'm like 20, 25 minutes from Center City. We went the opposite way. Like I took off from work for the parade and me and the wife, he went to Parks Casino, which is like the nicest casino in the Philly area. And we wa we went to Chick and Pete's, which I don't know if you've ever been to Chick and Pete's, uh, you like, do you like, uh, crab fries?

Anand Mahalingam: Uh, not particularly, no. Last time I had crabs, I got sick.

Rob Valincius: Well, they're, so, they're, they're fries with the old bay seasoning.

Anand Mahalingam: Ooh. Okay.

Rob Valincius: And they have, uh, it's like liquid melted American cheese. Their fries are legit. So if you, the next time you're in Philly and you know, you're, you're down for some fries. Chicken pizzas has some bang and fries, but that's really all they got.

Everything el all their other food kind of sucks. Um, but we went to chicken pizzas in the casino. We, we got a spot at the bar at like 10 30 in the morning, started drinking, and we just watched the whole fucking parade and eventually the whole place was packed. You know, we got to sit like. I did the parade in 2017, and it was the craziest experience of my life, just because I'm not, you're not used to seeing center city shut down and people are fucking pissing themselves.

And there was no fights. I didn't see a single fight. Um, there's just a lot of pee man. There was a ton of pee, like dudes just fucking pissing wherever. Uh, the, the bathroom lines like for the porta potties were like 20 people deep,

Anand Mahalingam: yeah,

Rob Valincius: It was, that part of it was not, I had a backpack full of vodka, like I came prepared and I, I honestly barely drank it because it was just so, like, you just had to like, keep your eye out.

Like I was waiting for someone to like break out a gun, you know? But none of that happened.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. And like, yeah, I, I think like for for LA, I. The sports culture is there, there is a pretty intense sports culture, but I think it's happening in a lot of sports too, where they're kind of pricing out their real fans. You know, like, uh, tickets are just like too expensive to, to do anything.

Like Dodgers tickets are pretty manageable, uh, depending on like who the opponent is and all that stuff. But even now, like when I first moved to La Dodgers, the Dodgers were not good. Um, or at least they weren't competing. Um, so like, you could get tickets. I, I got tickets there for like 15 bucks, um, that were like pr pretty nice and like people don't go as much.

But now, I mean, it's a hundred bucks minimum and stuff for, for tickets. But, um, so they do price out their most diehard fans because there's, there's like, like Dodgers fans, especially East LA like. The Latino, um, element in terms of the fandom in LA is like the most intense. I think the minority communities are the ones that care about sports the most.

In la They just like, uh, but they're overshadowed by these, you know, celebrities and, and, uh, like upper, upper elite people that. Come to a game for the, for the, uh, clout and they wanna like show that they're at the game and then they leave as soon as it becomes like convenient for them to leave. So they're not never there until the end of the game.

They're never there until, like, they'll leave a ba, they'll come to the basketball game for a photo op and then leave in the third quarter or something. So I think that's overshadowed it, but. Like the Dodgers have a pretty intense following the Lakers, of course, uh, the Clippers do not fuck the

Rob Valincius: Yeah. Uh, yeah. They're a shit show,

Anand Mahalingam: yeah, I, I was like, uh, somebody asked if I wanted to go. Uh, my friend's a Nuggets fan and she asked if I wanted to go to the Nuggets game at the Intuit Dome against the Clippers. And I was like, I do kind of want to check out the Clippers new arena, the Intuit Dome, but I don't want to go to a Clippers game.

Like, I'll go if the Lakers are going to play the Clippers or whatever, but there's no way I'm gonna go support the Clippers. Um, and then what else? The Rams have a big, uh, following now. It's definitely gone up, um, since they've been back. The Chargers. Like barely register at all. And then there's still, there's still some, uh, Raiders fans in town.

So the, the sports fandom. Yeah, the sports fandom is there. It's just like so spread out now because really it's just like so expensive to go to these things. So.

Rob Valincius: It's, dude, it's so expensive to fucking do shit anymore. I can't fucking step outside without spending money, you

Anand Mahalingam: I, yeah, I say this about LA it's like, I love, I love LA so much. Um, I've come to love it after like 10 years. It took me a while. Um, took me a couple years. But, um, it's like you, if you leave the house, you're spending a hundred dollars, like easy. It's so, yeah.

Rob Valincius: The last time we were there was like 2017, or maybe it was earlier than that. Maybe. Maybe it was like. 2015. I, I don't remember the last time we were there, but, uh, I had tore my a CLI think it was like 20 16, 20 17. I had a torn a CLI hadn't had the surgery yet. And, uh, the wifey wanted to go. We did, uh, what's the name of that place, babe?

Runan, Runan Canyon.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Rob Valincius: I, I went up Runion Canyon with, I just had a, a sleeve on and I fucking did it with. A torn ACL, like just hobbling up running Canyon. I definitely fell twice, but I didn't, I don't, I don't think I did any more damage, but I eventually got repaired.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. What, what, what was the status of your ACL after doing the hike? Did it get I'm, I'm, did it feel like it got worse or did it No. No, because runion not like, too, too bad. But there's parts where it's pretty steep.

Rob Valincius: There's, yeah, I think, I think the, well, I think the main place I fell was like towards the top where they have, there's like janky, like sta they're not, they're like, like manmade stairs almost. Definitely, definitely fell there. That was, I think the only, because you can't, like with a torn ACL, it's like.

Like, it was just basically in one position. Like you can't really do much with your knee. You know what I mean? Um, and I

Anand Mahalingam: Pushing

Rob Valincius: I'll do it, you know?

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, pushing off and like elevation and stuff must be, yeah, and they're, those stairs are just like, they drop like a wooden plank and nail it to the ground, and then they move up a little bit and do the same thing. It's not like a very manmade situation up there.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, yeah. No, it's, it's definitely not safe. So if you're, if you have a, a leg issue, I'd recommend waiting it out

Anand Mahalingam: Yes, yes.

Rob Valincius: But we had already planned the trip, so it was kind of a, it is what it is, you

Anand Mahalingam: If you a, you could actually drive up to the top of Runyon Canyon the opposite way and just do that. Just do

Rob Valincius: And just hang out up there and,

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. Just hang out and then drive down. It's okay.

Rob Valincius: um, so, so that's pretty ballsy, man. So you did the, the, I guess the, um, the thing that everyone says that they're gonna do and say, fuck it, I'm just gonna move to la. Um, what kept you going in those early days? Like, you know, like what, what fueled you, because obviously you had no connections, you know, outside of the one guy that, you know, was kind of a shady, shady guy, right?

So what, what kept you going there in the early days?

Anand Mahalingam: Um, I just really felt like it was the first time in my life that I've felt like I knew what I wanted to do. Um, so I kind of just, uh, had to explore it. And then it's also like it was such a big risk. And my mom wrote me a letter when I left. She wrote me a letter and she just like stuffed in my backpack for me to find later.

And so like I was sitting at the.

Rob Valincius: Smooth, smooth move.

Anand Mahalingam: I'm sitting at this gate, reading this letter from my, from my mom and she's like, if this doesn't work out, you have to move back home and do everything. I say, you have to finish your degree, you have to do this, you have to do that, you have to do that. It's like, well, I definitely don't wanna do any of that shit.

So, um, um, but so it was like I have to prove it to myself that I can do it and then prove it to other people that I can do it. And then I think for me it was pretty like. Early on where I got this feeling of like, I can do this. I like, I'm not like, uh, totally. Like sometimes there's a ton of people that move out to LA that really shouldn't move out to LA that, that are like totally like, should be a big fish in a small pond or like should wait it out a little bit more longer or whatever.

But I had the good fortune of like that writing that guy, he was like. I very, um, complimentary of my writing skills and stuff like that. So that was, that was good. And then like, um, so that was like an industry person telling me that. And then, um, yeah, pretty early on I was like, I went to an open mic, um, early on in my days and then I.

One of my first or second kind of open mics, uh, somebody kind of was like, Hey, that was really funny. Let me book you on my show. So it's like, oh wow, like this, this is how quickly this stuff kind of, uh, moves and how quickly this stuff happens. So, and then, like there was this one, um, you know, I, I audited a couple acting classes.

I actually didn't move out there to be a. Performer at all. Like I wanted to write in direct movies and I still do, but I kinda like fell into the whole acting thing. 'cause I would mc these shows in college and when I moved to LA I was like, um, keep the performance aspect alive. Like I wanna like still be performing, like I like performing.

I don't know if I'm gonna, if anything's gonna happen with it or whatnot. I also had like a lot of, um. Uh, self-confidence issues with like, you know, the way I look and stuff. I was like, ah, I don't think like anybody's gonna see me in front of a camera. So, um, I just like audited a couple acting classes for free.

And the first class that I audited was this woman's sweet little woman up in the valley. She, uh, I go to, like, she teaches this class in her living room and I go there and she's like talking about how, um. She did, she studied improv or acting or something in San Francisco with Robin Williams. And Robin Williams is like my number one guy.

Like he is the like North star of North Stars for me. He is my favorite person that's ever been there. Um, um, somebody I definitely still look up to, to this day, both with comedy and acting. And, um, I was like, bullshit. You, you don't know Robin Williams, you. And she was like, okay. And then she goes into her room and she brings out the, uh, rainbow suspenders from work and Mindy, and she's like, Robin gave me these like 30 years ago.

And I was like,

Rob Valincius: Wow.

Anand Mahalingam: holy shit. And then we did a scene and um, she like. Pulled me aside at the end of the, at the end of the scene or at the end of the class or whatever. And she told me, she's like, I see some Robin Williams in you. And I was like, that's o okay. Like, that's like enough. Like

Rob Valincius: Well, I'm in.

Anand Mahalingam: I don't need anything else.

Like I, this whole thing might not be so crazy if, like, I'm getting notes like that in my very first acting class I've ever taken in my life. So, um. I think there was just like small little victories that happened at the same time that I was just like, um. There's something here, I can do this. Um, so I gotta keep, I owe it to myself to keep like just follow, see this through until the end, until somebody really just stops me and says, no, you cannot do this.

You are not like, this is where you stop. This is the level at which you stop at. Um, and yeah, and also it was just like the most fun I've ever had. Like the most fulfilling, most fun thing that's like I've ever done in my life is just like, I honestly still wish that I could go back and. Get that mindset that I had my first year or so living in LA where I was just grinding, going to open mics, I would go to networking events.

I would just like barely spend any time at home. 'cause my home sucked at the time. But, um,

Rob Valincius: Your couch

Anand Mahalingam: couch with no.

Rob Valincius: your, and, and then your bed with another man. Um, so, so how do you think, um, your experience MCing. Influenced like your standup, acting, writing, that type of thing.

Anand Mahalingam: I think, um, there's a very clear thing of like, like I think all comics, all good comics will say like, there's so many comics that are like writing the jokes that they want to say and they want to do, and if the audience doesn't get it, then fuck them. Like what I say goes kind of thing, but really with MCing and everything, it's just like. The best MCs. It's not about them. Like, it's not like, you know, even when you're hosting like something like the Oscars, like, yeah, you wanna make sure people, you all you're there to do is make sure people are comfortable and make sure people are entertained and they laugh, but it's really not about you.

Which I think applies to everything. Like with, with comedy, it's like, it's not about you. Your, your job is the audience is your boss. When you're, when you're a standup comic, your job is to make them laugh. And if you don't make them laugh. You can't just be like, ah, the crowd was really bad. Like, I'm sure it'll be fine tomorrow or whatever.

It's like, no, man, you did something. There's something. It's not a hundred percent on them. You did something that was wrong probably, and you have to go and fix it. And then with acting too, I think like with acting, I, uh, more, more than anything that's like. Actors feel so self-important. I, it took me forever to consider myself a real actor because I started out doing standup for like first five or six years.

And then really only over the past like five years have I been. Acting and like pushing into acting because I think actors are insufferable people. I think they're so god damn annoying because they're, they, it's so self-important what they like, how a lot of them feel. And it is not all of them, but it's like enough of them where I'm just like, there are so many other factors with, uh, with like how to make a movie do well.

Like there's so many other people that go into it and actors get. So much of the publicity and they get so much of money and all that stuff, but like a movie cannot be made without anybody, without everybody's involvement on that movie. And I think MCing is kind of learning that is like, okay, like. The, there's the people that put on the show and then they give you the mic.

And your job is to just get outta the way, get all the acts announced in time, and then end the show on time. That is your job. And, or like, make their job, make their lives as easy as possible so we can finish the show on time and get everybody going. And so it really kind of just like allows you to see everybody else that's involved in the production and the operation and stuff and kind of res give them the respect and, uh, that they deserve.

So.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, and I imagine too, you said you were writing bits and stuff too, so I'd imagine it kind of also fueled that creativity side of it

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, for sure. I mean, like it. That that like was some of the most fun stuff. And it's like, like, yeah, you don't want to attract too much attention to yourself, but that doesn't mean you gotta just go up there and just say the name of every act and then move on. Like, there's still like little things that you can kind of add in and you know, now I'm at a point where improv wise I'm a lot better.

So I can like, you know, add in a little. Quip or something in between the acts to, to, to get a couple laughs in between or whatever. But like, yeah, writing, writing all that stuff down. It really, I mean, like. Standup wise got me so comfortable. Like just in college, I would like do crowds where do bigger crowds than I've ever done as a standup comedian where like I did a, we did a dance competition.

There was like 600 people in the audience and like, I was like 22 years old, 23 years old. So like now I'm 34 and I'm talking to people and I'm like, yeah, I've been in much bigger crowds than this. So like nothing really phases me on the public speaking side now.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, I mean, I'm, I, I mean, I've never spoke. In front of 600 people. But I get that, like when I, when I, in what I do, uh, I work in insurance, so like, you know, there's, there was times where I was speaking in front of, you know, five or 10 people, but then I've had audiences of a hundred people. And, uh, but you know what I, and, and I'm sure you can attest to this, there's something about, um, the fuel from an audience as well.

When you're, when you're the presenter, when you're up there, when you're talking like. My energy, I absorb the audience's energy. So if they have fucking shitty energy or people are like, you know, nodding off 'cause it's 9:00 AM they didn't have coffee or whatever, it, it fucks you up.

Anand Mahalingam: Right. And it does, but then there's also like. You know, there's like, I learned this from my first, it was like my first or second year out in LA I was doing standup and I did this show where there was literally two people in the audience. It was like at a WeWork, it was like in the lobby of a WeWork, uh, thing.

And there's two people. We set up like 30 chairs. Only two people showed up. And I go up there and I do the bit that I came there to do or whatever, and it barely gets any laugh 'cause there's only two fucking people in the audience. And then, so I, I think I bombed and then. My friend who's headlining, he, he gets up there and he just like threw away his entire set and he just spoke to those two people in the audience and he like, just like would joke around with them and they laughed at everything that he did.

And it's because he like it. Like you kind of like as the speaker and as the comedian or whatever, you had to meet the audience where they are and kind of make sure like it's on you to a little bit to get their energy up and uh, to, to make them attentive 'cause they don't owe you. Like as a comic, they don't owe you their attention.

They paid for the ticket. You're supposed to make them laugh. So, um, so it's like you kind of, you feed off the energy of the crowd, but you also have to be the one to like infuse energy into the crowd, inject energy into the crowd as well.

Rob Valincius: Yeah. Yeah. And, and obviously too, you have an interesting background being Indian American, right? So, I mean, I'm sure some people are waiting for the, the standard jokes of Curry arranged Mary, all that other bullshit. Right? And that's gotta annoy you a little bit 'cause I'm sure you wanna, you wanna talk about normal shit, but like, you know, there's astigmatism with that, right?

With an Indian comedian.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, and I think, yeah, I think there's also, like my first couple years I did all those, I like had a couple of like stereotypical jokes because that's kinda what was expected and that would hit and stuff. But then eventually, I think eventually your voice grows, but. Even now, like it's funny too because even Indian people are like expecting you to do Indian ass shit on stage.

Like, no, can I just, can I talk about other stuff to you guys? At least

Rob Valincius: Yeah. Yeah. They should be the ones that understand where you're coming

Anand Mahalingam: Right. Yeah, that's what I would think. That's what you would think. But they, yeah, so I think there's a lot of, uh, and I think people, because of the nature of my name, even like my name is so hard to like, so long, so hard to pronounce.

And so like every mc gets it wrong whenever I go up, I. On stage. So I have a whole bit, uh, like standard bit about my name because like the first 30 seconds I have to like, kind of acknowledge. Thank you for giving me the mic, but also you said my name wrong, even though we like discussed it right

Rob Valincius: We rehearsed this, you know.

Anand Mahalingam: So, um, so there's, there's stuff like that. But yeah, now I think it, it, I think it takes everybody kind of a while to like, um, branch out from what they're used to. I think most comics. Start out doing jokes that they're very familiar with, like culturally and stuff like that. Then once they kind of get a little bit, bit of confidence from doing, uh, like jokes like that, then they can kind of branch out and do stuff that, that they're, that they care about a little bit more.

Rob Valincius: What do you say your, um, your stylist standup is like? I know you said, you know, Robin Williams was like your big,

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, I mean, he, he is, he is like a, I. You can't imitate that. So it's like, uh, his standup was just like so off the wall and I'm obviously influenced by cocaine as well, but.

Rob Valincius: uh, lot of drugs back in the eighties and nineties. Lot

Anand Mahalingam: I watched, I watched this one video recently where, where this like movie exec was, uh, Anderson Cooper was interviewing this movie exec Barry Diller about, he was like, what was the most coked upset you've ever been to in your life? And he said, uh, hook with, uh, where, uh, ramen Williams

Rob Valincius: What

Anand Mahalingam: or no, did he say hook?

I think he said Popeye. He said Popeye was the most coked upset that he was ever on, because everybody on that set was super, super coke up.

Rob Valincius: that is wild. Not surprising, but wild.

Anand Mahalingam: uh, I think if you have to make a Popeye movie, I, you gotta be under the influence of something you.

Rob Valincius: was, okay, so was I, hold on. Uh, don't they have a new one and it's Will Smith or was I, was I like Yeah, there's a, well there was a trailer in 24, so maybe it was. Okay. All right. So it was a fake, someone did like a fake movie thing in 24 and uh, they were gonna have Will Smith as Popeye.

Anand Mahalingam: Oh wow.

Rob Valincius: I thought it was real.

It looked legit. Google it. It's on YouTube. It looks super legit. And I'm like, what the fuck is this? I mean, when you think of Popeye, I mean, I don't know, will Smith doesn't necessarily come directly into mind, but then again, I mean, anybody can, well, not anybody can play everybody these days, but, uh, there's been definitely some, like I, dude, I, I don't know if I should feel bad or not, but what happened with the chick from Snow White?

Woo.

Anand Mahalingam: yeah,

Rob Valincius: Disney, at least 250 mil. At least

Anand Mahalingam: yeah, yeah. It's, uh, there's a lot

Rob Valincius: a time for activism and there's also a time for like, you know, you're probably, yeah, like you're probably not gonna get another like really good acting gig ever again, probably.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. I, I don't know. I, I feel like, uh, and then like Gal Gadot is her co-star on that too. So like, you know, I,

Rob Valincius: Oh yeah, that also didn't help. That also didn't

Anand Mahalingam: I think, um, I do, I, I appreciate her, uh, standing up and, and saying stuff, uh, and like, you know, stand on your beliefs and whatnot. But yeah, I mean, there's a time and place.

There's a, you know, maybe not, like literally before the movie comes out or like on opening weekend, you know, like that

Rob Valincius: Maybe give it six months. You know, they, they make a comment, like, let them make their money, you know?

Anand Mahalingam: a strong opening weekend because that's, that ensures that she gets money too, that she can live off. But, um, yeah, no, I, I think going back, uh, uh, standup, um, inspirations, I mean my number one, the reason why I started doing standup was Louis CK. Um, that was.

Rob Valincius: love Louis

Anand Mahalingam: it was, it was like, I was in college and I had a, like, one of my childhood friends, uh, my brother and I shared an apartment with, uh, a friend and then our childhood friend or family friend, uh, was like a couple floors down from us.

And my brother would always go down there. They would play like video games and stuff, uh, together. And then one time I, uh, I went down with them, uh. To, to just hang out. I was hanging out while they were playing video games and they had Lou, they had like one TV with the video games and then one TV was playing standup comedy and it was Louis.

And I was just like, what is this? And my friend was like, that's, yeah, that's Louis Cck. He's a comedian. I was just like listening to it, dying laughing, and I was like, I cannot believe I knew. It's like, uh, it was like kind of a come to Jesus moment where that every comic has, where they find their, they watch their first comic that inspired them, and then they all say the same thing.

It's like, I didn't know you could get paid to talk like this. I didn't know, like, I was like, we talk like this as friends, like all the time. Not the, not the like really bad stuff. Some of that stuff has not aged very well. Um, but

Rob Valincius: no,

Anand Mahalingam: that was not,

Rob Valincius: uh, jerking off on people also has not aged very

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, I watched,

Rob Valincius: to come out on the other side of that.

Anand Mahalingam: I mean, like he, he doesn't have, he definitely doesn't have the pool that he has, but I. The thing that should happen with, uh, like when people say like, cancel culture and all that stuff. I think Louis's a good example where he's not getting Netflix specials anymore. He's not like controlling the, like he's not in the public eye. He is not like a part of the. Social societal dialogue or anything like that.

He's self-producing his shit. He's putting it up on his website. People are like, he's promoting it on his website. People are still showing up, and I think that's like the whole thing is like, yeah, I don't know. Honestly, I also don't even know if he should really be in the public eye like he used to be given everything that happened.

So I think it's fine. He's making, he's still making him millions of dollars and he's just doing it off on his own. It's

Rob Valincius: I mean, you make more money that way too, dude. There's no middleman. He's putting it all on his own website. You're not sharing anything, any profits with Netflix or anything. I mean, you'll, you'll probably lose market share to a certain degree. But, um, dude, his two, I'll tell you his two favorite bits, two of my all time top five favorite bits are from Louis ck.

One of them is ta uh, him talking about getting a dog. And, and he's saying like, yeah, you, you get that dog. You're basically setting yourself up for heartbreak. You know, he goes to this whole bit about when the dog dies and you know, he's like, he, you should just do something at that point in your life, but in 10 years then you're gonna be crying and upset.

Like, that bit was good, but it's probably my, one of my all time favorite comedy bits was him talking about his first memory. And it was him shitting his pants on the porch. And he's like, it's, it was, the shit was so big that it booted his memory, like into like, it was like a computer booting up. And that was the first thing he remembered.

And I was like, he's like, I'm just saying his shit's running down my leg. I'm like, what's, what the fuck's going on? And that's like one of my all time favorite bits. 'cause it's so good. It's so good.

Anand Mahalingam: He still has stuff like, I mean, like. The stuff that really grabbed me from the beginning was never really any of the sexual stuff. It was like, he has this one bit about he, like, he did this bit about, um, he's like, people, uh, they're like talking about the environment and he is like, there's people on, uh, who are like on the right, right wing people who are, they're Christian and uh, they have a problem with all the people that are pro-environment and all that stuff.

They're like, you know, like for whatever reasons, and he is like. Which doesn't make sense because if you're a Christian and you believe that God made this planet for you, why would you not take care of it?

Rob Valincius: That's so true though. So true. Dude. There, it's just, you know what, I like intelligent comedy. Like, I don't like the beep, you know, doing dumb shit. Like, it's why I like Dave Chappelle so much. He's my favorite comedian. Um, he just, he's got such good bits and he, he intertwined stories and his, his like intro and outro always just somehow are just.

Fucking perfect. Um, I saw him New Year's in the city. Uh, it was New Year's Eve. It was the best comedy show I've ever been to. It was cool. He comes out smoking a fucking blunt, you know, and, and like he's just sitting there and he just, he just, he, he, he's real with you. And I think there's a, there you get connected to that, especially being from Philly, that's like our thing, right?

Is like authenticity and, and connecting like, on like that level. And I, dude, he just killed it. It was so good.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah, like Chappelle's great. Um, I love, uh, bill Burr. I think Bill Burr is like real, like truth to power kind of guy. 'cause I think, uh, that's the other thing that I really like about some comics is like, I. I, I mean, I, I love the silliness of some of them, but then, like George Carlin was one where it was like, he, he was so, like the speaking truth to power, you know what I mean?

And it's like, you know, uh, the punch, like he would punch up all the time. And so I, that's what I really like in comedy is when people like some of the stuff that Chappelle has done recently, I'm like, dude, you're like. You pun, you're, you're hitting at people that really just don't, like, cannot defend themselves really.

You know what I mean? And so.

Rob Valincius: Yeah.

Anand Mahalingam: So there's, there's some of the comics that become, they get older and then they don't, like, they, uh, like lose sight of what made them so funny in the first place. Like Jamie Fox was talking about. He was like, I wa, I wa was going, trying to go out and do standup. He, I think he's back doing standup now, but he's like, I, like he just had a stroke and he was like, the stroke is what made me wanna go out there and do standup because before the stroke I wanted to go out and do standup, but I'm rich.

I can't talk about anything, like there's nothing I can talk about that can make me relatable to people. But now I went through. This medical trauma or whatever. And now I'm relatable to people again. And he told me, he told the story of, uh, he was like, I, I saw Eddie Murphy one time and Eddie's, Eddie Murphy was talking about getting back out there and doing standup comedy and stuff like that.

And they, and he did some standup for Jamie Fox and Friends who, whoever was there. And Jamie's like, no, dude, you can't go back out there with this stuff. Like, this is not like, this is only gonna be funny to other people that are multimillionaires. So, so like, yeah.

Rob Valincius: be relatable. You

Anand Mahalingam: You have to

Rob Valincius: to a certain degree.

Anand Mahalingam: you have to be. I think, I think like that's what made Seinfeld such a big deal.

And he's a huge, uh, influence on me too. Like more so the show than his standup. But it was just like. Crazy minute things. I think my standup comedy style would be like, I like to have those really small observations that, uh, that, uh, Seinfeld has. Um, but then also like storytelling, like is kind of like the, my major thing.

Like that's, that's like a Louie straight from the Louie, like, um. I don't know, uh, Bible or whatever it was like the way that I tell stories, I've had a lot of crazy things happen to me in, in my life. So like, uh, to tell a story that makes people invested and, and still laugh and stuff, that's probably those two things I like to be, uh, um, considered both of those two things.

Rob Valincius: Yeah, I feel like I would be a storyteller. Like I have a lot of random shit that I feel like I could go off for, you know? 'cause at the end of the day, you know, it depends on where you are, right? Your time could be 10 minutes, it could be 20, it could be 30. If you're headlining it's 45 minutes to an hour, right?

Or longer. So like, it depends on how much time you have, but I'm sure I could hit a good 20 or 30 minutes.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah.

Rob Valincius: if I'm telling stories, if I'm just telling random jokes. I don't really know how I'm hitting that. Um, but you've, you, so you've done standup at the Comedy store, right? Do you have any like, cool stories there?

Have you met anybody cool or.

Anand Mahalingam: Uh, I mean, yeah, like there's, uh, not, I, I didn't really like meet anybody. Um, 'cause back when I did the Comedy Store, I was still super, super new. Um, just got booked on somebody's show on, at the comedy store. But like, you know, like people would drop in. Like, there was a time when I was like, I was like the second to last comic on the lineup, um, on a show that started at 10 30.

Um, and then, uh, somebody dropped in, I think it was Pete Davidson or somebody dropped in. There was like some roast going on. So like what happens is like the comics will come into the comedy store and they'll work out their roast jokes at, for the audiences there, and they'll be like, just imagine you're at the roast of like Rob Lowe and like, I'm reading these jokes, making fun of Rob Lowe.

Meanwhile, there might be people in the audience who hasn't, who have no idea who Rob Lowe is. And, uh, and yeah, and the uh, uh, so like Pete Davidson came in halfway through the show and he did a 30 minute set, which pushed all the other comics like further back. So I got up there, literally the only people in the audience were one of my friends, and then like the other comic that had yet to go, like his friend.

So there's like two people at one 30 in the morning doing standup comedy. So, but I. I saw Arsenio Hall do a set, he dropped in on a, a show that, and I have no connection to. To him at all. I never watched a show. Everybody always said he was fantastic. I never understood it because I never watched it, never saw any of his standup or anything.

And then he came in there and he crushed it. He was like, that's like a difference. Like even if you think somebody's like washed up and old and washed up and whatnot, they, they will mop the fucking floor with your ass. Like they're so good. Like some, the people that have just been through the, the whole thing of like, 'cause it's, it's, it's a.

It takes like a, a certain kind of person to be able to go up there. So many times, like I tell PE I always say like, the difference between somebody who's just funny and a comedian is somebody who's funny, will go up there and do standup for as long as they can until it goes poorly. And then once it goes poorly, they'll be like, I'm never doing this again.

I'm good. But then a comic will go up there and it goes poorly and be like, their first thing is like. What did I do wrong? What? Like, I'm gonna, I have to fix this. Like I have to fix it. Like, I know there's something funny here. I need to like make it to that point. I need to go up there and do it again. So.

Rob Valincius: Have you, uh, have you had your fair share of, uh, bombing or.

Anand Mahalingam: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There was, there was one time, um, I did a joke so bad. Um. That like it was, it was an open mic. It was the first time my brother ever came to see me do standup in la. It was like this O combo open mic show kind of thing. And I go up there and I do this show, this one joke, and it bombs so badly that the other comics in the crowd are like, what?

Like, like what are you saying about that? They're heckling me and all that stuff. And I got so flustered. My brother was like, like hiding his face and like didn't want anybody to see him. Um, and then I. I was like, you know what? I'm done. Uh, like I still have three minutes left on the clock. I was like, you know what?

I'm, I'm, I'm good. I'm, I'm going off. And then the comics that were heckling me were like, no, come on. Get back on stage. Finish your set. Finish your set. And I had to just like quietly like. Stand up there and just like speed read through the rest of my routine or whatever. And then it was so bad that one of the other comics on the lineup, who's still a good friend of mine now, um, he came up to me afterwards, he is like, yeah, I know what you were trying to go for with that joke, but you just didn't say it right.

So he helped me rewrite it right then and there became a much better joke, but that was like the worst that it's ever gotten. Sure. Yeah.

Rob Valincius: I, I can feel it, dude. I can feel the anxiety for you at just telling this story. 'cause I'm like, that's gotta be rough 'cause you know. You know, comedians are prob, they gotta be like, they're very supportive, but I'm sure they're also the biggest fucking critics be of how you tell the jokes.

Anand Mahalingam: yeah, because like, it's like this thing of. You go to an open mic, it's just like six other comics that are looking at their, like the routine that they're gonna do on their phone. So they're just like looking down like this. They're not looking up at you. And the only time they look up at you is if there's actually a genuinely funny like joke that you made, or there's like a premise that they're like.

Ooh, that's a good premise. And then they listen to your joke and they're like, eh, I could do that a lot better than that guy could. So it's really, yeah, they're not like it. It's, it's tough. Like it can be, it can be a very supportive community at times, but really only if you're making a certain kind of joke, certain level of joke, it can get very, it gets very, very cliquey.

I haven't been. Doing as much standup for the past couple years. 'cause I've been getting more into acting. But one of the things is just like, open mics are brutal sometimes, and especially now, I think these days in LA it's more brutal than it was when I first started. So,

Rob Valincius: So what's something that you're, you're dying to make, you know, film show, sketch, you know, anything you haven't had a chance yet. Do you have something that, that you're working on or?

Anand Mahalingam: um, yeah, I, uh, I would love to, like, I've made a, so. In 2023, we shot a short film that I produced, and I'm the lead actor of called Ronnie, California the King of Artesia, which was super fun. We're trying to turn that into a feature film, so it was like a proof of concept. We kind of showed it around to people, got some people that were interested in it, and then, um, kind of just, uh, other, other reasons made the momentum kind of stop on that.

But we're writing the script for that right now, and I think that's like the next thing that I want to do is kind of just. Make a feature length movie, make a 90 minute movie, be a part of one, be like cast in one. Like I've, I've been cast in like bit parts in um, TV shows and stuff and uh, but I think, you know, I just did, part of the reason why I was like, I'm, I'm back home in Pittsburgh to like refresh is I just did for five months, I did a play in la the first play I've done since high school, which was awesome.

It was a four and a half hour long play. So all about like the Spartan and Greek and Persian wars and stuff like that. We had Trojans dressed up in the full, like red plume, like leonis and stuff. So that was, it was

Rob Valincius: man. Love that shit.

Anand Mahalingam: so sick. It was like it's, it was brutal. And I'm still like, you know, picking up the pieces of like what my life was like during that time, but it so sick, so cool.

So I definitely wanna do more plays. But I think, uh, the next thing I wanna do, I think I, I have like a ton of like, ideas right now. I wanna do like a YouTube series about the history of LA where it's like I'm hosting and I'm doing like, uh, like a daily show, kind of a out in the field, kind of, um, um. I guess interviews and stuff like that, but, um, so like a, like a web series about LA and the history of LA and then like a talk show, kind of podcast kind of thing.

Um, but, and then, but like, I think the number one thing, like the whole reason why I moved out to LA is to, to be a writer and director of feature films. So I definitely wanna start laying the groundwork for. A few. All this stuff takes years to kind of work on, like this short film that we made. It is like, took a year and a half just to get to the point where we can make it.

So if I start now, I have, I've, I've been like workshopping different ideas in my head. So if I get, part of the reason why I'm home is to like. Work on those a little bit more and kind of get those ready to kinda show people that, that could be interested in helping bring it to life, um, in the next couple years.

But feature film is, I think the next thing that I wanna do.

Rob Valincius: That's awesome, man. That's awesome. Well, look, we're, uh, we're hitting that point, dude. It was, it was fun. Um, do you want to plug yourself away and, and let us know, you know, maybe when your, your, uh, YouTube film's gonna be out and all that.

Anand Mahalingam: Yeah. Um, well. As far as the film, um, we don't know when it's gonna go on YouTube yet, um, but if anybody who's listening wants to, wants is interested in knowing more about it, you can find me on Instagram. Literally, my username is the same on all, uh, platforms. It's at Jan in the buy, which is Y-A-N-A-N-D-B-H-A-I.

Um. It's technically so when I was growing up, people called me on and by, which is like by means brother. So it was like, and then one of my friends did a really bad Indian accent once and he just called me Ya and by, so that's kind of become my whole online persona for, for years. But if you follow me there, yeah, it's great.

I, it's, it's a great

Rob Valincius: A little, little easier than what you got going on right now. A little easier to find on Instagram for sure.

Anand Mahalingam: So true, so true. Um, but yeah, find me on there. Just like, you know, DM me, I can, I'll send you a link to the movie and then you can watch it. Um, and then yeah, I'll, I'll, I'm back in Pittsburgh doing like open mics and shows and stuff, so I'll be back on the standup game, uh, standup grind coming up so you can tune in for that stuff too.

Rob Valincius: Awesome, man. Well, look, it was great having you on. Uh, my podcast is Drink Clock Pod on all socials, drink clock podcast, wherever you'll listen to fucking podcast. We're there. And, uh, this episode will be up in, you know, probably a good day or two. And, you know, we'll get this out there man. Thanks for stopping by.

I appreciate it.

Anand Mahalingam: Thank you. Have a.

Rob Valincius: man. 

Outro Music