Indian comic Manjunath Naidu, 36, died while performing his stand-up act in Dubai on Friday.
Shortly after the performance began, Naidu complained about growing anxiety, Gulf News reported, citing PR manager Sana Topiwala.
"He suddenly started to pant and sat down on the bench to catch his breath," Topiwala told reporters. "Few minutes in, he suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground in front of an audience of 80 people."
The incident took place during the Racy Desis show at the Clavichord Music Lounge in the Signature Hotel. At first, the audience thought it was part of the act but after they saw the comedian lying motionless for three minutes other comics and hotel staff members rushed on stage to perform CPR on him.
— Jibran T. Siddiqui (@jibransiddiqui) July 21, 2019
The tragedy has sparked discussion about anxiety and its effects on people's health.
— ✨Mahtava✨ (@mahtava) July 21, 2019
In April, popular British comedian Ian Cognito died on stage during a stand-up performance in Bicester, England. The comic, who was in his 60s, died just minutes after joking about having a stroke and then waking up speaking Welsh. The spectators also thought that Cognito's death was part of the act.
