An Indian-origin stand-up comedian died on stage due to high level of anxiety while performing his act in front of a packed audience in Dubai, according to a media report.

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Manjunath Naidu, 36, suffered a cardiac arrest while performing his routine on stage on Friday. He complained of high level of anxiety, sat down on the bench next to him and collapsed onto the floor, with audience thinking that it must be a part of the show, Khaleej Times reported.

He was born in Abu Dhabi but later shifted base to Dubai. “He was the last act in the line-up. He went on stage and was making people laugh with his stories. He was talking about his father and family. And then he got into a story of how he suffers from anxiety. And a minute into the story he collapsed,” Miqdaad Dohadwala, his friend and fellow comedian, was quoted as saying in the report.

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They took it as a joke as he was talking about anxiety and then collapsed, he said. Dohadwala said that the paramedics could not revive him. “His parents passed away and he has a brother but no relatives here. All in the arts and comedy circle are his family,” he added.

Dohadwala said paramedics reached the venue within 20 minutes but could not revive Naidu. “He stopped breathing in our hands,” Dohadwala added. “We took him to the hospital but after trying for 20 minutes they said Manju was gone. The man killed his performance and his performance killed him.”

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“All in the arts and comedy circle are his family,” Dohadwala said. “We are all figuring out procedures to follow for the death certificate and last rites.” he added.