If You Are Funny And Able To Make People Laugh, That’s All That Really Matters: In Conversation with Stand Up Comedian Syama Harini!

Syama Harini, an actor, a stand up comedian and a person that will brighten up your day,is one of the few female comics from South India. Her Tamil solo stand ups, Vada Poche and Enna vazhka da were great successes. Her acts are a commentary on the society, she approaches the system with comedy and light-hearted jokes. Over the years, she has made an impact with her insightful and anecdotal acts and in an exclusive interview with JFW, she talks about her journey:

How did you come to this industry?
I had a part time job at Evam entertainment and worked in many shows as a production assistant and have seen many stand up shows by SA(Aravind), Alex and others and wanted to try my hand at stand up comedy. As far as acting, I’ve been into dramas and theatre from school and that just happened when i got the right opportunity.

What were you doing before this?
I never took up acting or stand up comedy full time. I was working for a private company after completing my UG. I joined Evam and then moved to Fully Filmy. That’s when I started doing my solo shows.

It did take some time for women to own this space, what was your story like?

Fortunately, I didn’t face any gender discrimination. Chennai comic circle is very welcoming to women. Shows and open mics always have space for women. If you are funny, people are going to appreciate you. That’s all that really matters. The Chennai comic circle have always given women their due place and at the end of the day, all they look into are how you perform.

Have you faced any stereotypical questions as a comedian, if so, what was your reply like?
All my friends and parents were really supportive. The only thing they said was it will take time to be financially independent when you take up stand up comedy full time. Do something other than that to be financially stable and also focus on what you want to do. No one said being a stand up comedian or artist is not going to work out. And I didn’t think of this as my full time profession either. I started it out as a hobby and it turned into my profession.

As a comedian, who is your favorite?

From stand up comedy, Alexander Babu, Praveen, Jagan, Sumuki Suresh are my favorite and there are still a lot of people who are my favorite. From the movie industry, Goundamani, Vadivelu, Vivek and crazy Mohan are my all time favorites.

How did you get into the series “ Vera maari office” ?

I got a call from Kanaa production, they said they’ve seen my reels and wanted me to be a part of vera maari office, that’s how I got into this web series. It is releasing on August 10. Do watch it and let me know how it is.

What are your future plans?

I’m just going with the flow as of now. I haven’t planned anything for the future yet. I might have a solo show in October, that depends on the shoot schedule of the series.