Actor, stand-up comedian, and writer Sumukhi Suresh is thrilled about her Australian debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival later this month. “It’s a huge deal for a comedian,” she says, speaking from Mumbai over Zoom. “And there are three layers to my excitement.”
First, simply being part of the festival feels like a milestone—a sign that she has reached a certain level in her craft. “Now, I want to elevate myself accordingly,” she adds.
Second, performing for a new audience is both thrilling and daunting. “Stepping in front of a completely new crowd makes you feel like you’re doing this for the first time all over again. It’s like being a comedy virgin—exciting and terrifying at once. The nerves push you to reassess your material, even jokes you’ve been telling for years. You start double-checking everything, wondering, ‘Will this land here?’”
And third, she admits with a laugh, “I’ve never been to Australia before! This will be my first time in both Melbourne and Sydney. The only thing I know about these cities is cricket—thanks to my brother, who’s obsessed with the sport. Because of him, I’ve had to learn about cricket too. Let’s see how much of that knowledge helps me navigate Australia.”
Her family’s enthusiasm for her Australian journey was simple: “Are you going to the MCG?” her father and brothers asked, as if the Melbourne Cricket Ground were a given. She assured them she was taking a tour, which seemed to be the only thing that truly excited them.
Suresh also has a few friends in Australia, and she’s noticed they share her sense of humour. “They get sarcasm and passive aggression,” she says. “OK, cool, I should be fine. That’s reassuring.”
“I can’t wait to really immerse myself in the experience,” she adds. “One thing I’ve realised is that I’m not here to impress the Australian audience—I’m here to make sure they’re disappointed in me. And if things go well, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, not bad! She’s actually pretty good.’ That’s how it’s going!”
Suresh’s show at the festival, Hoemonal, is a deeply personal exploration of independence, romance, and breaking tradition. “The way I approach stand-up is by making observations while keeping myself at the centre of the jokes,” she explains.
“My storytelling is very much about my own experiences, which can seem indulgent, but it’s how I connect with broader, universal truths. Audiences either secretly relate to me or feel protective, thinking, ‘Oh no, someone needs to help her!’”
The show’s roots trace back to a few key moments in Suresh’s life, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I had a major realisation after 30. In the West, 30 is seen as the beginning of new experiences, but in India, for many women, it’s seen as the end of something. I had been in a relationship for 10 years, and suddenly, I found myself dating again. And the thought that hit me was: I don’t know how to date.”
When she started dating again, Suresh realised she had no idea what she was doing. “Deep down, I’m still a conservative Indian girl trying to navigate a modern, independent world,” she confesses. “That’s what Hoemonal is about—figuring things out, making mistakes, and surviving them with humour.”
The show also touches on hormonal imbalances, something Suresh didn’t fully understand until her 30s. “I started taking better care of myself and realised my hormones had their own emotional storyline. No one ever warned me that being a woman means every day is either a rollercoaster or perfectly normal—but either way, we’re always managing so much.”
Her journey of self-discovery continued with a conversation with her gynaecologist, which “suddenly made sense. Through all this self-reflection, I began wondering: Maybe I’m meant to be alone. That thought can feel like a failure—especially for women in India. If you’re successful but haven’t found a life partner, it’s often seen as a personal failure. But then, after performing in Edinburgh, I realised—the Scots and Irish women relate to this too? It’s not just an Indian thing!”
Before comedy, Suresh had a varied career. She worked as a chef, a food laboratory worker at TÜV Rheinland, and even ran a bakery called Sweet Cheeks, where she made cheesecakes. But theatre had always been her passion.
While studying in Chennai, she auditioned for what she thought was a play, only to find out it was an improv group. Initially sceptical, she decided to give it a shot—and spent a year doing improv. That year marked the turning point for Suresh: On June 14, 2014, after one of her best shows, something clicked, and she knew she had to pursue comedy seriously.
By 2016, she had quit her job, moved to Mumbai, and fully committed to comedy. “It wasn’t one big epiphany—just a series of small moments that led me here,” she reflects.
Asked if she makes good money, Suresh is candid. “I’m making decent money, but a lot of it goes back into my company, Motor Mouth, which focuses on writing for movies and shows. So while I’m earning, my main goal is to build a legacy. I’m not always making the best financial decisions, but that’s part of the journey.”
Suresh is known for addressing women’s issues on stage, a choice that hasn’t always been easy in India. “It’s a conscious decision,” she says, noting that her show Pushpavalli subverts the idealised notion of women by portraying a flawed female lead—a stalker. Pushpavalli won her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Web Series (Critics).
“Women come in all forms, and there’s no singular ‘ideal woman,’” she explains. In Hoemonal, she’s not the “ideal girl” or “ideal wife”—she’s real, and that’s what drives her. Her approach to women’s issues is to present situations truthfully, letting the audience reflect and start conversations without preaching. “If I can make people laugh, I can also make them uncomfortable. That moment of discomfort is where real thought begins.”
Looking ahead, Suresh is excited about her rom-com Royals, which will be released on Netflix in the next few months. She’s also working on several movie projects and collaborating with Nisha Ganatra, director of Freaky Friday 2, on a project she plans to shoot during her US tour. There’s no slowing down for her.
In Melbourne, she promises a night of fun. “It’s like, after a long day, if you want a party with a fast-speaking Indian girl, come along. But it’s not just laughs—I always end with a sober moment. It’s a full experience,” she explains. “I’m basically a full-on Karan Johar movie,” she adds, embracing her Bollywood influence.
- For details on Sumukhi Suresh’s Melbourne show, click here
- For more details on the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, click here
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🎭 @sumukhisuresh debuts in Australia at Melbourne International Comedy Festival with her show #Hoemonal, exploring dating, hormones & independence. 🇦🇺 She’ll also visit the MCG. 🎤 Laugh, think, engage! ✨ #TheIndianSun @micomfestival @indira_laisram https://t.co/CzPnx7M8t0
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