“CRYING WON’T STOP THE HURT OF FAILURE BUT WILL DRIVE YOU TO DO BETTER”

Sumukhi Suresh, 30 stand-up comedian, mumbai

WHEN YOU

watch her as Sumukhi Chawla in the mockumentary web series Better Life Foundation or as the quirky Anu Aunty in

The Engineering Anthem, it’s hard to believe that comedy was never a career plan to begin with. It happened by chance. Five years ago, Sumukhi Suresh worked on a play with Bengaluru-based collective

The Improv, without knowing that comedy was her calling. “I had no clue about comedy and improvisation. I was under the impression it was a play. I wanted to get back to theatre, but it turns out I found comedy,” says the graduate in food science from University of Madras who was working at a food laboratory at that time. The play worked and she won accolades and continued pursuing comedy on stage for the next two years. In 2015, she quit her job to make a career as a stand-up comic. “I wish someone had told me that I was going to grow up to be a stand-up comedian or actor or writer. I would have watched all sorts of shows to be up-to-date,” she says.

Better late than ever

The actor, stand-up comedian, writer and director sometimes regrets having started a little late. “I wish I had started writing stuff for myself earlier rather than waiting for others to write. I also wish I had started stand-up earlier but I am trying to compensate for the time I have lost,” says Suresh. With successful performances such as the video series

Behti Naak in which she plays a 10-yearold girl with a deadpan style of humour or the popular web series

Pushpavalli for Amazon Prime India, it’s surprising that Suresh worries about failure. “I have always believed that I should work very hard because I always expect to fail. This way I hope to do a decent job. The day I am able to continuously sell out auditorium shows solely on my name will be a successful fete,” she says.