Among other renowned international comedians performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is Sharul Channa who has returned to the festival with her team of Comedy Zone Asia.
The 'Punjabi Kudi' Sharul tells us that she stormed this traditionally male-dominated bastion of stand-up comedy when she was picked to give a short five-minute performance during a show.
"I was told to go on the stage and perform for five minutes. I was hesitant. But once people laughed at my jokes, I said to myself this is what I have to do."
Sharul's husband Rishi Budhrani is also a stand-up comedian. Sharul's jokes are mostly based on her marriage and other familial relationships.
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"Even When we have fights among ourselves, we often crack jokes at one another."
Though Sharul's work is mostly based on jokes around her marriage and her familial relationships, but a lot of her work is also around more serious issues such as the oppression of women in society.
"When I perform in India, I talk about the issues related to women there and some people don't like it. And when I perform in Australia, I present my perspective as Singaporean woman and I joke about relationships."
Armed with a formal qualification in acting, she is a strong performer. But, writing is something that she says is critical.
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"One has to write good quality content, that's the main area. If you write great content, performance will be great itself."
Sharul's parents migrated to Singapore when she was little. She says her parents themselves wanted to be actors and had even moved to Mumbai for a few days. They have always supported her as a comedian. Sharul says she has always been the entertainer in the family, but she doesn't let her parents attend her performances.
"On stage, I am an exaggerated version of myself. I am very emotional. So, I don't want my parents to watch my performances. But, I know they surreptitiously watch my videos."
