Entertainment / Chat With Stand-up Comedienne Sharul Channa

Chat With Stand-up Comedienne Sharul Channa

Entertainment Sep 03, 2014

by Nidhi Shrivastava

Comedienne Sharul Channa Paves Her Way In A Male Dominated Industry

In the footsteps of Russell Peters, a rising star from Singapore is emerging. At 27-years-old comedienne-actress Sharul Channa is quickly becoming an international sensation. Marketed as having “balls of steel” along with a sharp tongue and feisty temperament, she is breaking new grounds as one of the first South Asian female stand-up comedians.

A practitioner of observational comedy, her comedic routine highlights social and cultural stereotypes, drawn from her experience as a South Asian woman growing up in Singapore. She has performed in Hong Kong, Macau India, Malaysia, Australia, and the United States- causing audiences to almost fall off their chairs laughing.

Being part of the all-female comedy troupe called Comedy on Heels, Channa is no stranger to performing. Her past performances have been in plays like Pan Island Expressway (2005) and The Summer of the Eclipse (2006). Coming up this month, she will be the official host of Ali Zafar’s Signapore concert.

I caught up with Channa to get her take on being a successful female comedian in a male-dominated industry.

Nidhi Shrivastava: What are the current projects that you are working on these days?

Sharul Channa: I will be travelling to Malaysia for an all-female stand-up show soon and performing a couple of shows in Jakarta. After that, I am looking forward to going to Coimbatore, India for a comedy festival. I am also in rehearsals for a stand-up and theatre show called The Rishi and Sharul Show, which will star my partner, Rishi Budhrani, a fellow stand-up comedian, and will perform this play around Asia. I am also in the midst of shooting a television program for a reputable Indian channel.

NS: Did you aspire always to be a comedienne?

SC: No, I never knew. I think stand-up comedy chooses its people. I would humour my parents by mimicking my relatives after they left the house. I went to drama school in Singapore at Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts and would always get comic roles in all the plays. I was also a speech and drama teacher. One day, I decided to jump up at Comedy Masala, one of the hottest open-mic shows in Singapore. The moment I got my first laugh – I was hooked.

NS: What are your favourite topics? What inspires you when it comes to making people laugh?

SC: My favorite topics are shaped by my experiences. Currently, at the age of 27, things that affect me are marriages, relationships and losing weight; so I have jokes on these topics. I can only make people laugh about the subjects that I feel strong emotions toward. For example, I get super angry about Indian wedding cards having the names of the entire family on it because, at the end of the wedding card, you don’t know who is getting married! I think making people laugh is my responsibility. People come to a comedy club with all their problems and when you’re able to make them laugh or smile – it is just the most fulfilling feeling ever.

NS: As a female comedienne, what advice will you give to girls who want to follow in your footsteps?

SC: Don’t judge yourself before anyone else does; and people will judge you so much. But you’ll have to be confident and have faith in your work. At the end of the day remember why you are getting into comedy – to tell your stories that’ll make people laugh. Your comedy is going to be different from each comedian and so don’t take advice about what you should/should not be talking about on stage. If a topic is truthful to you, and you have a joke on it – bring it to stage first and know for yourself if it’s funny.

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Nidhi Shrivastava

Author

Nidhi Shrivastava (@shnidhi) is a Ph.D. candidate in the English department at Western University and works as an adjunct professor in at Sacred Heart University. She holds double masters in South Asian Studies and Women's Studies. Her research focuses on Hindi film cinema, censorship, the figure o...

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Chat With Stand-up Comedienne Sharul Channa

by Nidhi Shrivastava

Comedienne Sharul Channa Paves Her Way In A Male Dominated Industry

Nidhi Shrivastava

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