Stuttering star of comedy

In an era of interchangeable panel-show perennials and observational blandness, the confrontational and introspective yet relentlessly hilarious, stuttering comedienne Pooja Vijay has never felt more vital. Stand-up comedy, an arena that’s still quite outnumbered by men, Pooja has easily managed to make quite an imprint even with her speech disability.

Pooja who has been stuttering since childhood admits that people often get confused as she goes on with her jokes, high on stuttering. “A major chunk of the time that I’ve been allotted involves cracking jokes on myself, my stutter, my life and observations,” she laughs.

Originally from Tamil Nadu,  Pooja currently resides in Delhi, but has spent many years of her life in Bengaluru. And it was there that it had all begun. She informs that one fine day in 2015 on an act of impulse, she just decided to grab the mic. “A friend of mine was trying out his hands at an open mic in Bengaluru. And while watching him, I thought, why shouldn’t I too give it a try? It was just an act of impulse,” she laughs, adding, “I was a bit apprehensive before going on stage but once I got on, I actually got a few laughs. A few established comedians said that I did well too.”

Pooja, who in fact is a researcher with the University of Chicago, also  asserts, “I didn’t do anything with an aim to come under the spotlight. I just found the concept of an open-mic interesting so went for it without apprehending for any results. The impromptu gig managed to make people laugh and when people appreciated my act, it gave me the boost and confidence!”

Since then, the comedienne has been performing in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi. She has also been opening acts for many comedians like Rajneesh Kapoor and Karthik Kumar and will be opening an act for Papa CJ.

The funny woman who has been bombarded with messages, praising her move and bravado, finds it a little surprising. She says that she has never considered her speech disability an issue. “People keep telling me that I am very brave to get on  the stage with a stammer but somehow I don’t see it that way. Yes, it does make me look different from others but I never saw it as something that could probably hold me back from achieving anything. Stammering is a part of my life; it’s natural so I get a little confused when people come and say all those things. However, I am deeply grateful,” she adds.

The comedienne is currently attracting a lot of adoration from around the globe. Pooja, also got featured by The Stuttering Foundation, a US-based non-profit organisation, which provides free online resources, services and support to stutterers and their families, recently.

But the best, she says, has been when Nina G, a world-renowned American stuttering comic, reached out to her!

“Nina was kind enough to reach out to me. I was in shock when she got in touch. She has told me to keep in touch and that’s awesome.”