We recently discovered NDTV.com’s show ‘The Rising Stars of Comedy’ and guess which 2013 Funny Women Awards finalist was featured on it recently? None other than Sindhu Vee, who the show describes as having “unparalleled sarcasm and wit”. Sindhu V talked to us about her three week tour of India and hour long solo show in Delhi.
Funny Women: Hi Sindhu Vee, why did you decide to go gigging around India?
Sindu Vee: Well I'm from Delhi and a lot of my material is about my life growing up in India and having Indian parents. Very soon after I got into stand up in 2012 I became aware of the 'scene' in India and wanted to get involved…it was just a natural instinct. At my first open mic, just before I went on, it hit me that I could do my set in two languages – Hindi and English. That was thrilling. I've never looked back.
The other huge factor was how welcoming the comics in India are. Their enthusiasm and willingness to open up gigs to me as much as possible really helped me find my feet there and to keep going.
FW: What is the comedy scene like for women in India?
SV: This is a really complex question that can be parsed ad infinitum so I'm going to stick to some simple observations.
I think the scene is remarkably good for women.
The notion of 'women aren't funny' doesn't exist as far as I can tell.
Of course, there are more men but I think that has more to do with universal dynamics around men vs women getting up to do stand-up than anything particular to the Indian comedy scene.
It would obviously be good to see more women getting up to be comics but that would be nice all over the planet, no?
FW: How does the Indian audience differ from a UK one?
SV: Hmm… there is no way to answer this that is not going to involve MASSIVE oversimplification. Consider yourself warned.
As you would expect from a place as huge as India, with its socio-economic and cultural complexities, audiences can vary several standard deviations out. So there are audiences, in big cities, exactly like what you'd find in a London club and all the same taboos and generic references will work – more or less… I haven't heard much material about anal and dogging in India but hear it pretty regularly here. But other audiences can be shocked into laughing (or not) by using the F word, which would be pretty rare in the UK.
Actually the most interesting thing I find about stand-up comedy 'scene' (ultimately a mix of what audiences are up for, comic material and zeitgeist) in India is the bravery with which politics, current affairs and history – national and international – is discussed. A UK audience that might not squirm listening to very provocative sexual material would definitely squirm listening to the raw and very funny material from Indian comics about the state of India and the world.
India is a mind bogglingly complicated sub-continent with lots going for it but also a lot that is horrifyingly awful. Comics are able to address this with a notable honesty and fearlessness. No one rushes to label them and thereby, bully them into saying what is considered 'okay.' Labelling – left wing/rightwing/feminist/not feminist enough/toff etc, effectively serves the purpose of shutting people up or at least making them dilute what they want to say. So it's refreshing to see that not happening in India.
FW: Did you change your material very much for this tour?
SV: Not really. The hour show ('The Girl From Sindhustan') was constructed from material I have been doing in the UK and in India. I did play around a lot more with language and change certain references depending on the audiences, but nothing major. I talk a lot about parents, kids, body issues, marriage…stuff that has a universal resonance so it works everywhere
FW: Any plans to tour further afield?
SV: Of course! But I haven't quite figured out where and how. Right now my focus is on getting The Girl From Sindhustan out in the UK more widely. So further afield than India I guess. (hahaha, that was a joke).
Thanks Sindhu Vee!
Follow Sindhu Vee on Twitter @SindhuVFunny to stay up to date with her gigs and travels!
Watch Sindhu Vee on NDTV here!
