Ever since Mumbai’s Urooj Ashfaq first started performing comedy back in 2016, she’s been an unstoppable force.
Last year, however, she achieved some of her biggest successes to date, taking out the title of Best Newcomer at the iconic Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and becoming the first comic based in India to win the award. Needless to say, she’s using it as a reason to stick around for a little while still.
“It feels really great to have received [that award],” she says. “I’m mostly happy that it allows me space in more festivals and on more stages because the hope is always to keep doing more comedy until people are sick and tired of me.”
Urooj Ashfaq – Oh No!
- Melb Town Hall – Cloak Room
- March 28 – April 7
- Tickets here
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and stage news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Of course, people aren’t sick of her yet. Starting out at the age of 21, Urooj had some reservations about what her comedic career would entail. At first, it was all about how she’d begin, but now, it’s all about sustaining that success.
“I really did not [expect things to still be going strong],” she says. “When I started I was so unsure if this would work out but it all worked alright. Now I shall continue stressing about the coming decade.”
Like most creatives, those early days are some that she finds a little hard to return to. After all, what was funny once could easily become dated rather quickly – especially when you’re trying to make a name for herself. For Urooj, those early years might as well be quickly forgotten.
“I have blocked out my first two years in comedy because I cannot listen to my jokes without feeling extreme cringe and embarrassment,” she says. “I often wonder if I will feel that way about this show eight years from now.”
So far, there’s no need to worry about being embarrassed about the current show, but if she was, Urooj is in a fine position to examine why she feels that way. With a degree in psychology, Urooj admits it plays a role in the way she constructs her work, though she’s not left over-analysing the reason behind pursuing such a craft, but rather, leaning into the vulnerability it allows to enter her writing.
“A good chunk of this show is about therapy and studying psychology so it has had a very direct impact on my work,” she admits. “I think I’m a bit too comfortable with talking about my feelings in general and even on stage. Maybe spending all that time reading about feelings has made me so brazen about my own.”
Titled Oh No!, Urooj’s new show is described as being about “Urooj, her family, things that annoy her and things she loves”, and see her discussing her “parents’ divorce, cultural differences and the humour she easily finds in the daily intricacies of life”. With such a varied range of topics, she admits that it makes for a great opportunity for Australian fans to experience her unique take on comedy as part of her debut visit to the country.
“I’m so excited to come and perform there; I’ve never been before,” she says. “I’m mostly hoping the audiences will have a good time and they take away that I’m a decent comic, if they want to learn something from the show they’re most welcome to – but no pressure.”
With such acclaim to her name, an ability to tour the world, and even more chances to share her craft with the world, Urooj undoubtedly feels as though she’s now ‘made it’ as a comedian. While some comedians dream of fame and fortune, and all the trappings that come with it, Urooj just appreciates the opportunity to do what she loves.
“I think pursuing stand up and making a living from it is so hard that I felt I had made it when I was able to be financially independent from doing just comedy,” she says. “I know it seems like a really low bar but to me, that is really key and everything else is a bonus to making it.”
Needless to say, with such amazing momentum already propelling her into the world of comedy, it’s easy to see that Urooj has more than made it, and that the future is looking brighter than ever for this acclaimed comedian.
Get tickets here.
