A girly comic'raderie

Like the rest of the world, the comedy scene in the country too, is male dominated. In a world of testosterone, and a couple of sexist jokes, women are slowly but steadily paving a path for themselves in the field. Three upcoming comedians — Sumukhi, Sneha and Madhu are not only taking the city by storm with their hard-hitting jokes, but are also going viral on the Internet. And there is no stopping them now! Getting candid, they tell us about their careers...

Women constantly complain of being labelled ‘not funny’ but these women have broken the stereotype! “People thankfully don’t directly say that to me anymore, but when they did, I humbly accepted the challenge,” says Sumukhi Suresh, a comedian from the city who started her journey with comedy three years ago and has proved all those who questioned her talent, wrong.

“Comedians in the city are extremely supportive,” says Sumukhi about how she made a space for herself, adding, “The jokes on the other hand take time to push through a crowd. Though a good amount of crowd understands non-sexist jokes, it takes time to get through with the rest.” says Sumukhi who is a part of the web series — Better Life Foundation and The Improv!

Similar to Sumukhi, another comedian from the city — Sneha Suhas is also breaking stereotypes! “The common notion is that all comedians are guys. But I realised that there are a lot of topics that men don’t and possibly can’t touch upon,” says Sneha Suhas, an upcoming comedian.

“It is important to strike a balance between gender jokes, so people don’t think of me as a ‘feminazi’” says the comedian who doubles as a social media consultant when she isn’t attending open mics. “At most open mics, I am the only girl, but I try not to think too much about it.I think that’s why it took so long for women to make a space for themselves in the field. Most shows happen at pubs and don’t begin until at 8 pm, and then getting back home after, is a task,” adds the stand-up artiste who was also trained in Bharatanatayam and dabbles in theatre!

For any comedian, thinking on the spot is the main criteria and Madhu Shukla has managed to delight her audience by doing just that! “I create spontaneous dialogues and monologues on the spot along with the rest of the group. The challenge though, is to develop a group mind,” says the comedian who is a part of Improv Comedy Bangalore.

Madhu also believes that comedy has less to do with being a woman or man. “It’s more about how one is able to bring out the honesty and irony in a seemingly ordinary situation. Other spaces in our country too are mostly male dominated and it can be as hard or simple as one makes it. Not giving into easy cheap laugh tricks, and having awareness of what one stands for” says the comedian in conclusion.