'If men start at zero, women start at minus 10': Comedian Sumukhi Suresh opens up on female comics facing constant scrutiny

Comedian and actor Sumukhi Suresh recently represented India at the Netflix Is A Joke Festival in Los Angeles, becoming the only Indian comic to perform at the event. While discussing the evolution of stand-up comedy and the challenges comedians face, Sumukhi offered a candid take on the conversation around "cancel culture," particularly when it comes to women. When asked why female comedians have largely escaped the kind of public controversies that have engulfed male comics such as Samay Raina, Vir Das and AIB, Sumukhi disagreed with the premise altogether.Sharing her thoughts with SCREEN, she said, “Actually, 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.” According to her, women routinely deal with abuse, personal attacks and judgment online, making their experience fundamentally different.Sumukhi pointed out that female performers often face criticism that goes beyond their work. Instead of being evaluated solely on their craft, they are targeted for their appearance, opinions and personal choices.“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.”The comedian argued that public discussions around cancellation often overlook the everyday hostility women encounter simply for being visible.Reflecting on the industry's dynamics, Sumukhi suggested that audiences are often quicker to embrace irreverent humour from men than from women. “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.” She added that women frequently have to work harder to earn the same appreciation that male comedians receive more easily.“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.”Beyond the discussion on gender and comedy, Sumukhi also spoke about performing in Los Angeles with a set rooted in Indian experiences and cultural references. She revealed that she never tries to simplify her material for international audiences. “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.”For the comedian, authenticity remains more important than broad appeal. Whether performing in India or overseas, she believes audiences connect with emotions first, even if they do not fully understand every cultural reference.Apart from stand-up, Sumukhi continues to balance writing, acting and content creation. Following projects such as 'Pushpavalli' and 'CTRL', she is also collaborating with filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane on 'Lust Stories 3' and has co-written an upcoming film with Vir Das. Through it all, she remains committed to pushing boundaries while navigating an industry that she says still treats women differently.