Profile Of The Week: Niveditha Prakasam
Aishwarya Shrivastav
Introducing her in the grand finale, Rohan Joshi described her as a revelation for the judges. As of today, she stands as the reigning champion of the TLC Queens Of Comedy!
With rupees 10 lakh and her own shown on TLC under her belt now, we got in conversation with the amazing Niveditha Prakasam from Chennai as she talks comedy, her different style and effective writing capabilities. A former vehicle engineer turned language editor from Chennai on how she turned her voice and comic timing to become the comedy queen we have all come to love!
What’s your comedy origin story?
This question is for a pro comedian, I’m not there yet. I still have a day job, and no one knows who I am, which I’m very comfortable with. I’ve always been a fan of comedy, and if I had the opportunity, I would’ve done it earlier.
Why do you think there is a dearth of female comics?
Why are there few male fashion bloggers? I guess it all comes down to interest, audience and the success rate. Everyone’s probably waiting for someone else to pave the way first.
What inspires you while preparing a set and how often do your own personal stories make their way into your stand up?
In comedy, a lot of content comes from personal experiences or opinions. You want to be absolutely positive that you believe in what you’re saying. Otherwise, the joke won’t sell. I’m still figuring out what my style is, so I’m currently experimenting with all kinds — observational, satire, deadpan.
What’s your fool proof method while delivering your jokes? Do you think inherent sexism dictates the kind of jokes women can tell?
It depends, if the entire audience is uncomfortable, there’s something wrong with my joke, and I need to work on it. If one person hates it, it’s that person’s right to hate it but 100 other people liked it, so I will keep that joke.
You can be funny or unfunny regardless of gender. We need representation, to balance out the conversation though. Wife jokes can get very monotonous.
What does the future hold for female comics after Queens?
Women are still few in number and very new, but they’re very good already (in my opinion). I can’t wait to see how the comedy scene in India evolves in the next ten years.
Watch her funny but honest take on ugliness
About our writer: Aishwarya Shrivastav is a history graduate from University of Delhi. A spoken word poet, she likes to describe herself as a woman taking up more space than she was allotted by the society. Raging through words.
