Forthright and gritty yet infinitely warm, new comic, Sindhu, has only risen through the ranks since the start of her entertainment career in 2015. Born and brought up in India, receiving multiple degrees from top institutions across the world, including Delhi, Oxford, McGill and Chicago Universities, she is an award-winner, already having appeared on big shows such as QI and Have I Got News For You. Her trajectory is as much a reflection of the increasingly progressive climate. Sindhu’s debut stand-up show, Sandhog, currently sold-out at the eminent Edinburgh Fringe Festival, examines the modern experience of motherhood and marriage as an open-minded individual who just so happens to hail from South Asia. “I’m speaking on the cultural aspects of family because I introspect a lot so I’m organically going to expose the inner landscape of myself. My husband is Scandinavian, my parents are Indian, and my kids are growing up with mixed influences so I have a unique point of view. It’s like when you take a piece of fruit cut it in half, slice it horizontally and vertically, and then turn it inside out.” This spikey yet delectable visual metaphor perfectly sums up the comedic content. Sindhu is rich in pointy anecdotes, as brazen as they are precise: “one of the highlights in my show, Sandhog, is a great bit on the way Indian parents treat action and consequence. The audience loses their minds, especially if they are South-Asian. They recognise it. I mean growing up, I had to develop a sense of humour to survive. Like many mums, mine was the bearer of some brutal truths. Even now, she’ll call and give me encouragement like: ‘are you going on TV? Go and get a manicure: you’ve the broken hooves of a giant donkey!’ I’ll say: ‘mom, that’s intense.”
***
But Sindhu’s material doesn’t seek to contrast British and Asian maternal perspectives: “I grew up in India so I’m not going to want to compare,” she stated, “that’s my norm. At school, I thought my British friend was weird because she didn’t get spanked! I’ll more likely talk on my unusual height and how that’s informed an entirely different life experience.” Sindhu is taller than most, having modelled for Yves San Laurent before arriving on the comedy circuit. In this unhindered way, Sindhu is part of a fourth-wave feminist statement that encourages women to stay, above all, true themselves: putting informed individual wishes before any prescribed gender roles, including traditional notions of rebellion. “I always wanted to be a mum and have lots of children,” Sindhu continued. “That’s not exactly defying the cultural expectation! But I am endlessly fascinated by how exhausting and complicated it is to love our children, spouse and parents, but also how inescapable the urge is to love them as fully as we can. Who the hell doesn't want love? You want it, you have to work for it! It’s about being the generation responsible for both the kids and aging parents – it was simpler, in a sense, for the older generation. You just give your kid a tight slap – nowadays, we feel more responsible: more research goes into what’s happening with our kids. And the schools encourage you to take extra care: the amount of bull**** art– if I have to take in one more children's pasta painting…even my strict mother wakes the grandkids up to give them ice cream for breakfast – I’m like, why didn’t you do that for me?” But as Sindhu also explained, the harsh reality can set you free: “when you are honest, there’s no festering. Only the means through which to move forward and become better.” That’s clearly why darkness can be so funny, and how an Indian female can come to work with such mainstream British talent as Karl Pilkington and Alan Davies. “I’m so proud of my accomplishments,” Sindhu stated, “including my radio show, Sindhustan, on Radio 4. Honestly, being ready to be raw, including failing, has been the route to my success.” Thus, embracing the nuances of family dynamics, Sindhu is at once a testament to promising social change. Stand-up is the forty-year-old’s second successful career where she had been an investment banker before. This not only reflects women breaking through bigger professional boundaries, but a generational divide dissolving where the older have access to more youthful careers, and mums are getting closer to their kids. Sindhu’s signature voice is then a comradely celebration of the time.
Why is your show called Sandhog?
Come and find out: I can’t just tell you. That would be like telling you whether Emily Blunt ‘did it’ in the Girl on The Train.
Is your show about commitment to family life?
It’s more about love. Commitment is such a dry word. Love is complex. It’s difficult to completely love anybody, starting with your parents and then your partner and then your kids! My God, kids are so difficult and yet we find a way to cherish them. Family is everything. If you don’t undo the knots from them, you eventually undo yourself.
Sometimes parents don’t realise how much they’ll be affected by kids.
You don’t realise how irrational that love is. They’re sat there and can’t do anything. The rest of the animal kingdom produces offspring with some sort of innate ability to survive. But human babies can’t do s***. You have to give up your mornings, days and nights.
Does your radio show, Sindhustan, explore overlapping themes with Sandhog?
I talk about children too. The first two episodes discuss how arranged marriage is different to forced marriage. Of course, radio is also different in that you can’t see me and there’s only so much I can say. Live, I can get away with lots. I shock a lot of Indian parents.
Is good comedy as much about bringing your naturally funny character as finessing the performance?
There isn’t a formula. Each comic has their own way. For example, I’m very casual with a little crazy thrown in, and we might as well be having a cup of coffee together. I think more than persona, underlying each comedian’s approach – political, psychological, etc. – is the relishing of point of view. Different comics will come at the same topic from a different angle.
Being really open is a main part of your style too.
Yes, I mean life is full of shocking truths. The first time you tell a kid what the f*** is going on, it’s not going to be good. You tell them they have to get to class on time or it’s not going to be OK. The truth is hard which is why so many kids lie!
Finally, how have you Honed your Craft?
By witling down longer stories into the course of a minute: it’s about the economy of words. Knowing when to put the right word where and against which combinations.
