What kind of comedy do you like? Light-hearted? Dark? Deadpan? What sort of comedy does your mother, father, sibling, or friend gravitate towards? Well, none of this matters when you all are in front of Prashasti Singh — this talented comedienne of Ladies Up, Comedy Premium League, and Comicstaan fame will make sure each one of you laugh your guts out from the very moment she walks onto the stage. She speaks from the heart and comically tells you about her life, which is oh so relatable! After her show Divine Feminine in KLN Prasad Auditorium - FTCCI, Red Hills, the versatile comic from Uttar Pradesh spoke to CE about her journey, comedy, and more.
Excerpts
How was it performing in Hyderabad?
I absolutely love Hyderabad, and the audience here was wonderful and comedy-loving. In fact, my tech career started here. So, the city has a very special place in my heart. During my time here, I indulged in all sorts of delicious dishes including biryani. But I think haleem is my ultimate favourite!
How did your love for comedy start?
The plan was to study engineering at a good college, do an MBA at a good college, and then work. And I did — but during my corporate life, I had this constant urge to get on stage. Comedy happened accidentally; when I was working in Mumbai after my MBA, I started taking improv classes and discovered this whole ecosystem of comedy. Mumbai is the kind of city where you can finish your day job and head out to do open mics, which is what I did!
But comedy was never the ‘plan’. When they came hunting for talent for Comicstaan, I auditioned for it. I thought that even if I was selected, I wouldn’t be able to go because I had a job. But I got selected and my employers gave me a two-month sabbatical. In those two months, I realised that this is something I really loved doing.
After the shoot was over, I went back to work. For the next six months, things were difficult because I knew I wanted to quit but couldn’t muster the courage…I was raised to believe that job security is paramount. But my company was extremely understanding; they said that I should experiment with comedy if I wanted to and in the worst case, their doors would always be open for me. That really propelled me to fly. I started getting enquiries and realised that oh, comedy is monetisable too. And well, here we are!
How would you define your comedic style?
The core of it is honesty — there is a strong element of truth to all my jokes and stories. Instead of observing and finding ‘funny’ around me, I tend to draw from my real-life experiences. I don’t tie myself to one language, rather letting my thoughts just flow while writing jokes.
What is the aim of your comedy?
When I just started out, I never thought about this. Somewhere in the middle, I became very conscious of taking up so much air time, wondering, ‘What value am I giving my audience?’ So, I started writing jokes on certain themes and agendas. But then I realised that the ultimate purpose should be to make people laugh — if they are paying for a ticket to come watch my show, I need to make them laugh and feel light. If I am not able to do that, I have failed at my purpose. I suppose that my experiences also deeply resonate with people. When I do a set on being an unmarried woman in my 30s, women in the audience with similar experiences perhaps relate to me and feel lighter.
There is this notion that ‘women are not funny’. What are your thoughts?
We live in a society which is biased against women; this notion perhaps comes from people who do not follow comedy or watch much comedy at all. Even the idea of a woman talking is ‘annoying’ to such people. This mindset will take time to change; all we can do is keep chugging and not caring about those opinions!
There were many women comics before me who paved the way. From an industry point of view, I’ve been blessed to have supportive people around me. When I was starting out, there were many ladies’ open mics, so that really upped my confidence level.
Who are your comedic inspirations?
This question gets more difficult to answer as the years go by. But I would say American comedian Ali Wong — she’s unapologetic, and no matter who watches her comedy, they find it funny because she does it so well. What I take away from her comedy is that you can be completely yourself but be absolutely entertaining at the same time.
If not a comedian, what would you be?
Oh, I have never said this out in public before…a dancer! Even now when I see a performance, I say, ‘Oh my god, I want to be her in my next life.’