Singapore-Indian comedian Kumar: Have an open mind and be ready to laugh

“Raunchy, risky, and pushing boundaries” is how Singapore-based comedian Kumarason Chinnadurai, aka Kumar, describes her comedy show, Kumarsutra, which she is bringing to India. With ‘Sutra’ equating to stories, she is on a multi-city tour and performed in Mumbai (November 21). The artist has three asks from the audience: “If they’re not English speaking, please don’t come (laughs); have an open mind; be ready to laugh.”
With instances of comedians, especially international names, sometimes taking things too far during their shows and hurting audiences’ sentiments, cancel culture in India is no joke. Ask Kumar if she is wary and she says, “I am going to do a lot of relatable stuff – family, dating, husband and wife jokes, and on having children. I don’t think they (any of her jokes) are very offensive. Singapore is a multi-racial country, but India is more multicultural. So, I won’t be touching on a lot of Indian stuff. My views might be different than yours and I don’t want to make stuff up.”
The 56-year-old has over three decades on the comedy scene and has seen a lot of changes take place, including the emergence of a new trend – crowd work. This is where comedians engage with the audience, impromptu, and post it online, leading to an ostensibly high number of views. Getting candid, Kumar mentions, “I only started doing crowd work now because the younger comedians are doing it. I am just trying to keep up [with them]. The Singaporean audience – they love to talk, and especially after Covid-19, everybody wants to have a say.” She also shares that he has tweaked the show, promoted by BookMyShow, to fit the Indian perspective, telling us, “When I go to India, I don’t think I’ll do any crowd work. I don’t want to say the wrong thing. The audience and you need to be on the same level to get roasted.”
Having an Indian connection as her father hails from Chennai, Kumar wants to “visit Chennai for a few days”, as well. The stand-up artist has also enjoyed watching Indian comedian Vir Das and Canadian-Indian comedian Russell Peters. Not her first time in the country, she says, “I came to India 25 years ago. I think the audience that came to watch me at that time are most likely in a wheelchair now (laughs) or must be at my age, and are married with kids. So the audience [who will come this time] might be brand new. I’m hoping they’ve watched me on social media and have an idea of what they’re in for.”