The shape of a Superwoman
LILLY SINGH’S NEW BOOK EXPLORES HOW TO CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION IN LIFE
LILLY SINGH, who is better known as Superwoman to her nearly 15 million subscribers on YouTube, is a force to reckon with in the digital world.
Singh is a bona fide internet star as well as being an actress, talk show host and prolific writer. She is currently busy promoting her new book, Be a Triangle: How I Went from Being Lost to Getting My Life Into Shape, which US Indian actress-writer Mindy Kaling described as “honest and helpful advice about achieving happiness”.
“Be A Triangle is all about building a strong foundation for your life,” Singh told Eastern Eye over a Zoom call.
“And what I mean by that is building a safe place in your mind, you know, (where) somebody you can return home to, no matter what happens in your life or what is not happening in your life.
“It is not tied to anything external. So, when I set myself on this goal of building a strong foundation, I typed it into Google and the internet brought up this triangle, because triangles, structurally speaking, are the strongest shapes, and they have the strongest foundations. I thought, ‘that is how I will build my life.”
This is not the first time the 33-yearold has written a book. Singh has previously written How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life, which also garnered a good response from critics and readers alike. On her new book, Singh said she wrote it, “to help me, honestly. My only goal for this book was to get myself out of a place I was in, but also have a long-term solution for it.
“For a lot of my life I have been like, ‘Why is not this making me happy and where do I want to be in life? How come I still feel lost?”
“And this book is the first time I have done the real deep work to understand why, and so I believed this one will be the blueprint moving forward in my life. I wrote this book to finally do the work for myself. To be the person I wanted to be.”
Singh wears multiple hats as a comedian, actress, talk show host, YouTuber, and writer. What gives her the most joy?
“Oh, that’s an interesting question. I mean, I do enjoy all of them for different reasons, but I will say right now in my life I really do enjoy writing and acting,” she said.
“TV and film and long form story telling are what I am really passionate about now, and some are really excited about my acting projects coming up, my producing projects, my writing projects. That is where my heart lies right now.”
Singh recently met fellow Indian and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas during a pre-Oscars event where the duo bonded over their Punjabi heritage.
Singh said, “Priyanka Chopra and I always have great fun whenever we hang out. I think she said on her Instagram, “When I see Lilly, I know it’s a party.” And I take great pride in that because I would say I’m that Punjabi person bringing in the party for sure.”
In recent times, it has not been uncommon to spot Asian actors in Hollywood films, but a study from the University of Southern California’s (USC) Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reported last year that Asian and Pacific Islanders accounted for fewer than six per cent of speaking roles and under four per cent of leads and co-leads in Hollywood movies in past decade.
Being a person of colour in the entertainment industry in the West, Singh said there “is still a long way to go before we see complete inclusivity”. She added, “Progress is definitely being made, and any progress is good. Do I think we were there? Not at all. Do I think lots of work still needs to happen? Yes. It will take time.
“It is also a little unrealistic to think these changes will happen overnight as much as we want them to. It takes things
like (Kaling’s Netflix hit) Never Have I Ever, which has been such a groundbreaking show. It all takes time, and I celebrate all the progress. But I definitely think there is still a way to go.” It’s true Singh dons many hats, but a lot of her fans love her for being the nonpareil comedienne that she is.
At a time when comedians are facing cancelculture resistance, Singh said, “I am a big believer that comedy is subjective, and I think it is only because, logically, it will be very difficult to create a universal line. What is acceptable and what is unacceptable is because people experience comedy differently. And so, I would hope we never live in a world where the magic of comedy gets lost and that it is subjective.
“I am so, so respectful of people who don’t want to hear certain types of jokes, and I think that they should definitely communicate that, be outspoken about that, and get themselves out of those situations. It would be hard to make a universal law of what’s acceptable and what’s not, and that is the magic of comedy.”
Singh started making YouTube videos after battling severe depression in college. Today, after years of persistence and hard work, she has built her own successful brand on YouTube.
She has advice for young aspiring Asian content creators who want to follow in her footsteps. “I know what it feels like to see someone doing cool things and to kind of see, ‘what are they doing? How can I do that?’” she said.
“And so, to following my path; if it gives you inspiration, that is a huge honour for me. But I would say, ‘don’t try to be me or be anyone else. Be yourself. Bring yourself to whatever you are doing.’
“That’s what I did. I was my weird, crazy, whacky self, and when people told me it was weird, I was still myself, and so I would say it is cool to be inspired by people, but never think you have to be someone else. Be yourself.”
Singh was born and raised in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Growing up in Canada as the child of Indian immigrants, was a really special recipe to make her who she is today.
Singh said, “Canada is the best; I love Canada. I am a proud Canadian. I am so culturally aware and I know different world music, different foods, because I grew up in Canada and having immigrant parents is also the best, to be honest. I get all of my work ethic and resilience and my superpowers from them. Having immigrant parents and living in Canada was a really special recipe to make me who I am.”