That's so funny!

KANEEZ SURKA—AKA ‘INDIA’S QUEEN OF IMPROV’—GETS TALKING WITH COSMO EDITOR NANDINI BHALLA, ABOUT THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS (AND SUCCESSES!) OF BEING A FEMALE COMEDIAN, THE WORST JOKE SHE’S EVER HEARD, AND HER LIST OF THE WORLD’S FUNNIEST WOMEN...

- NANDINI BHALLA

Kaneez Surka has had an inconvenient weekend. She navigated (went to battle with!) a ‘maggots situation’ at home— they seemed to be dropping from the ceiling, in the middle of the night (“It was raining maggots!” she tells me). Turns out, there was a dead rat in the air conditioner, and the maggots had built a home there. Kaneez slept in the hallway that night, the aircon service guys tackled the problem the next day, and a crisis was averted. As scuzzy as the story is, I can’t help but giggle when she narrates it. Because Kaneez is—and I’m kind of stating the obvious here—incredibly witty. But she is also part of a special breed of comedians who are more than just funny; they are ‘funny with a cause’.

If you’re familiar with Kaneez’s acts, you’ll know that the improv artist often uses humour to drive change and discuss feminism and female sexuality—hardly an easy feat in a male-dominated industry (and audience!). And so, I’ve been looking forward to my interaction with India’s ‘Queen of Improv’ and one of the four female stars of Netflix’s new stand-up comedy series, Ladies Up. Kaneez, it turns out, is as warm in person (in video) as she is on stage, with an earnestness—and charming vulnerability—that makes her instantly likable. Here are the excerpts from the interview, as we discuss confidence, the one thing Kaneez hates more than maggots falling from her ceiling, and how a female comic took the microphone—and the Indian comedy scene—one LOL at a time...

Nandini Bhalla: Kaneez, how did comedy happen for you?