Sumukhi Suresh became the only Indian comic to represent India at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival, which took place in Los Angeles, California last month. In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, we ask her candidly if Netflix is really a joke, she quips, “No, I was really a big joke on Netflix.” When we ask her to crack a joke on the streaming platform, she shot back, “You know my style, the joke is always on me.” Besides stand-up comedy, Sumukhi continues to dabble in “a thousand things so that I become one interesting person.”Did you fear alienating the foreign audience while doing a very culturally specific set in LA?I don’t think of alienation because the moment you get into that, you have to pander to too many things. And my stand-up is quite anecdotal. If I try and cater to everyone, my story would get diluted. Emotion-vise, it’s universal. That’s the hope. I don’t explain it too much in any language because then the joke gets lost. I just try to make sure the emotion is correct irrespective of the medium.Vir Das told me he tries translating his jokes for the American audience because the diaspora also find it interesting to see how he’d do that. Have you tried following that?No, I don’t do that. I’m just like, ‘Guys, just figure out. You’re supposed to be the developed nation. We learnt so many languages, so you also learn one, you also understand (laughs). Honestly, they’re open to cultural nuances of a country as long as it raises curiosity instead of doubt. It’s okay if you don’t laugh. But if you’re curious about the joke, then that’s a bigger victory for me.But do you seek real-time validation while doing such a set, like locate the Tamil audience members while cracking jokes on their culture?You have to understand that Tamil boys and girls are very shy. Even if they want to laugh at it, they’ll laugh secretly. Especially internationally, because a good percentage of South Indian population have gone there for a very specific, skill-based or technology-based role. Like my brother is PhD, teaching at a college. So, their nature is introverted. But I do spot the secret laughers. If there’s a girl in the corner giggling at a Tamil reference, that’s cute.Story continues below this adWe know that SS Rajamouli’s RRR (2023) also made the West go beyond looking at Indians as just Punjabis or North Indians. But how far are they from differentiating say, a Tamil from a Malayalali?They’re very far away, yaar. It’s very weird when people here can’t figure it out. But there, the advantage is there’s a gamut of South Indian restaurants. That changes everything because food is really the introduction to any culture. A lot of people learn about new cultures when it’s done seamlessly. My aim was not to teach them. Historically, we’ve been a culture which has piqued curiosity. When I go there from India, I feel like being in a superior position because I carry a gamut of experiences. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in)You said in 2018 that comedy is still a community, not an industry. Do you feel it’s an industry now?It definitely is. A lot of comedians are doing the numbers and becoming brands. But comedians are still part of a community. That hasn’t changed. Even now, ego between comedians is not a thing. I’m sure there’s some here and there, but if I have to reach out to say, a Tanmay Bhat, who opened my Hoemonal show, that’s still an easy thing. Or if I tell Kaneez Surka, who’s in New York, to share that I’m performing in LA, this is still community-driven. We even have a WhatsApp group where we ask each other to do this. But ya, stand-up is not just sketches anymore. There are IPs and audience-driven shows. Look at Tanmay, he’s a comic, but he’s an out-and-out businessman. So, the diversification of profiles has helped comedy become more of an industry.We’ve seen male comics like Samay Raina, Vir Das, and All India Bakchod (AIB) get cancelled for different reasons. Is lack of audience penetration a reason why no female comic has been ‘cancelled’ yet? Not that we want them to be!Story continues below this adActually, we get cancelled every day. Have you seen our comment sections? It comes down to that. This is not just a female in comic, this is a female in any industry. What cancellation does is it hampers opportunities, accessibility, and exposure. With the male comics, there’s mass hysteria, and at some point, there’s a callout. You have to understand women are called prostitutes and so many offensive things in the comments section. We’re attacked for how we look and what we say. If men start at zero, women in every industry start at -10, constantly pushed to -12 or -14, and we keep bouncing back to -3 or -5.It’s a privileged thought if you think male comics are getting cancelled because they’ve become some tees maar khan. That they have, but read our comments section if you want to know the real situation. The system doesn’t favour us. And we’re fine! None of us are coming and saying, ‘Aise kaise?’ Can you give female comics as much adulation as you give the male comics? We really need to prove it to you, and then we start getting the adulation. But with a man, a little bit of abusing and bak***di is enough. The culture of bak***di is more prevalent in men, so you’re taking time to accept that women are also doing bak***di.Agreed. So, any tips to Samay on bouncing back from cancellation?Samay is killing it! He’s done the numbers game, and understood what he stands for. That’s phenomenal for a comic. I learn a lot from these comedians on how enterprising and fearless they are, in a lot of ways. No one needs to teach anyone anything. And he’s backed so many great comics as well. Sharon Verma is a great example of a comic who’s really winning the numbers game, and she was from Samay’s show. So, he’s clearly giving tutelage to comics, and not just taking himself forward. That’s great.Story continues below this adChanging gears, how do you process the fact that your show Pushpavalli got cancelled after two seasons despite such a loyal following, but The Royals got renewed for season 2 despite negative reviews?Every day is a new day. I know I’m the creator of Pushpavalli, but when I’m pitching a new show, I know I have to go back to being a nobody. Because that’s the only way this can be navigated. Also, it’s the only way to improve my writing otherwise I’d get stuck. It becomes a very dangerous loop as a writer. I’m now also doing it in a way where I seek the autonomy to make it and then find a home. Comedy is better watched than read, unless it’s a comedy book I’m writing. If you read the Schitt’s Creek script, and see Alexis and David say “You shut up” to each other, that would never be funny. But the moment it’s played out, you see it as sibling rivalry. I’m not getting into existentialism. It’s okay if Pushpavalli didn’t get renewed. When people say how can you not tell us what happened, I’m just like it’s good that I’ve stayed in your minds for a long time. I’m happy. Sumukhi Suresh in and as Pushpavalli.You’ve also co-written a film with Vir Das? What’s that about?It’s an ‘inspirational comedy.’ It’s like you’re watching Chak De! India (2007), but it’s a comedy. I trust Vir to do the best thing with it.Story continues below this adWas that also what led to your cameo in his directorial debut Happy Patel earlier this year?No, actually. Vir had made a 20-minute sizzle to show producers the vision he was going for. I did the Mama bit in that. At that time, there was no expectation. It was just one comic reaching out to another and asking if I’d do it. I said I love being on screen, so I’d do it in any capacity. But he was very clear it was an older role, so would need a seasoned actor (Mona Singh) to play. He still wanted me to be in the movie, so he asked me to do the cameo. I did full drama, but then he said it’s with Aamir Khan. So, I said, “Okay, these are my dates. Do whatever you want.”How was Aamir as a scene partner?I had a blast! Aamir is a legend; he’s too good. I thought I’d be a cool cucumber, but I was like, ‘Guys, this is Aamir Khan!’ The equalizing force was Vir. He directed both of us as actors. He understands the craft and the script are more important than anyone. The moment you do that, even with a small-time comic like Sumukhi Suresh and a legend like Aamir Khan, the titles are stripped away from you, and you’re just actors on set.You’re also reuniting as a dialogue writer with Vikramaditya Motwane after CTRL (2024) for Lust Stories 3. He hops genres like a pro, but were you able to catch up?Story continues below this adHe kept the autonomy on Ctrl, and gave me the independence since it’s a content creator’s role. That’s very cool of him, and that’s why I constantly want to work with him. Lust Stories was full bak***di, honestly. Avinash Sampath’s script was so much fun. I have the best time writing when the sexual-ness is also fun. Vikramaditya Motwane is very good with keeping it light and easy. But what I’m writing for him now is very different and serious. But I like that he also considers me for non-comedy genres. CTRL was also a thriller for all practical purposes. Writing for a thriller was a new chapter for me. He’s a delight. I’d write for him forever.Also Read: Bobby Deol says ‘heartbreak’ of being replaced in Jab We Met made him a ‘better actor’Has Anurag Kashyap dethroned you on Motwane’s Dada, the Sourav Ganguly biopic?I’m so upset! I told him, ‘How can you not put me there? I’m obsessed with Dada!’ He said, ‘Arey, I didn’t know.’ I’m cool co-writing with Anurag Kashyap. Maybe I should pitch Vikramaditya Motwane next time that can I just write some scenes with Kashyap? I’m sure it’s not easy to write with AK, just like it’s not easy to write dialogues with me because we’re both manmauji.Story continues below this adI’m sure you can still ask Motwane to slide you into the writers room?No, he’s very methodical like that. Wo aisa beech mei nahi ghusayega. Sir thode topper student-type hain.