Sumukhi Suresh: FLAWED, FEMALE, FUNNY

Between starting a writer's collective and learning to love the vibrancy in herself, multi-hyphenate SUMUKHI SURESH is finding, and embracing, her power at 34, finds Kashika Saxena

- Kashika Saxena

Writer, actor, and comedian has decided that she will die at 65. "It's a great time to die because I don't want to go through major things. I don't want to have kids because I don't want to mess them up. So, I think 65 would be great because some people will be like, 'Oh God, she died so young!' and others will be like, 'No, she died when she peaked.' If I die earlier than that, it will be like, 'Shit, why?' and, later, it will be like, 'Makes sense.' I want to be the gossip for at least six months."

The reason we're having this morbid discussion with such concerning nonchalance is because she is trying to explain how she's done hating herself. After all, she only has about 30 more years to live. "The other day, in my writers' room, I said that I'm giving up. I don't wish to lose weight anymore. I'll work out because it's fun and I enjoy myself. But, apart from the health reasons, I really like the way I look. I stand out for myself and I think there's a vibrancy about me. This is a thought that's come very recently, and it's a small thought. Because I'm going to die in 30 years, so what's the plan? I can't hate myself, it's too much," she says.

It might be a small thought, but it's one that has been blooming in her for years, nudged and nurtured by her writing and stand-up, both inherently vulnerable art forms where you're expected to lay bare your deepest thoughts. After doing that for years, a now at 34, could this be the reason she has come into her own? She agrees immediately. “Stand-up as an art form, and the fact that a lot of women come to see my stand-up, really helps. It boosts my confidence. I'm so glad that they are there to listen to me. These things really change your fibre in a small but very interesting way.”