The purpose is to fill viewers’ last half hour of the day with happiness: Amit Tandon from Sony SAB’s Goodnight India

•    This is your first entry into the world of television. How does it feel to explore a new medium? How excited are you about this?
•    It’s my first stint with television, and I can’t put to words my excitement. Even today, I feel television is the most prominent medium around, and this opportunity allows me to reach a different set of audiences that I had never catered to previously. With Goodnight India, I would be talking mainly to an audience sitting at home and watching the show. So, I am thrilled to learn this whole process of not just talking to the live audience but to millions of people through camera who are watching me at their comfort in their living rooms. 

•    What have been some of the heartwarming responses and comments that you have received from fans till now?
•    The amount of love and appreciation that I have always been showered with is very gratifying, and it motivates me to get better with each passing day. I think the response, especially during the pandemic, has been tremendous. I have had people who wrote to me where they have spoken about how the only thing that kept them happy and going was watching my videos on different platforms. I remember this one instance when a couple came for a show, and they said that whenever we are fighting, we just sit down and watch one of your videos and share a good laugh. 

•    Where do you seek inspiration for your content?
•    I seek inspiration for my sketches from our daily lives while observing people around me. Content comes when I travel, I watch people around me and try to integrate their lives with my sketches. A lot of content also comes from my children, wife, and parents. 

•    What are some of the pros and cons of performing live or recording a show with this format?
•    When you are performing live, the biggest advantage is that you get to see the audience feedback within seconds. For example, you could see the audience laughing and clapping when they like a good joke. That kind of feedback gives you a rush. It’s very similar to artists who perform theatre and act in films. The film artists go back and do theatre purely for the thrill of watching people live and watch their reactions in real-time. The challenging part of performing live is that you never know what you are getting into because there is a new set of people you are catering to every time. Sometimes people will respond, and sometimes they will not. There are too many unknown factors and challenges with live shows, where every show is unpredictable, different and there can never be one single script that you can stick to. During a recorded show, the biggest advantage is that you are thoroughly prepared, the environment is controlled, and if anything goes the way it wasn’t planned initially, you can go back and reshoot. The disadvantage probably is that you will have to work much harder on your timing because usually, during live shows, most of your inspiration comes from the room's energy. The timing changes with the mood in the room. However, while you are working with a camera, you have to build the audience in your mind and see them with the eyes of your mind. You have to define your pauses yourself. 

•    What prompted you to be a part of Goodnight India?
•    I think the overall concept has played a vital role, and I absolutely love the idea of bringing a late-night show that would make people happy and help them sleep with a smile on their faces. So, the entire idea and the concept was fascinating for me, and I was getting an opportunity to bring to a larger audience which was very exciting.

•    How does it feel to be associated with Sony SAB and Goodnight India?
•    It feels great to be associated with the Sony SAB family, and I’m incredibly excited to be part of Goodnight India. I think Sony SAB has always been leading the way with its light-hearted content for families, and that’s my forte as well. I am looking forward to Goodnight India as I think that the most important thing that one can do in their life is to make people smile and cheer-up. So, we are bringing Goodnight India, India’s go-to Raatwala Family show.

•    The concept of the show is very different from what people have usually seen you do. How has this experience been for you?
•    Since day one, the experience has been exhilarating, and I have given my inputs from working with the writers to the execution, throughout the creative process. The team has been very kind and have always been open to ideas on the creative side. In the process, we are trying to build humour through everyday situations, and it’s been an enriching experience working on television.
•    What can the audience look forward to from the show?
•    The viewers can forward to stories that are very relatable and will spread smiles across. The purpose is to give them some light-hearted entertainment and make their last half an hour of the day filled with happiness. We are looking forward to a lot of smiles, happiness, and joy with a show that you can sit down and watch with your family. 

•    It’s been a challenging year for all of us. After all the daily hustle, how do you unwind and ensure a goodnight sleep?
•    The past two years have been very challenging indeed,  and I think what has kept me going is that I stay with my family, and the last two years have brought us much closer. We started playing games, we started getting to know a lot more about each other because my kids are at the age where they don’t talk to parents a lot. Due to the pandemic, we started interacting much more, and now it’s become a ritual to playing a game before we go to sleep. It’s my way of ensuring that I have a very good night's sleep and end the day with a smile.