Pushpavalli – soniasmusings

S for Sumukhi Suresh

Sumukhi Suresh is a firebrand performer. I was introduced to her skills through the Better Life Foundation web series created by Naveen Richard and Them Boxer Shorts. While she featured in a bunch of AIB videos, sketch comedies like ‘Go straight, take left’, I was mesmerized by dark humor she created in the Behti Naak series with Kumar Varun and Trupti Khamkhar. Through Behti, a ten-year-old with a deadpan expression, she spoke about issues like the perception towards marriages in India, domestic abuse, racism and many more She also created the memorable character of a house-help Parvathi Bai in the form of a series with Sanjay Manaktala. She has been a part of both the seasons of Comicstaan, playing the part of a host in the first season and that of a judge in the second season. She has also acted in the Kannada movie ‘Humble Politician Nograj’ with Danish Sait.

Sumukhi Suresh - Source platinumlist.ne: — Sumukhi Suresh – Source: platinumlist.net

Three years back, I binge-watched Pushpavalli Season one and I was so blown away by her writing skills, thought-process behind creating the not-so-likable protagonist and her acting prowess that I had to write a review for the show. In the last couple of months, her first solo stand-up special ‘Don’t Tell Amma’has been launched on Amazon Prime and she recently returned with the second season of Pushpavalli co-starring Naveen Richard that manages to keep the audience at tenterhooks yet again. Sumukhi is one of the finest humorists we have in India whose range of characters, topics, and ideas re-define the word ‘versatile’.

This is the nineteenth post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I will see you tomorrow when I disclose the featured funny man in my post for T.

You can read the previous posts in the series here. Dark Humour isn’t a genre explored by many Indian artists, so I am sharing one of Sumukhi’s brilliant sketches. It might make you smile but is bound to hit you hard.

R for Random Chikibum

Random Chikibum is a comedy channel run by the multitalented stand-up comedians, content creators and actors, Rahul Subramanian and Kumar Varun. Their focus was to create light-hearted web-series and sketches based on the life of corporate employees. Drawing inspiration from their experiences, the ex-colleagues explore the nuisances of the corporate world in their witty and satirical style through the series of Random Daftar and Chota Random.

Rahul Subramanian & Kumar Varun - Source: bookmyshow — Rahul Subramanian & Kumar Varun – Source: BookMyShow

This channel also features stand-up videos by Rahul Subramanian. He is such a versatile performer that even the modulation of his voice tone can make the audience roll with laughter. His content is intelligently humourous. A special mention to the unscripted crowd work videos that he has been uploading of late. Rahul interacts with a live audience and creates jokes on the spot based on his interactions with them. It takes an uber-creative and supremely confident artist to explore such spontaneous acts of comedy. He has also featured in multiple videos of AIB and web series like Pushpavalli. He made his debut on Amazon Prime with his solo stand-up special called ‘Kal Mein Udega’.

Kumar Varun is a well-known name in the comedy circuit. He has made appearances in AIB videos, Behti Naak series by Sumukhi Suresh, and acted in web series like Better Life Foundation, Chacha Vidhayak Hai Humara, and Pushpavalli. Very recently, he took to experimenting with stand-up comedy. He re-defines the ease with which a joke can be cracked without displaying too many emotions. He is a natural performer and an effortless humorist.

This is the eighteenth post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I hope to see you tomorrow when I divulge the details of the stand-up comedian getting featured in my post for ‘S’.

You can read the previous posts in the series here. Here’s a video from Rahul’s stand-up comedy that is also one of my personal favorites. Despite watching it more than fifty times, it never fails to make me laugh out loud.

N for Naveen Richard

Naveen Richard is one of the founder-members of the comedy collective ‘Them Boxer Shorts” attributed to the creation of the show ‘Better Life Foundation’. Along with Kenny Sebastian, Naveen has co-written and acted in the show Star Boyz. There are a bunch of videos on his YouTube channel that take a sarcastic dig at real-life issues of Godmen, moral policing, and stereotyping people. What is unique about those videos is that they manage to deliver the underlying message in a subtle and funny way without getting too preachy. He has also played the role of an annoying child in the sketch comedy ‘Go Stright, Take Left’ with Sumukhi Suresh.

Naveen Richard - Source:Twitter — Naveen Richard – Source: Twitter

Of all the characters that Naveen has created or acted in, my favorite happens to Uncle Francis or rather Fraaanjiis as he prefers to be known as. Navin’s intelligent humor makes him stand-out from the crowd. Yet, his actor persona overshadows the comedian within him in shows like the Pushapavalli series created by Sumukhi Suresh. This is where his versatility as an artist shines through. Naveen his debut on Amazon Prime with his stand-up special ‘Don’t make that face’ and is now back with a brand new show ‘Relatively Relatable.’

This is the fourteenth post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I hope to see you tomorrow when I divulge the details of the performer getting featured in my post for ‘O’.

You can read the previous posts in the series here. Here’s a video from Naveen’s latest special that is sure to make one go LOL.

Top 10 reasons to binge watch the web series ‘Pushpavalli’ this weekend

I stayed up till 3am today morning to finish all the eight episodes of “Pushpavalli – based on a true-ish story” streaming on Amazon Prime video. Created by Sumukhi Suresh who is also the protagonist in it, this is one of the most intriguing web series available right now. Starring Manish Anand and Naveen Richard in pivotal roles, this is the story of Pushpavalli switching cities from Bhopal to Bangalore to be with the man she is in love with but ends up stalking eventually.

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