For more than a year, Singaporean stand-up comic Sharul Channa has been trying to break into the Indian market.
Now she has roped in her husband Rishi Budhrani, also a noted local stand-up comic, in a bid to make a bigger impact there.
The duo, who have dubbed themselves “Asia’s funniest couple”, will perform together at the Underground Comedy Festival in Bengaluru on Dec 14 and in Chennai on Dec 19.
Sharul will also have solo shows in Bengaluru on Dec 15 and at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai on Dec 27.
“There is really no other way to grow, especially after Malaysia banned me from performing there,” said Sharul. “The Indian comedy scene, on the other hand, is growing fast. The reach is bigger, there is more money, and I want to establish a base there with Rishi.”
Sharul, 37, was scheduled to perform her Just Joking! stand-up show at PJ Live Arts theatre in Petaling Jaya on May 18. But following several police reports on one of her videos from 2018 – which is said to have touched on race, religion and royalty – her work visa was cancelled by Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications two days before the event.
In March last year, Sharul, known for her sharp, fearless humour and character-driven performances, was listed to perform in six Indian cities – Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Vadodara. But she received a lukewarm response, and two of her shows were cancelled.
“It was disheartening given the effort I put in,” she said. “But I learnt my lesson. I understood that I needed a social media presence in India. So, over the past several months, I put out a lot clips of my performances on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.”
According to Sharul, the move worked, as her number of followers on those platforms have “exploded” since. On Instagram, for instance, her followers have grown from 5,000 to more than 200,000.
“You need to adopt the right strategy for India,” she said. “Singapore is very old school, it’s all about how local you keep your jokes. But, for India, you have to be more international. They normally don’t like the white comedians but are okay with Indian-Singaporeans telling their stories.”
It also helps that there are only a few female comics in India.
“I have to be well-prepared because the people in the south are well-educated and culturally vibrant,” said Sharul, who has gained popularity in South-east Asia with hit shows such as Pottymouth, Disco Sheela and Saree Not Sorry.
“But in the north, they prefer Hindi. So, I will be speaking in Hindi. I also know a few words of Tamil which I will employ in Chennai.
“In India, if you talk about them, they like it. But they are also very advanced and have a different perspective of things. So, you have to be innovative and cater to topics they like.”
Rishi, 40, who has been performing in India since 2018, is “super excited” to do a “double headliner” there for the first time.
“Having grown up in Singapore, I felt like a bit of an outsider in India,” he said. “I now want to reconnect with my roots. I am going with a changed perspective. I will be talking more about the Indian heritage and the connections among Indians.”
Rishi was born in Singapore after his parents moved here from Mumbai and Jaipur in the 1960s and the 1970s respectively.
The comic has previously performed in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Gurugram. This time he is looking forward to performing in Chennai.
“In the north, the Hindi-speaking comedians are more popular,” he said. “It was difficult to match up to them. But in the south, English is more accepted. So, I’m well-prepared.
“I am aware of what needs to be done. But it remains to be seen how I will be received.”
Rishi has a good fan base in South-east Asia, but believes he has to expand it to be more successful and enduring.
Rishi and Sharul made an impression in Cape Town a few months ago. They believe that can do the same in India this month.
“It will be the best preparation for the Rishi and Sharul Show we will be staging at the Esplanade on March 21,” Rishi said.
