Discovered through his hysterically funny presence at social media, Reza Chandika’s humor resonates with us, rakyat, as he often calls people. Aside from making the phrase ‘Mon maap’ a widely used expression these days, he showed his knack for comedic timing at his insta-stories and by his acting as Bachrudin at the web series, Keluarga Badak. No matter his medium, if Reza’s there, you’ll be entertained.
When we met the guy, #cottoninkteam was heavily starstrucked by his presence, but once we sat down with him, we loosen up and realized how Reza is a natural comedy wizard with the very best intention of making all of us laugh. Read on to know how our conversation about his unconventional path to popularity, bad days and those awful second day period goes.
Text by Lala Claudia. Photographs by Ila Schaffer.
Okay, we’re just going to cut to the chase. Reza, what’s your secret to being funny?
I have a theory that folks who lives far away from their office will most likely be funnier than those who lives in the inner city. Because, a simple task of going to work becomes far from simple. My daily commute from Ciputat to Sarinah where I used to work was filled with traffic. I decided to make fun of it, it’s easier than letting it infuriate you.
Do you think you were born to be an entertainer?
This question always confused me. As a little kid I never thought of being who I am now. I used to want to be a designer, because it’s hard to find clothes that fit my body. But later on, I started as an intern at this radio station, then I became a producer from which I learned a lot from. There was a time when I wanted to switch gears to my old dream, but an opportunity to be a broadcaster suddenly came up and I jumped for it.
What made you start creating those amusing doodles on Snapchat?
My transition to being a broadcaster was full of free time, so I started to do these doodles at Snapchat just for the sake of filling the time. Then more people got to know me. And now I’m here… I become more confused now… Why does the universe have to work in all these funny ways?!
Hmm, do you still want to be a clothing designer?
Well, I have this line of T-shirts called OO MA OO!!, so that’s a start. But, I don’t know.. Oh, COTTONINK if you want to do collab, hit me up! Let’s make the COTTONINK x Reza happen.
How do you come up with your hilarious content?
I create as I go. If I have something in mind, I make it on the spot. I realize that some things that are funny in my head might not translate to others, but so far we’re pretty much still in sync. I still don’t know why people laughed at what I made, maybe because all of their friends are rich, so ‘orang susah’ like me becomes more entertaining to watch.
What’s the most common misconception of you?
That I’m always happy. Like every human being, I have my bad days. I just don’t flaunt it to everyone on social media. I feel that if I do that, it comes across as not being appreciative to all of my friends and families that will be there when I need them. I find it more productive to share my problems with my loved ones rather than looking for sympathy from my followers.
So, what do you do on your bad days?
I love to watch movies at the cinema. I don’t mind doing it alone, but who seems to mind is those folks that work at the ticket counter, I mean, ‘Yes, I only need one ticket! Can’t you see that I’m like two people already?! Everyday my body feels like two people holding hands together. So yes, one ticket please!’ And oh, taking a break from social media also do wonders for me. I put down my phone and converse with people.
What do you hope people get from your work?
I hope I make their day a bit happier, even if you’re on your second day period which they say is excruciating, I hope my antics cheer you up in some ways.
What’s your new resolution?
Be healthier! When you get sick, stop blaming the weather, folks. If there’s something wrong inside your body, try your best to deal with it.
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