Sumukhi Suresh on humour, health, and her upcoming stand-up special, Hoemonal [Video]

Sumukhi Suresh seems to have run the gamut of responses to her comedy, and each reaction adds a layer to her understanding of humour’s reach. Once, in Bengaluru, an elderly man filed a police complaint against her, calling her comedy “vulgar” and her a “public nuisance.” Equally memorable was a performance in Chennai, where a 70-year-old woman was there on her husband’s death anniversary, dressed in her wedding saree. Instead of mourning, she told Sumukhi she wanted to laugh and be happy, as her husband would have liked . It’s a moment that profoundly moved Sumukhi, and affirmed her belief in the power of her storytelling.

Sumukhi’s latest stand-up show, Hoemonal, is a comedic self-portrait shaped by personal revelations. Through wry, intimate humour, she recounts experiences with singlehood, body image, and navigating her thirties with a curious mixture of fear and defiance. This show, like her other works, is her attempt to “speak without …