A True Tinder Tale is an almost accurate (say about 95 per cent true) love story of Rohan ‘Danger’ Desai and Shreemayee Das. While the guy is a college drop-out, winner of Melbourne Comedy Festival and a freelance writer whose stand-ups are a combination of unique, borderline bizarre experiences, the girl is a multi-talented event manager, video producer and a freelance writer who has just started doing stand-up comedy. As fate would have it, or algorithm in their case, the two met on the dating app Tinder and really hit it off.
Das tells us more about their upcoming performance organised by TIFA Working Studios:
Tell us about the concept behind your show A True Tinder Tale.
When we started dating, we thought of writing our own separate scripts on love, dating, and being together because we had moved in together. But later, we thought that it would be better if we do it together as many comedians talk about dating, live-in relationships but there is only one perspective. So, it would be interesting to present two different perspectives on stage at the same time.
How much time and effort have you put in your script?
A True Tinder Tale is a true story about how me and Rohan met, how we moved in together. Since this story is based on our own lives, there was not much to do except just add a few jokes here and there to set the mood. The humour comes from the fact that there are two view points of the same story. The script includes the perspective of a girl and a boy, and that makes it contrasting yet funny.
Do you think that digitalisation has changed mainstream love and love stories?
I don’t think that I am the right person to answer this because by the time I grew up, everything was digital. Though, I would say that people are missing out on feelings (emotions) as most of their conversations happen on text, WhatsApp, dating apps, so the chance to share and explore more about each other is very less. Communication nowadays is different as we barely talk to each other in person. We are thinking something and saying or texting something else, the phone has not been able to communicate the reality of a person and their true feelings. And this is something we really wanted to focus on in the show. Though we don’t point it out but it is there.
In comparison to your peers and friends, how different was your experience on the dating app?
Actually I don’t know many people who met on dating sites. And of the very few people I know, their relationships did not last long. So I guess there’s just one difference that it worked for us, otherwise I have heard of many stories where it went horribly wrong.
From meeting online to falling in love, and now sharing the stage, how has your journey together been so far?
It has been good. When Rohan and I met, I was not into stand-up comedy. I tried my hand at comedy six-seven months after getting into a relationship with Rohan,who has been doing stand-up for five years now. And here we are now, doing this show together.
Do these online love stories miss out on the mystery of conventional romance?
No, I think it’s there even if you date online. When I started dating online and going out, I would always be nervous and uncertain about whether it would work out, so that mixed feeling is always there. Rohan is not the only guy I met on a dating app. I was on Tinder for a very long time and met many guys, and before any date, I used to be nervous.
As a woman, you’re constantly thinking “OMG! If this is safe?”. I think it is more difficult when you meet someone online than being set up through common friends. You either personally know them or your friends vouch for them, but on dating apps, you meet a complete stranger which is more scary because of all the horror stories you get to hear.
What is your take on choosing stand-up comedy as a full-time career?
Neither of us are full-time comedians, we both have other jobs. I feel that unless you are at a certain level, you can’t afford to opt for full-time comedy as a career. We live in Mumbai, one of the most expensive cities, so to afford the expenses one must have a supporting job. Just doing stand-up can work for people who are financially well off though. Otherwise, except for some really good and famous comedians, it’s really not possible to afford the expenses without another paying job. And you need to have confidence in yourself and your script, and believe that you can deliver good content in next 45 minutes.
Tell us about your future projects.
Nothing other than A True Tinder Tale right now. Both of us do separate stand-ups of course. So, we’ll be working on them individually.
ST Reader Service
A True Tinder Tale will be staged at
FC Road Social on September 14, 7 pm
