It’s not a joke to crack a good joke. You have to be smart, witty, spontaneous and good with your comic timing to be a comedian. Sumukhi Suresh realised that she had all these qualities (and a lot more) quite early in life, thanks to a breakup she went through. Well, whoever said that people with broken hearts make good poets, should think about it again. After all, when Sumukhi’s heart broke, a comedian was born.
She started with improv comedy and gradually moved to writing sketches. Soon, Sumukhi took over the stage by performing sets as a stand-up comedian. Despite doing it all and tickling her audience’s funny bones, a lot of people tried to limit her success. She was lauded for being a great ‘female comedian’, which is honestly just a way of restricting your talent by your gender.
Sumukhi wouldn’t take any of it. Instead of simply being funny ‘for a woman’, she gave herself a goal of becoming the best comic ever. Over the years, she has been smashing several stereotypes and breaking gender biases with her work.
From championing body positivity to addressing topics that are still considered taboo in our society in the wittiest way ever, Sumukhi has covered it all. It is her craft that she has cemented across the live comedy circuit, YouTube sketches, films and the OTT space that Levi’s® is celebrating their #IShapeMyWorld campaign with her.
The 7th season of the campaign started on International Women’s Day 2021. Sumukhi, as a part of the campaign, is one of the seven fearless women who is challenging all the boundaries of creativity set by our society. She’s shaping the world on her terms and here’s everything you need to know about it.
On Being The Protagonist Of Her Own Story
The stand-up comedian in recent years has taken the role of a creator and co-writer of a hit comedy-drama series called Pushpavalli. Sumukhi plays the titular character in the web series and while talking about it, she says, “I wrote a show about myself because no one was casting me as the lead. So I thought, ‘Okay, let’s write a show and be the lead in it’.”
Our entertainment industry is guilty of blatantly body-shaming people in their movies and shows. We often find a plus-size actor playing a non-existent character, whose sole purpose is to be the peg of some really unfunny jokes. If at all they are in the lead roles, the whole show or film generally revolves around their size. For a change, Pushpavalli does none of that. The series is about a woman, who finds twisted ways to win her crush’s heart. It’s funny, dark, witty and really gripping.
“It is said that people who are stereotypically good looking, are the ones who can be the heroes, who can be the leads. And, I was not okay with that. I believed I can also be the lead, I can also be the protagonist of a show or of my life! So, I was very clear that way,” says Sumukhi.
Well, thank god she was because we love watching her play unconventional characters with sheer brilliance.
On Taking Control Of Her Narrative
Before joining the entertainment industry, Sumukhi was not very kind to herself. Given the fact that we live in a society that believes in unrealistic standards of beauty, it’s quite easy for someone to doubt their potential. “Sumukhi before comedy was very mean to herself. She truly didn’t like herself. And, that I wish was not the case,” she says while reminiscing her past.
The comedian believes that realising your self-worth and loving yourself does not happen overnight. It is a marathon and she’s getting better at it day after day. She says, “I want the girls who see me feel like, ‘yaar iski tarah banna hai mujhe, aisi confidence rehni chahiye’ because I wanted to see someone like that when I was young.”
Well, she became that person for herself and that’s how she took control of her own story. While talking about it, she says, “When you have control of your own narrative, it seems more hopeful. It is a much better space to be in than to just wait for things to happen. If I would have just waited for things to happen, none of the wonderful things would have happened.”
That’s an amazing rule to live by—be the showrunner of your own life. Take control and make things happen, just like Sumukhi Suresh does. Stay tuned for the latest episode of #IShapeMyWorld.
This is a sponsored article for Levi’s®.
Featured Image Courtesy: Levi’s®
