'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABfAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgQAAEDBAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAxEABAUTFCEGMTMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURAQABBQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFRAAIDETEh/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDOYW+atmMjPAdumtbTbqt6hcF0+9gNinqJjuarDwzMkAlz7XtEX4rSlF37AdvrLBSpkvHpyCWv/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What happens when two of the country's most versatile stand-up comedians join hands to create a free-flowing, zany discourse on all things pop culture?
Cue Binge O' Clock, the latest offering from notable merrymen Rohan Joshi and Sahil Shah, veterans of their respective crafts and passionate nerds at heart.
Started in 2021, the popular podcast series on YouTube is essentially a show where two geeks sit down and talk about everything under the sun that they are watching, reading, or playing.
Unsurprisingly, the dynamic duo have spawned an impressive following in a relatively short span of time, with the formation of a community of pop culture enthusiasts known as The League, who join the podcast to brainstorm theories and share opinions with gleeful abandon.
At the recent Comic Con Mumbai' 23, SK Pop had the opportunity to converse with the winsome twosome in a riveting gabfest centered around cosplay, digital mediums, and video games.
Rohan Joshi and Sahil Shah weigh in on all things Pop Culture at Comic Con Mumbai 2023
Q) Tell us how has Comic Con Mumbai been so far?
Rohan: Oh man, it's been amazing!
I've been to multiple comic Cons, Bangalore, Hyderabad, San Diego and the great thing is that every year, it's bigger than last year. Every year, it's more diverse than last year and you realize just how big and wide it is and you realize that nerds are finding each other in a place like this and that's just awesome!
Like, even if you're here at a Comic Con for just two hours, you go away feeling so great about your nerdness !
Sahil: It's just a fantastic feeling and as someone, if you cosplay and you think like I don't feel like my outfit is good enough and then you look around and you're like wait, everyone else has put in a little effort also, big effort doesn't matter here.
Like I'm a Doctor Who fan and people come to Comic Con just wearing bow ties and that's cool!
I'm so glad I found my community, it's about finding your community basically.
Q) Tell us about Binge O Clock. What inspired it and how did it start ?
Sahil: Basically Rohan and I love Pop Culture. We love talking about it, we love watching and we've always met regularly at Comic Cons.
So I was like, Hey Rohan, why don't we do videos where like every week rather than me whatsapping you saying 'Tune wo show dekha?' we just talk to people instead.
Rohan: Yeah, and this started after Squid Game actually.
Sahil: Everyone was talking about it so there was a lot we wanted to discuss, theories, opinions, and stuff so I was like 'Chal na we'll do one video, dekhte hai kya hota hai' and yeah, now we're 43-44 episodes down!
Rohan: What it is is more than him and me talking, it's that chat window that sort of becomes this great place for nerds to get together and geek out with each other. That's the fun of it!
Sahil: I also feel like the feeling of community comes when you have those inside references that you can share with community members.
Q) As fans and content creators of pop culture, do you feel like this space is getting a little saturated?
Take for instance the Marvel movies, you have something for OTT, something for the big screen and dozen other tie-ins.
What is your take on the same ?
Rohan: See here's the thing about pop culture right, even if a space gets saturated, in the end the audience votes with its money and attention.
At the end of the day, even if, as you say, the Marvel universe gets saturated, eventually, those ticket sales will top off. People will be like, "Bas ho gaya."
The great thing is that we live in such a wide entertainment landscape right now that even if you get tired of Marvel or anything in particular, you can still turn around and find 100 new interests that are completely opposite.
So ya, I agree that I think with the streaming wars that have taken up the better half of the last decade, we've had a glut of content. I also feel like we're getting to a place where a natural correction is happening.
Things will shake out and we'll go back to a little more quality over quantity, but I don't think it's going to be that world where everyone is talking about one show again because now that's over.
Everybody has their own interests aur sabke ke liye kuch na kuch to hai.
Q) Since we're here at Comic Con today, do you think the novelty factor in reading good old comic books has died down in today's age of AI and Metaverse ?
Sahil: Never, never and Metaverse and AI will have nothing to do with reading. The original Metaverse is a book right where you're reading and you're like I'm now in this world with myself.
Then you form your community and they join that world with you as we see in Comic Cons across the world.
Rohan: I don't think a good story ever dies.
It just goes from one form to the other and lives on, in whatever form.
Q) Rohan, we've seen you in films, stand-up specials and now podcasts on YouTube- what format would you say is the way to go next?
Rohan: Right now it's about exploring the formats that already exist.
But then, as new distribution mediums come up, it's sort of hard to predict now, like if you had asked me this even 5 or 6 years ago in the sense I would have been able to tell you about YouTube, but not about Instagram reels.
So it's a lot about waiting and watching what platforms come out, seeing what kind of content is good for them and whether you fit in.
Right now, I'll give you an example, there's a big shift happening on LinkedIn, but I feel like I don't have anything of value to add there, which is why I'm not on that platform even though it's very popular.
Q) Lastly, keeping in mind how big of video game geeks you both are- in light of the immense popularity of Last of Us, what do you think it has done successfully to buck the trend that ailed prior underwhelming video game adaptations?
Rohan: I think they had faith in the fact that the game was always a great story right.
Unlike earlier games, like if you go 15-20 years ago, they were a lot more about the actual gameplay.
Then when we got to a point with AAA titles where stories became super nuanced and all that I think with Last of Us it's that you've kept all of the good writing.
Sahil: The creator of the game is the creator of the show and when someone who has created a game that is a movie, you can trust them.
Rohan: A lot of previous adaptations were just cash-ins that people wouldn't understand.
This is not and I think that is the difference.
