All Hail Sumukhi Suresh: The OG Comedy Queen!

#NavNaari: Celebrating the nine forms of Goddess Durga by highlighting stories of women who reflect a quality of each Devi.

Navratri 2024 is here! It’s that time of that year when devotees honour the Goddess Durga and her nine forms, celebrating her victorious battles against evil. Each of the nine days is devoted to a specific form of Durga. Today, October 6, marks the fourth day (Chaturthi) of Navratri ’24. Devotees worship Kushmanda devi today.

Maa Kushmanda is a symbol of light, energy, and the life force. She is also known as the ‘Smiling Goddess.’ The first woman I could think of who embodies these qualities is Sumukhi Suresh. Her vibrant and energetic personality shines through her comedy and content. Her humour, combined with a bold, lively presence, always lights up her audience’s mood.

One Of The OG Comedy Queens

Sumukhi’s ability to address social issues with wit has carved a unique space for herself in the Indian comedy scene. From “Parvati” to “Behti Naak” to “Don’t Tell Amma“, Sumukhi Suresh knows exactly how to tickle your funny bone. An actor, stand-up comedian, improviser, writer and director – is there anything that she can’t do?

Referred to as India’s Tina Fey, Sumukhi started with improv and has since performed for acclaimed comedy groups and collaborated with the stalwarts of the entertainment industry. And all of this happened after she studied food science, can you imagine?

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She’s Been Killing It

A self-proclaimed ‘motormouth’ Hindi-speaking Tamilian; Sumukhi rose to fame with “Behti Naak“, an original YouTube sketch series. She also acted in the mockumentary web series “Better Life Foundation” by Naveen Richard. Eventually, she created and starred as a lead in the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video show “Pushpavalli“. Both seasons of which were fan favourites.

Sumukhi was the host and then judge on the Amazon Original “Comicstaan“. She had her feature film debut in 2018 with the Kannada satirical comedy “Humble Politician Nograj“. She was also part of Lust Stories and Comedy Premium League on Netflix with Rohan Joshi, Tanmay Bhat and Sumaira Shaikh as her teammates.

The woman went on to achieve a lot more. Let’s take you through her stellar and mighty impressive journey:

Pushpavalli

One of the major turning points in Sumukhi’s career was her web series Pushpavalli – a show she created, wrote, and starred in. Released on Amazon Prime Video, the show was lauded for its dark humour, unconventional storytelling, and Sumukhi’s performance. Pushpavalli explored the complexities of a flawed yet relatable character. It showcased her ability to balance comedy with darker, more emotional narratives. The show won awards for its writing and Sumukhi won the Filmfare OTT for Best Actor in a Comedy Series (Critics Choice).

Comicstaan

In addition to her acting and writing success, Sumukhi gained further recognition as a host and then a judge on Comicstaan, India’s premier stand-up comedy competition show. Her presence on the show not only brought her stand-up expertise to the forefront but also highlighted her role in nurturing the next generation of comedians. Sumukhi’s critiques were always balanced with humour, reflecting her deep understanding of the craft.

Motormouth

Adding another feather to her cap, Sumukhi launched her own company & content platform named ‘Motormouth Writers Pvt Ltd.’, to create more space for female voices in the entertainment space. It is a story marketplace and content house that creates and promotes shows, movies and a variety of other content. The platform intends to encourage the ‘too good’ content coming from various writers (mostly female).

Hoemonal

The most recent milestone in her journey has been her new stand-up solo Hoemonal. Sumukhi talks about belonging to the generation where girls were raised conservative but grew up to find their independence, personally and professionally. Hoemonal explores her dealing with hormonal imbalances, body image issues, societal expectations, PCOS and the fear of dying alone while trying to date.

She just finished performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and is now touring India with Hoemonal. Her next show is happening in Bangalore on 17th November. She has recently launched Hoemonal Merch with ‘Hoe Tees‘ and ‘Hoe Hoodies‘ available for everyone wanting to be part of her Hoeniverse.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

After a successful European tour earlier this year, and a bunch of critically acclaimed performances in India, her comedy show Hoemonal kicked off a two-week debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. Considered as comedy’s global Mecca, performing at the Festival is a career-high for any and every comedian.

Starring In ‘The Royals’

Sumukhi is a powerhouse of talent. She brought in 2024 by acting in the Netflix show – ‘The Royals’ featuring stalwarts like Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan Khattar, Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Talwar, Milind Soman, and more. She dropped the show’s teaser on her Instagram and sent her followers into a frenzy.

Writing ‘CTRL’ For ‘Motwayne’

Being a huge Vikramaditya Motwane (VM) fan, Sumukhi pledged to work with him within the next 5 years of meeting him for the first time in 2018. And so she did. In less than 5 years, by writing dialogues for his OTT movie ‘CTRL‘ starring Ananya Panday. From stating that he’s one of the screenwriters she wants to work with, in 2021, to meeting him outside the washroom at an event, she really manifested this. Because in 2022, Avinash Sampath and VM asked her to write this psychological tech-based thriller. Salute!

Some More Highlights

In June, she did her first fashion shoot for Flipkart’s Spoyl app, appearing on four billboards all across the city. Next, she opened the show for designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla at the prestigious India Couture Week in New Delhi. Sumukhi Suresh might as well add modelling to her already impressive list of skills – standup comedian, actor, writer, director, and entrepreneur.

Throughout her journey, Sumukhi Suresh has continued to break barriers, using humour to challenge stereotypes and open up conversations on topics that need to be spoken about. From stand-up stages to streaming platforms, she has become an icon of contemporary Indian comedy thanks to her unapologetic, energetic, and fearless approach to storytelling. Having completed over a decade in comedy, Sumukhi Suresh has surely made her mark as one of the most exciting talents in this industry!