Harpriya Bains Interview
Q. For readers discovering you for the first time, how would you introduce Harpriya Bains beyond the label of a stand-up comedian?
CEO H&M – A cribbing exhausted overworked housewife and mother!
Jokes apart, I am a writer, a watercolour artist, a model, and an ex-advertising professional. I am a third-generation army kid, now an army wife, and a mother of two daughters. These identities shape my voice, my comedy, and the stories I tell—rooted in real life, resilience, and lived experience
Q. Your comedy often draws from motherhood, daily chaos, and lived experiences. At what point did you realise that your personal life could become your strongest material on stage?
I realised it when I watched so many married stand-up comedians, mostly men, joke freely about marriage and their wives. It made me wonder: where is the wife’s point of view?
Women juggle homes, husbands, children, extended families, careers, pets—and the daily weight of patriarchy. We’re exhausted, occasionally unhinged, yet every morning we begin again—put on a lipstick, smile and get on with it! We have the courage to laugh at ourselves, even when the jokes are on us.
That’s when it clicked. Our lives weren’t just relatable, they are rich comic material!
My inspiration came from the women around me: mothers and mothers-in-law, sisters and sisters-in-law, dadis, nanis, masis, mamis—friends, even so-called foes. Because in Indian homes, our stories overlap more than we realise. My comedy grew out of the everyday life of a “normal” desi housewife and mother, with a very intentional pun aimed at the hypocrisies of patriarchy.
The humour felt fresh, home-made, and honest. I wanted to lighten the load for women, if only for an hour, by making them laugh at our shared struggles. With my stage experience, confidence, and gift of the gab, I began turning my own life into stories, borrowing generously from the incredible women who inspire me every day. I wanted to make women laugh, feel seen, and feel less alone, and that’s where it all began.
Q. Comedy, especially observational humour, walks a fine line between truth and exaggeration. How do you decide what stays authentic and what needs to be heightened for laughs?
Yes, my comedy is largely observational, layered with storytelling. As I explored the comedy space, I noticed that while India has many brilliant female comedians, very few speak from the perspective of a married woman or a mother. That lived reality is still underrepresented—and yet it’s bursting with humour, chaos, and drama.
The beauty of everyday domestic life is that it doesn’t need heavy engineering for laughs. The key is relatability. Observational comedy works best when it stays simple and recognisable. When someone in the audience thinks, “This is exactly me,” you know you’ve struck a chord!
For me, authenticity lies in the emotion behind the premise. The experience must be real, even if it isn’t inherently funny. Once that emotional truth is in place, exaggeration becomes a tool, not a distortion. You heighten the feeling, sharpen the moment, and shape it into a punchline that resonates—because the audience already believes it.
Q. You’ve built a strong digital presence while continuing live performances. How has social media changed the way comedians think about timing, relevance, and audience feedback?
Social media, especially short-form content, has fundamentally changed how comedy is created and consumed. A decade ago, audiences mostly engaged with long-form specials, giving comedians the luxury of time. Today, content is constant, and attention is immediate but short lived.
In my case, social media played a defining role in my journey, I was largely discovered through one viral reel. That makes me deeply aware of its power, and genuinely grateful for it. Social platforms have become the bridge between comedians and live audiences, often serving as the first point of connection.
While my core focus remains live performances and long-form storytelling, the reality is that social media influences how we write and think. So there is now an emphasis on sharper and quicker punchlines, moments that can stand alone in a 30 second reel. Earlier, comedy allowed for a slow build; today, every moment is viewed through the lens of shareability.
Social media has made feedback instant and relevance real-time. It’s demanding, yes, but it’s also democratic. The challenge is to honour the craft while respecting the platform that gave many of us, including me, our first viral moment of glory!
Q. Many women relate deeply to your ‘mummy’ persona. Do you see your comedy as representation, resistance, or simply reflection of everyday Indian households?
I’m genuinely happy that women connect with my “mummy” persona, that was always the intention. I always want to be the mummy who speaks for all mummies.
Like I said earlier, my inspiration comes from the women around me—mothers and mothers-in-law, sisters and friends, dadis, nanis, masis, mamis—because in Indian households, our stories are deeply interconnected. My comedy is rooted in the everyday life of a “normal” Indian housewife and mother, with a very intentional wink at the hypocrisies of patriarchy.
If I had to define it, my work is a reflection first—but one that naturally becomes representation, and occasionally, gentle resistance. Above all, it’s my way of lightening the invisible load women carry, by making them laugh at shared struggles and reminding them that we’re in this together.
Q. Stand-up is often seen as light entertainment, but it subtly comments on social norms. What do you think comedy can say today that serious conversations often fail to?
While I don’t think Stand-up comedy is meant to reform society, but it can certainly make people pause and think. My journey into comedy wasn’t driven by a grand dream; it came from a very real need to be heard. I saw stand-up as a powerful medium to express a point of view while holding up a mirror to society—gently, playfully, and without judgement.
Serious conversations often put people on the defensive. Comedy, on the other hand, disarms first. It makes you laugh, maybe feel slightly uncomfortable, and then quietly think, “Yes… that’s true. I do that too.” In that moment of recognition, something may shift.
If comedy can plant even a small seed of awareness, or make someone see everyday behaviour a little differently, it’s done its job. As one man once told me after a show, “Ma’am, you just threw truth bombs, aapne toh humaari band hi baja di!”
Q. You balance multiple roles: creator, performer, entrepreneur, and mother. What’s the biggest myth people have about having it all ?
The biggest myth is that women can “have it all”! The truth is you can’t! Like Indra Nooyi says “Women can’t have it all!”
Its easy to say, we juggle, we multitask but the truth is we are always doing it all at the cost of giving up a lot too! If we are working late, the home will be ignored a bit, if we need to make kids study for exams, the work will suffer a bit, if we are somehow juggling it all, it will take a toll on our health and sleep!
The juggle, the hustle is real and we need to normalise it without feeling guilty! We need to accept taking breaks, take rest, have a support system, prioritise and live life to our full potential but on our terms.
We need to stop glorifying being a “superwoman” because even she needs a day off to do laundry and wash her cape!
Q. For aspiring comedians, especially women who hesitate to take up space or speak boldly, what is the one uncomfortable truth they must accept early?
Not so fun fact: You really do have to be extremely thick skinned to be a woman comic in India and learn to ignore a lot of negativities around you.
“Log kya Kahenge” is the first big factor. We women are so tuned into going by the society norms, that it takes us a lot of courage and time to take that final step for an unusual career like stand up comedy. I myself thought for a long time, what will my family and friends think, what will my extended family think.
Thankfully, everyone in my family has always been super supportive but you are always most nervous about the reactions of your loved ones. And not everyone has family support. I know of young women comics who haven’t told their parents that they do comedy as they fear it will not be accepted.
Women comics also face a bit more of criticism in some cases. Especially on social media. Maybe because, the Indian audience still hasn’t evolved enough to completely accept women comedians in totality, just the way they are. The trolling is endless and the comments section of most women comics is still full of “ladki hoke gaali de rahi hai”, “women always crying about bras and periods”, “no sanskaar left in girls”.
And since I am one of very few comics in India who has taken to comedy in my forties, after 20 years of marriage and 2 grown up kids, I have another kind of trolling going on – ‘bachon ko sambhaal..tera ghar kaun dekhega’, ‘ladkiyon ko kya seekha raho hai’, ‘budhape mein sathiya gayi hai”, “how does your husband allow to speak nonsense”
While I mostly pay no heed to them and just laugh them off, but not everyone takes them well and they surely can take a mental toll on you at some point. Some comments are even personal and extremely rude and do bother you a bit. People judge you without even knowing you. Every now and then your DM keeps getting rape threats, abusive language, pornographic pictures etc
Then there are the logistic issues. Most open mics and clubs operate in the evenings mostly after 7 pm. Some even have late night mics like 10 pm or beyond. Again, we know how safe our cities can be!! Going back in public transport, late night PG, hostel permissions etc. sometimes prevent young comics to follow this journey regularly, logistics that men rarely have to think twice about.
Having said that, happy to say that woman comics are gradually on a rise now, thanks to a lot of all women line ups, open mics and even only women audience shows being organised by producers so as to give a safe space to help new women comics get stage time and gain confidence to face the audience.
But the truth remains: to take up space, you must first accept that not everyone will be comfortable with your voice. And that discomfort is not your problem, it’s part of the job!
Q. Your content feels conversational rather than performative. How important is vulnerability in building trust with an audience today?
Vulnerability is everything. Today’s audiences don’t connect with perfection; they connect with honesty. When content feels conversational, it’s because it comes from a real place, spoken the way we talk to ourselves and each other, not the way we perform.
For me, vulnerability builds trust because it removes the gap between the stage and the audience. When I share my flaws, fears, or everyday frustrations, people don’t see a comedian, they see themselves. That’s when laughter becomes collective, not performative.
I believe in a world full of filters and facades, vulnerability is what makes an audience lean in, stay and even give you a hug after the show.
Q. Fun one to end with if ‘Ask Mummy’ had to give advice to your younger self before your first open mic, what would she say?
Jaa Simran jaa - Just do it, girl! Don’t overthink it!
Bio:
Harpriya Bains is a mom turned comedian challenging stereotypes with her hilarious take on housewives and societal expectations. Through her comedy, she highlights the absurdity of Indian patriarchy and the pressures faced by women in desi households. Her comedy is inspired by the daily life of mothers and wives. She started her comedy career at the age of 40 and has been successfully doing stand-up comedy for the last 8 years and released her debut YouTube video in May 2023 called "Carry on Mummy" which went viral and brought more than 10 million views in less than 10 days on Instagram and has crossed 1.5 million views on YouTube as well and was soon called ‘viral mummy’. She has more than 215k followers on Instagram and 42K subscribers on YouTube.
She has been performing at numerous comedy clubs, events, conferences and comedy festivals, captivating audiences with her hilarious routines and earning her a dedicated following. Her solo stand-up show, Carry on Mummy is famous among audiences, and her performances are loved and appreciated. She has successfully performed over 250 offline, online, public, private and corporate solo shows in more than 25 cities across India and 1 show each in London and Nairobi too in the last one year. She has also worked on prestigious brand campaigns with some of the leading brands in the country.
Interviewed by: Nidhi
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