2020-01-01_Her_World_Singapore

Touchy Topics

Off stage, at her three-bedroom apartment

in the east of Singapore, Sharul is

introspective, interesting – and all

serious about work. Born to a traditional

Indian family, Sharul doesn’t hold back

on her disagreement with customary

expectations.

Questionis:Ifwe’relivingina

culturally-sensitiveandpolitically-

correctage,howdoesonegetarounditin

thepublicdomain?

Unlikemanycomicswhoarereal

selvesinname,Sharul’smaterialisn’tthat

farremovedfromherreallife.Butthere’s

justasmuchvalueinmaterialthatdelves

intopersonalterritory,aslongasit’s

funny,shesays.

“Onceyoudothat,itbecomesyour

storytotell.Itsoftensthetone,”shequips,

takingasipofchaimasala.

Whilethestorytellernavigates

consciously,SharulcreditsSingapore’s

oldguardofstand-upcomicanddrag

queen,Kumar,whopavedthewayfor

localactslikeherself.

“Kumarpushedtheenvelopeandgotinto

sometrouble,”shesays.“Withouthim,Ican’t

saymanythingsonstagewithoutfearthatI’ll

besuedthenextday.”HerrespectforKumar

isrepresentedinherwell-kept$50notehehad

autographedforherthefirsttimetheymet.

“It’llalwaysbeareminderofmypassionfor

comedy,”shesays.

GenderdiscriminationisoneofSharul’s

favouritetopics.Itresonatesattheheartofher

persona,beingarelatableordinarywoman:

“EvenbeforeIwasborn,mygrandmother

expectedmetobeaboy.Becauseshebrought

mymumtothetempleandgotastringtotie

aroundabedthatmyparentsweresupposed

tosleepon.Itwassupposedtomakemyfather

anglehisbodytoproduceonlymalesperm.”

BeingThick-Skinned

Butnoteveryonegetsthejoke,revealsSharul

whowastrainedinactingatLasalle,College

oftheArts.Shehashadherfairshareoftragic

responses–deadpanfacesandawkward

silencefromtheaudience.

Tothat,shesays:“Ihaveathickskin.You

mustneverdoubtyourselfbecausethecrowd

cansenseyourinsecurity.That’swhenthe

entiresetcomescrumbling.”

Theconversationistheninterruptedby

thesightofherfriskypetdog.Sharulshrugs

andcomments:“He[thedog]likesChinese

girlsmorethanme.”

MarriedtofellowcomedianRishi

Budhrani,Sharulsaystheirjokesaredifferent

andeachappealstodifferentaudiences.

“Icommentontopicsaboutwomen

empowermentwithoutgettinghated,andhe

getsawaywithcallingpeoplenamesonstage,”

sheadds.Asacomediccouple,theybounce

ideasoffeachotherandhelpeachotherwith

newmaterial.OnValentine’sDay,thecouple

willperformtheirsecondshowtogether.

Butit’snotallworkandnoplay.Sharul

takesregulartripstovisitherspiritual

healerinIndia.“Itgetsintenseonstage,”she

explains.“Mytopicscanbeheavyonthemind

andsometimes,I’msuckedintothenegativity.

Ithelpsmebeintherightheadspace,it’s

importanttolivelifeatyourownpaceonce

inawhile.”

Whitney

Cummings

American

stand-up

comic and

writer who

created

the sitcom, 2

Broke Girls.

Ronny Chieng

This Australia-

based Malaysian

comedian and

actor is a senior

correspondent

for The Daily

Show on

Comedy Central.

Cristela

Alonzo

The fi rst

American-

Latina to

create,

produce, write

and star in

her own US

primetime

comedy,

Cristela.

Ellen

DeGeneres

American

comedian

who's best

known for

her globally

popular talk

show, Ellen.

> >

>

>

Sharul's

comebacks

infive

awkward

situations

1.Baddate"Just

telltheguythat

youactuallylove

yourselfand

thiswasalla

mistake."

2.Weirdin-laws

"Buyanapartment

twohoursaway

fromtheirplace,

soifthey'rein

Singapore...move

toJohorBahru!"

3.Caseof

mistakenidentity

"Justask:What

doesyourname

startwith?They

willstartwith

theirnamefirst."

4.Unwanted

company"Tell

themyoucan

seeghostsand

thereisaspirit

thatfollowsyou

everywhere."

5.Whenyoumake

amistake"Idon't

haveabossbutif

Idid,I'dsay'You

havesuchabig

hearttohireme'."

Othe
r Actresses and^ Co

med

ians

who^ Inspire

her

UPCOMING

SHOW:

Feb 14, 2020

Featuring

Sharul Channa

and Rishi

Budhrani. Go to

Sharul Channa

Facebook Page

for more info. CELEB PHOTOS

TPG IMAGES

&

SHUTTERSTOCK

DRESS

STYLE THEORY

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