The Comedian's Comedian Podcast - Urooj Ashfaq

Episode Date: December 12, 2025

Today I’m joined by Urooj Ashfaq - the Mumbai-based comedian, writer and actor who’s quickly become one of the most exciting voices in stand-up. Bursting onto the scene winning Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2023, she’s now back with her new show, How To Be A Baddie.We discuss the danger of optimising your honesty, the evolution of the Indian stand-up scene, can you be emotionally sensitive while succeeding in comedy, why you can’t plan authenticity, the pressure for women to never be mediocre and we find out if Urooj Ashfaq is happy!Join the Insiders Club at patreon.com/comcompod where you can instantly WATCH the full episode and get access to 25 minutes of exclusive extras including Urooj’s comedy superpowers, the pressure to perform for clicks, brand deals and the vulnerability of going viral.👉 Sign up to the NEW ComComPod Mailing List and follow the show on Instagram, YouTube & TikTok,Support our independently produced Podcast from only £3/month at Patreon.com/ComComPod✅ Instant access to full video and ad-free audio episodes✅ 25 minutes of exclusive extra content with Urooj✅ Early access to new episodes where possible✅ Exclusive membership offerings including a monthly “Stu&A”PLUS you’ll get access to the full back catalogue of extras you can find nowhere else!Catch Up with Urooj: You can keep up-to-date with Urooj Ashfaq on Instagram, @uroojashfaq.AOB: If you’re a student comedy society or group that can’t afford to go to the Edinburgh Fringe 2026, Stevie Martin is running a Student Comedy Fringe Fund which is now open for applications, there's an introduction session on 18th Dec and the deadline is Jan 7th. Find out more at linktre.ee/5tevieM!Everything I'm up to: Come and see me LIVE! Find out all the info and more at stuartgoldsmith.com/comedy.Discover my comedy about the climate crisis, for everyone from activists to CEOs, at stuartgoldsmith.com/climate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome back to the show. I'm Stuart Goldsmith today. I'm talking to Uruj Ashfak, Mumbai-based comedian, writer, actor, phenomenal social media, sketchy delivery type person. And someone who is quickly becoming one of stand-up's most exciting voices. Yes, you heard it here, well, not first, because she won best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2023, so that's where you heard it first. But she is back now with her new show, How to Be a Baddy, which I saw, me and Nish saw it

and laughed like absolute drains as Edinburgh just gone. And that compelled me to get her onto this pod. In the first half of this episode, we're going to discuss feeling like a British comic trapped in an Indian system. There's a phrase for you. We'll talk about the danger of optimizing your honesty. And have you noticed since producer Callum started giving me bullet points for these blurbs? I faff around so much less. We really do talk about optimizing your honesty. I've started fuffing around again. I'll get back to it. We'll talk about the evolution of Indian stand-up. And we will find out whether you can be emotionally sensitive while still succeeding in the comedy industry.

Loads and loads of brilliant stuff in this one. Join the Insiders Club, if you fancy. Three pounds a month on Patreon, you support the podcast. So important these days, don't you think? To support podcasts in general, but specifically ones that have been going for nearly 14 years. You can get on board. 3 pound a month on Patreon, patreon.com.com.

And you can get instant ad-free access to the full video and audio of this episode. Uruj came to Comcom Towers to record this one with me. And so we've got loads of that and 25 minutes of exclusive extra content. Tell you a bit more about what is in that extra content later on. But for now, here is Uruj Ashfak. I was so nervous to come on the first time you asked because I was like, I don't know anything. Oh, that's so kind. Oh, that's so kind.

Thank you. Were you aware of the show? Yes. Oh, well, that's lovely. I was aware of the show and then I looked it up once I was asked also. And I was like, I saw all the comedians and I heard like bits and pieces of a few episodes. And I was like, I don't really know anything about comedy to go very confidently on a podcast that's called. Sure.

Okay. I was intimidated by it. I'm so pleased. That makes you feel like I've got standards. All you have is your quality control, right? It's so true. And I still don't know anything. But then I was like, if I haven't learned anything from the first time and the second time, then I might as well just go.

on. Yes. Yes. Get it over with. That's that it. Exactly. And just say what I know. Yeah. Well, and this is what we're going to do. We're going to find out what you know and there is no pressure and there is no quality control and there are no wrong answers. I think this is the most interesting thing about comedy is that there is no one established way of doing it. Yeah. And anyone that ever says it's like this is wrong or mad or lying for their own financial game. So tell me how comedy is treating you at the moment. You're in Bristol. You're on tour of the UK. Is this your first? tour in the UK? Second. Second. Okay. Yes. I had a really bad gig in Bristol last year. I think I turned on the audience. You turned on them? I turned on them. I don't think they were having a bad time, but I like started overthinking it on stage. And then I was like, oh, you guys didn't like that. You talked yourself into a bad gig? Yes. Yeah, okay. And they were like, I mean, not supposed to have a good time. Yeah. So I think I had an okay gig last time. I mean, it was,

it was not as good as it could have been and that's something I've actively worked on for the past one year so I'm excited to like do this tour in the UK because if it's not going well I'll just address it once so they know that I know and then I just let it be and I say relax enjoy however you want it's completely

fine and then I get on with the gig because there's no point in guilting people who spent money or like stressing them out and also programming them you could you know if they know that you don't consider it a good one they're like oh the people who are like it, it might spoil it for them because they'll go, oh, is she not, are we not good?

You know, so you, it's very, they're so malleable audiences. That's so true. And also, if you just acknowledge that something didn't go well, like, if it bent really badly for a second and then go like, ah, well, no problem. And just move on. It's just makes you look a lot more durable and professional. Yes. And do you feel durable and professional at this stage?

Because you've been doing comedy for nearly 10 years now? Yes. Oh my God. This is my ninth year, I think. Okay. Oh, yeah. So I've been, I do feel, what did that noise mean? Why is nine, does that, because you feel old because you've been doing it for nine years?

What was that noise about? I feel like I haven't done everything I wanted to do in these nine years. Oh, I see. I don't think I have in the most, and I'm not a very Thai person, but like when I have to review how I've spent my nine years, I feel like I could have done a lot more. But then I also feel like I've done enough. And sometimes when I have to review my growth, I'm sort of. of like thinking of, I think I'm reviewing it against somebody else's. And it's not one person.

It's many other comedians. Yes. Okay. This is the first time I think in nearly 500 episodes, a comedian who's used the expression, reviewing my growth. This is such a, this is, I don't know if this is now. I know you're a psychology graduate, so we know you're smart. And I wonder also, like, reviewing my growth, is that, that's kind of like almost business development language, right, applied to comedy. And we'll maybe get into that. I think that's a lovely sentence and sentiment. Let's review your growth.

Let's begin by, this may be as your nightmare. But let's begin by review your growth. Because what I mustn't forget to do at the beginning of any interview is set up for those listeners who are not familiar with you. How funny you are. How successful you are. When I first made you that offer, you'd only just done your debut, I think. Or it was it your Edinburgh debut?

I don't know if it was before or in between. Like you did the show, you won a newcomer, you came back and did the show again. It was then. Yes. Yes. So Jet from Soho was like, oh my God, you've got to get a rooge on the show. So I was like, okay, cool. And you said, it was so charmed, you were like, I'm not ready yet.

And I was like, oh, absolutely brilliant. Love it. But you are, in terms of your growth review, huge social media following. I've seen you on Instagram. Presumably you are all on the other similar apps as well. Yes, Instagram is mainly it, actually. I'm off to it all. I had one too many bad experiences.

Okay, okay. So big social media following. And then I saw your show this year. I was late, I'm afraid. I was 10 minutes late, but I assume you didn't stink the room out for 10 minutes at the top. And I sat next to Nish Kumar and the pair of us laughed like drains the whole time. Because one of the things that you do so well is you appear so sweet.

And then what we were talking about before we started recording is that you currently have cute little socks that say, fuck off with a smiley face. And they're very emblematic of what we get from your shows. So which elements are, what have I not covered in terms of your, when you're reviewing your growth? What have we not covered? You know, I think it's, I feel like when I really get down to, you're so right, it's such a business development way of looking at it. I put those words in your mouth. No, no, but it's true. I, you know, when I think of, when I think of this, when I think, when I review my growth

comedically, I think of how much of my life that I lived got in the way of my work, which is so sad because it's like saying, it's like, yeah, it's like saying, oh, sorry, I was having a good time living my life and being a person. And so I didn't work as hard at work. Yeah, okay, sure. also sometimes which is a crazy way to look at it but I'm I feel like right now in a slightly like more like I'm in a transition phase of my life I just turn 30 so I'm taking stock of my 20s so a lot of that is happening otherwise I was very unthinking in how I went about and I have a lot of stuff in my personal life also so now I feel like I've turned 30 and then I should I should really review my growth and my whole life and just Just, I don't know, boil it down to something moving forward. So just take something away. Oh, I see what you mean. You've turned 30.

Now it's time to review, make a plan and a roadmap for the next thing. And kind of, you mean like look back over your 20s and say, what can I take with me into the future? Yes. And what can I leave behind? Most importantly. Okay. Yeah. Mostly that.

And I think that's really intertwined with my comedy because I find my mood affects how I work. a lot. You know, like, I feel like there's two ways of looking at it and they could, of course, that's,

there's not just two ways, there's many ways, but sometimes people use work to forget about what's going on in their lives. Yes. So they'll work hard

and they'll get ahead of their feelings. But I need to feel good to work well. So I can't get ahead of my feelings with work. I need to deal

with my feelings to work. This is very wise. Does that feel why that feels wise to me? Yeah, that feels really smart, really sensible. It feels so in conflict with how the world works because the world is obviously about more followers and more ticket sales. And so it feels like, I don't know, it doesn't feel very profitable. Oh, I see.

So the business development part of you is thinking, wouldn't it be good if I had resolved. all of the emotional challenges because then I could work really hard. Yes. Or can I become the type of person who can put their feelings aside and then work?

And then that makes me feel gross. And this is how I would describe how I feel about comedy. Okay, I read a quote about how Freud described comedy, sorry, art and how Emily Bronte described art. So Freud said that art can be used to gain power over others and influence them.

So, like, he described it in a very material way, to charm others, to impress them, to gain power over them. And Emily Bronte, is that how you say her last word? Bronte, is described it as something that she does to feel liberated, without which she cannot feel like herself or feel free. The problem is, I feel like the second thing all the time. I do it to feel liberated. I do it to feel like myself, comedy.

But that sounds so theoretical and it sounds so floofla that like most people when they hear this type of rhetoric, they're like, you're so like, get your head out of your ass. Well, to me that suggests that there is, well, there's a theatre writer called Augusto Boisle who used to talk about the cop in the head. This is like in a political context. There's the cops and then there's the cops that are in our heads. we police our own behavior and we think we're only capable of so much and we think we there are loads of things that we shouldn't do because it would be societally bad and I wonder if that voice that conflict for you is because you are an artist you do do it to be liberated and we I should say Emily Bronte was an artist Sigmund Freud was not Sigmund Freud sounds from that

quote at least like a person who doesn't understand art at all and is frustrated that artists are able to charm people but that's all he's kind of getting from it so I wonder if there is a kind of a cop in your head that is saying you to do this to be liberated is not good enough is that is that accurate do you think yes i feel like and you know if i really have to narrow it down i know where those voices come from and like you know whether it's the comedians who are in positions of power who have reviewed me my development road or whether it's someone in the management side at some point in my career who has given me some feedback but i think

that would be like the board of directors who would who are sitting in my mind and being like you are not serious I think sure I think being told that I'm not serious has been being so and who have you act in terms of like actual evidence who has told you you're not serious has your manager told you you're not not serious not my current manager but I I I've been okay so I've been managed by a few people over the years because it's a 10 year long career so I think that's great because there's some sort of anonymity yeah okay it could be any one of them Come here. And I think it might be fellow comedians also at some point who saw potential in me

and they see potential for massive growth, but they don't think I'm optimizing this. All of this makes me feel like an algorithm and I don't like it and my body rejects it. But I see sometimes that respect is also really proportionate to how optimized you are as a person sometimes. Yes, yes, okay. So, gosh, I don't know. It's so many things in your... These are the comedians? Are they on your home circuit in India?

Are these global... No, no, home circuit. I think I'm so new to the global circuit. It's just been two years after the fringe that everyone's just like, oh, yeah, she's doing her thing. She's figuring it out. Back home, I've had eight years. So I've been around for a while. And I think a lot of feedback that I get is that, you know, you could be so much bigger, even at home.

but you're not doing enough. So there is a sense, so it's not just the cop in the head, it is like actual evidence-based, people outside you, other comics. And the circuit, as I understand it, in India is not old. Like it has, when did the circuit start in India, do you think? I'm not, I'm not sure if it's completely accurate, but I would say 2009, 2010, probably. So it's only 14, 15 years old at this point.

And I feel like there was, this might be completely wrong. and it might be really reductive, but is there some relationship between the comedy store gigs in Mumbai kind of breaking the idea of stand-up in India? Did that happen? Was that because not that the British can take responsibility for creating the circuit. But obviously there's a, you know, I feel like India came very late to the idea of it being okay to have a person on a stage, entertaining people with jokes. Yes, I think stand-up comedy How we know it was

So, okay It was not the first time Someone got on stage With a mic to tell jokes There have been comedians Like Johnny Lever And I'm guessing Raju Shri Vastav

And so there was this show called The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Which was basically like stand-up And that was on TV When I was in school Okay So we've had comedy

And stand-up and, you know, comedy characters and movies for a very long time. This was the more modern version of stand-up because what they did was more family-friendly, it was more maybe relatable to the people. Gotcha. This was urban.

Okay, this is nightclub comedy. This is night. Brick wall or curtain, spitting truth kind of comedy. So we've had entertainment and stand-up comedy for a while. But this was the more urban and the most modern form of stand-up. which was introduced by comedy store. They were called Canvas Laugh Club.

And I think Veerdas also organized a few open mics and one of the first ones in India. So it was new because I think a new generation was taking over. But we've had stand-up comedy for a while that other generations have done. This was our version of doing it. So our version of doing it,

which is also like it's hand-in-hand with internet. The generation before us, their version of stand-up comedy, their mediums were movies, TV, newspaper and just spreading their word through more traditional media. This was people taking control of everything, like putting up the shows in a nightclub, saying whatever they want, not worrying about like a filter of family and internet. Sure. And business. Because if you're an interview, you come to it when the internet already exists. Views and clicks and comments and algorithms and those effects.

are business effects. They're kind of measurable, hey, if your clip gets seen by this many people, you sell advertising and you get sponsored content and all those kind of things. So that's a really interesting, like, for a comedy circuit of this type of comedy to kind of come into being in a time in which people are already optimising for growth and for business success. That's fascinating because I imagine that the comics in the UK who are of an equivalent, who are of an equivalent age to the comics that might be reviewing your group in India,

the UK ones are sort of only just still really getting over the idea of like reluctantly having social media and stuff because they're used to a club circuit and they were the kings and queens of that club circuit. So there is this incredible kind of like this eruption that's been happening all over the world, internet inspired, internet driven, clip driven, stand-up comedy that's applicable to everywhere. And one of the things you see is people, such as yourself, kind of discovering new markets and going, oh, if I go to Britain, there is an enormous jasper of people. There's huge number of Indian people who want to come and see you. Yeah. Yeah?

You were shaking, I didn't know if you were shaking your head like, they're not coming. I guess they're coming. The Indian head nod is the biggest issue I have encountered. It looks like a no. It's a yes. Yeah. Gotcha. Okay.

Was that a bobble rather than a nod. Yeah. This has happened so many times. No, I think you're absolutely right. Yes, I think you're absolutely right. It's so refreshing to hear that in the podcast. You know, you gave me a great insight right now. I was just taking it and then churning it in my brain, what you said.

Then I didn't realize how intertwined internet and this version of stand-up comedy from India being intertwined us because in the mind of me and a lot of my colleagues, your seriousness towards stand-up is proportional. to how much output you generate. And I think the culture you have over here is about maybe how good comic you are, how funny you are, how much you innovate. And that's because the comedy scene has been around in this version of itself. For so long, this is a new version that we're experiencing.

It's your old version that you have. Yes, it's funny. The cultural clash, really, I think, is a lot to do with, It's almost like the Indian version is produce content, create stuff, make money, be a success. And the British equivalent is, oh, well, anyone can do that, do you know, and then we don't necessarily. Because we're going, oh, look, anyone could write jokes and try hard and work really hard and grow their business. I'm an artist. Like, it's a very different take on it, right?

And that's how I feel. Yes, and so you're like a British comic trapped in an Indian system. Yes. And I have, I must see, I have. empathy for the Indian system. And I'll tell you why. I think it's because working hard and making money gets people out of their situation a lot back home. Of course.

And so it's really hard to argue with someone who's had a lot less growing up, making the most of their situation and using stand-up comedy as a means to really make it and make all the money and, you know, sort of get themselves and a whole generation of people out of, I don't know, be living in. living in, not poverty, but living with less comparatively. And I feel very privileged also because I've grown up, well, not poor. So I feel like maybe sometimes my take is really lazy and privileged. And I'm not able to remove the class divide from it for some reason also. Okay. So I wonder if I get to be so flue, fly, and artsy, because I don't have drive. You know, like, I don't know how to prove it to myself.

Yes, because what you're here for is the self-expression and the art, and specifically what you said, the liberation. Comedy is liberation. And that is one of the things that's threaded through all of your work is a small, nice, cute lady, kind of like, I'm amazed to hear you're 30. You know what I mean? Your vibe is like, I'm just 22 and new in the world and then, like, do you know what I mean?

Like the kind of the disparity between that or the friction between that with the hands like this and then saying something. meaningful or potentially hurtful or something like this. And it's great. You get loads of comedy mileage out of the, you know, the abrupt switches. Yeah. Yes. So that's interesting, isn't it? Because if you're here for the liberation, but the business comedy world is going, yeah, but business. And you might be thinking, yeah, but that's not the point. But it's quite hard to see it not as the point, especially if people are telling

you you could be massively globally famous and impactful. Yeah, and they're like, you're lazy and you're privileged. And I'm like, oh, good God. I'm just being a person and I have not planned it. I have not masterminded this journey. Yes. I barely have a mind to it. I would just like to not think on most days.

Isn't that interesting? Do you find then in terms of your, not to completely take you not having a mind at face value, isn't that interesting? No mind. No, you can take it. But is there, do you feel there is a difference? And let's take this away from you, but perhaps there are other comics with a similar kind of notion in the Indian comedy circuit or the global comedy circuit.

There are people who I can think of, I'm sure we can think of, who are optimised for growth. And then there are comics who aren't, you could say they're optimising for liberation or for art, except that's not really an optimising thing. They're just living and being alive. do you think that those different approaches are visible are they visibly reflected in the material

or the performance that those comedians come up with? Yes, for sure. Yeah, I can't watch optimisers. Yeah. Like, it's hard to watch someone when you're thinking, oh, all of these punchlines have been machine-tooled for maximum impact. I approve of writing.

I love editing. I think that's great to see. But I want to see someone's heart. I want to see them be vulnerable and authentic and I want to know that they mean it even if they've said it a hundred times. Yeah, and sometimes it's like the people who machine write these things then also know that, oh, you want to see my heart? No, I'm going to optimise that.

Yes. I'm going to pretend to be honest and, you know, have a heart. And I'm going to, and it's just, it's so... And then you see an audience laugh at that and go, they're so honest. And in the background in the green room, you spit. Yes, I spit. That's true. It's so, it's, it's so bizarre.

And it's, I don't know. It's, it's, it's what you're saying. You're like, oh, so everything can be cloned and optimized like AI. And everyone in art seems to be trying to hack it. And if you're not trying to just be. Yes. Please just be. But then.

I think the thing to do is, the graceful thing to do is, on my end, so we can move on from this and maybe actually talk about comedy also, is to, sorry to bring you into my conflict of turning 30. However, I'm thinking the graceful thing for me to do is to end this confusion by having some confidence in my POV and just living it and not, and then letting others be. And there's no need to be so jarred by how, How cunning everyone can be sometimes if they just want to optimize things.

Yes. If the, this could be boiled down to the main frustrating thing is to have other people tell you you're doing it wrong. Yes. And that's frustrating for anyone. So let's talk about some of the ways in which you're doing it right. What are your favorite things to talk about? When do you feel most authentic and most like yourself? Oh, I think like just when I'm at that point where I've got my hour down a little bit, you know, I've got. I've done my bits and I know what I want to talk about and I'm in that space where I can have fun with what I want to talk about and I'm doing my trial shows and I'm feeling a show out and I'm growing through the material sometimes. So maybe I'm talking about like right now recently I've gotten into witchcraft. I'm just kind of excited to explore witchcraft and simultaneously discuss it on stage and that's when I feel most happy. I think that's the best way to describe it.

Yes, the beginnings of an idea, like, oh, I could do this. Yes. That is an exciting thing. And also just to live it. So I'm like, not only will I live this experience of being a witch, I will also get to make jokes out of it. Tell me what you mean by being a witch. So I will tell you this. This is what happened three days ago.

I kid you or not. I was in Leicester, one of the most magical places in Britain, full of mystical beginnings. Everywhere here is magical And I was sleeping in my hotel room And I was mid-nightmare At 2.45am And it was at its peak I would say And the TV in the hotel room

turned on on its own and woke me up And I got up And I was like Did I just wake myself up from my nightmare With my own mind And then I turned the TV off And I was like I'm not afraid of my bavours

And I went back to sleep And then I woke up the next day and I told my friends and they were like, so there was a power fluctuation and those happen very often. And you're a crazy person who's using witchcraft to cope with her situation right now. Yes, lovely. Okay. So are you intending to be more intentional with your witchcraft? Do you intend to read books or study under a witch in order to explore this? I would honestly love that. But I'm just too afraid of losing my mind at this point. Yeah, fair. So I think I'm just going to be more whimsical about the witchcraft situation

as opposed to getting into crystals and then getting into something else. Like last year I was using reading Romantasy as a coping mechanism for what I was going through. I've just learnt the word romanticity. And it's an effective word because I can understand what it means immediately. There you go. And now it's a part of my show. I read erotagon stage. And so this year witchcraft is my method of coping.

So we'll see how it goes. I see. And that's quite interesting. it, to have a method of coping that is the bedrock of the show, or not necessarily the bedrock, but the kind of the narrative thrust of the show. And that's completely in keeping with you and your sort of positioning to the audience. Like, I am a person who cannot cope. Yes.

And here, but I will not give in, and here is my latest attempt to cope. That's lovely, yes. Wow, I don't think anyone's put it so succinctly before. This is a therapy session for me. Well, you're not powerless in you're not coping. That's what's fun to watch is you're not saying, I can't cope and you're collapsing in tears. You're saying, here are all of my attempts to cope.

Yes. And I will not give up. Yes. That's good. I like that. That feels like that sits well with you and with your audience and your relationship. And that makes sense because humor is a coping mechanism. So I must have developed a sense of humor when I was younger.

And now I have one additional thing. And then I have my jokes also. Okay. So how do you feel? about humour as a coping mechanism. What is your take on funny people are dramatised or they're not? My take on that, and I love to be directly asked what my take is. I don't really think in terms of takes and my career has suffered for it. But I suppose I worry that when people say, it's a very seductive, sentimental idea to say, oh, the comedians are secretly traumatised and my probably

quite boring take is that everybody is traumatised and comedians are afforded the opportunity to talk about it in depth and feel good about it. So I don't think that comedians are special in that respect or potentially any respect. But I will say that comedy can be therapeutic

for the audience and it can be therapeutic for the comedian. I think what I've learned from this podcast and lots of conversations I think is that in order for the comedy to be therapeutic for the comedian, they need to already have resolved the thing that they're talking about. We've seen

comics attempt to talk about things too soon. With very few exceptions, I think that's probably not been so helpful. And I also think comedy can be a really good way of avoiding your problems. Like if you're unhappy about something, to go out on stage and talk about it or complain about it and make people laugh might mean that you don't get round to fixing the thing at the time you should. You can see I'm not a very succinct take guy. No.

No, my God. I just meant take as a word to say. Please don't take my English seriously. It's not very good. But, ah, no, that makes sense. That makes sense to me. That, yeah, I think this is a misconception that comedians are special and traumatized. Everybody's traumatized.

Comedians are just people who made jokes about it. There are other people who learn something else through their trauma. Everybody learns different things and everybody is traumatized differently. And some people actually grew up really happy and not. very traumatized and they're funny because they just like being funny well this is it there's a there's a particular bug bear of mine which is when people say about like anxiety about i do you get nervous before shows do you feel anxiety not anymore unless the show is something like something different is happening in this show now so like my show tonight in bristol i won't be nervous before it of course

i hope it goes well but um unless i don't know they were like someone's coming to watch you and somebody just puts additional pressure on it. There's an additional jeopardy or some other stake on the show. Now I feel some joy. I'm like, I'm going to be on stage for an hour. That's good. That's good. That's nice to hear. I think what annoys me is when people do suffer from anxiety

and then someone says, oh, well, that's just the price you pay. And you're like, no, because some people don't pay that price. Yeah. And they're still funny. So it would be good to resolve anxiety rather than simply write it off as this is a necessary part of the process. Yes. I actually, I say this and then I feel bad for saying this, but I don't feel stressed anymore before a gig. I've done it so many times now that it's okay. If it goes well, that would be awesome. And if it goes badly, I'll try to fix it while I'm doing it. I'll try to make it work. I'll try to make them have fun. And I'll try to do my job well and try to enjoy myself. And if all of those things still collapse, then I had a shit gig and I need that also. That's good. That's good. That's really good. I love the idea of thinking to yourself in advance. it goes badly, I'll try to fix it during it. That's one of the options. It's not a fate accompli, is it? It's not like written in the stars. Oh, this one, I guess, is bad? And then you just

have to sort of suffer it being bad for the next hour. No, it's nice to try to dig yourself out of the trenches also. I've had gigs that the first half, I was just not vibing with the audience. And then I'm like, let's take stock of the situation. And I bring them in. And I'm like, look, you guys, something's happening. Something's weird. Should we chat with each other? What should we do. And then I sort of get through that and then I go like, I'm getting back into my material now. Yeah. Let's see if you still like me. That's nice. That's a good tactic. Yeah. And then I get back into it and then I have fun with it. And also I don't think I'm doing a really like, my shows are still just bits right now. So I can do all of that. I think it might be harder for someone who's doing

something more narrative driven or something they can't break out of. Like I don't think, like I've seen so many clowning shows and they need to persevere through it however it's going. And I've seen a lot of stand-up also that I'm not sure you can always like break character in the middle of maybe maybe just because I'm doing bits I'm able to still do this but yeah I think you can all I think in almost all situations if it's really if you're really tanking you can acknowledge it and say so and come back to them and go look let's not forget that I'm human and your humans and let's just kind of reappraise the situation yeah I think so too I just I wasn't sure because I have I feel like I haven't done a more

complicated attempt at comedy yet yes so I was like does this work because my approach is more simple but I'm able to try to make it work during the show and then also if it's still going badly I'm like you gotta this is character building this is how will you become a better artist

if you don't suffer yes I think I have quite recently I was having a very surprisingly bad show I'd had a domestic emergency before the show arrived there late walked on the circumstances were different than I expected and I was sort of probably a bit complacent and then

It was a bit floppy at the beginning. And I did actually say to them, you know, I'm having some really fantastic therapy at the moment. And the fact that I don't care that this isn't going great is growth. And they like that. And I was like, oh, great. Now I can kind of build on that. You know, it's nice to have a different set of tools. So you can keep up to date with Uruch on Instagram at Urujj Ashfak.

Here are some other parish notices. You can see me live by going to Stuartgollsmith.com slash comedy. I stress that's the first step in the process. You don't then get to immediately see me live. I don't hang around on a URL being live, do I? No, that would be insane. Although, since now being about 75% of the way through the book RAR by QN-T-M, that's the name of the writer, don't blame me,

which is the most eye-poppingly, gorgeously inventive, insanely. like there's hard sci-fi and then there's like there's whole sentences i'm having to claw my way through it is brilliant so um with all of that stuff in mind and i may tell you a bit more about that in the post-amble if i remember um that's the sort of i think that's probably where the notion could come from that you could see me live at a website because it would mean that i were trapped in a simulacra simulacrum damn it fell at the final hurdle uh nonetheless there is some stuff on there I'm doing a bunch of new material, like work in progress shows in Camden and at Top Secret and in Cardiff at the hilariously SEO, keyword stuffingly named Comedy Near You in Cardiff.

That's all coming up. So go and find out, and Bristol as well, find out where and how at at Stuartgoldsmith.com.com. Sign up to the Comcom pod mailing list because now we actually do it at Stuartgoldsmith.com. You can do Stuartgoldsmith.com podcast because that takes you to Comedianscom.com. But I don't need to go into this. My point is, this should be simplified. I'm just going to say from now on, Callum, please annotate all further bulleted lists of the blurbs. We'll do sign up to the Comcom pod mailing list at Stuartgoldsmith.com. Easy. Oh, Oh, Callum, I nearly told them about the exciting thing we've been discussing. Not to worry. Nearly just tumbled out of me. Lots of exciting surprise, fun things coming in 2026.

But for now, coming up in the second half, we are going to discuss with a Rude, why you can't plan authenticity. We'll talk about the pressure for women to never be mediocre and we will find out, of course, whether Uruj Ashfak is happy. Let's get back to Arooge. Which are your favourite jokes to perform? Which of your current tour? Which bit tonight are you thinking, I can't wait to do that. I love reading the what bad fan fiction about One Direction. That's one of my favorite bits to do. I really enjoyed writing that story and I love doing it. I love talking about erotica because it's so new and I still enjoy it.

Yes. Is it because it feels transgressive as well to talk about erotica? Yes. Because there's definitely, oh, I'm glad we got that face on camera. Yeah. It strikes me that like something I've seen in a lot of reviews of yours is that like in India you are regarded as quite edgy. Nails. Is that true? And do you sense a kind of disparity in how you are regarded at home

and how you're regarded in, for example, the UK? Oh, for sure. I think back home in India, a female comedian is still a concept people are being acclimatized to. Like, we still have a, I mean, but there's also a cultural shift towards men being more misogynistic. But because the stand-up comedy scene is so new and the internet and this whole global thing of this men and women and all of this whole like gender wars being more intense at this time it's so weird um it is weird and sorry to interrupt i think it's um it's almost like the way i see it is now that we are all connected to one another all the time or potentially all connected all the time and some societies are catching up with other societies and sometimes the pendulum swinging too far the other way it's like

everyone had their kind of rules and a lot of those rules were heading fast or slowly in the right direction in a sort of positive accepting inclusive direction I hope and then suddenly we're all connected to each other and it's almost like we're meeting an alien species but that's going on everywhere and so we're going what are the new rules what's acceptable does content from this country you know, or from coming out of Austin at the moment. There's a lot of edge lord comedy coming out of Austin that's all slur-based, you know, and that is as readily available online as any other.

So it's like a restructuring, a reappraising of what the system is. Yes, it's so, and then if within that system, you are a minority person, then I think you are inherently edgy for existing on stage. I would say my existence and the existence of fellow female comedians, the existence of comedians who identify as bisexual or lesbian or gay is inherently edgy, comedians who are trans, because they're taking up space right now in our country where comedy is very male and it's really dominated by men and how they speak

and their pace and their speed of jokes or just their language, the way they work. This is the norm. It's done like this and I'm doing it like the norm. And then someone comes along who isn't that and they inherently seem as if they're not doing it right. Correct. So I am unique and niche and everybody doesn't get me. And I think it's because most of the everybody that, most of those people that don't get me,

don't have the patience to see something they haven't seen before because in their own personal life, they have really strong rules about what a man is like and what a woman is like and they have a very traditional point of view. So they would not really have. so if they see me going on stage and talking about my feelings and not being like they're like she's so irritating she's so annoying shut up and i'm like that's coming from inside you man yes because i like the person you like and i like myself also and i like someone

who does comedy really i'm able to watch everyone including the guy you like that makes you like me less i'm still able to watch him and be like good joke mate yeah you you you something in you And I think this is very intertwined with what's going on. Like young men being so radicalized and being like women are like this, women are like that. Relax, man.

Like everyone is a person. You just, it's so interesting. Like, how are you finding enemies in people who have little power? It's so imagined this type of threat. But imagined threats are really just such a theme for how we're governed. burning the world and how people are viewing each other.

Yes. Yes, it's interesting. Just hearing, like, although the downsides of the current cultural climate globally, the downsides are, certainly for stand-up as you're describing and experiencing it, the downsides are, everything swung back to this misogynistic point of view. The upsides, in some ways, are that you have a more contemporary amount of compassion. Do you mean? Like, you have all, like, they should have paid attention.

to all the lessons of the last few years, but your consciousness has, and as a result, you're able to have a remarkably kind of compassionate approach to someone who shouldn't be allowed in the theatre. Yeah, I'm about to put up this clip. I'm still editing it. When a man came to my show and he heckled me,

this was like Monkey Barrel, in like the first like two minutes of the show. And then I said, I spoke to the group and I was like, okay, don't heckle me. I don't, like, please don't talk during the show. And he's like, oh, that's going to be really difficult. And I was like, okay, you know, just keep quiet. I made jokes with him or whatever.

And then I saw him just be so straight face through the whole show. So then midway through the show, I looked at him because his group was enjoying. He was just sat there like a rock. And I felt bad. So I said, you seem determined not to have a good time because we had a quarrel in the beginning. And I feel bad for you. You drove down from Aberdeen. It's, you're punishing yourself.

I was like, what's happening? Are you feeling attacked? Are you feeling nervous? I have empathy. What do you want? do you want a beer do you want to relax do you want to be friends again i gave him a beer he drank the beer and then he got up 15 minutes later went to the bathroom i made a few jokes there and i was like and then he left and he banged the door on his way out and i really remember thinking men are

really not okay right now sure like they're just collapsing are they not i think women becoming more independent has made them feel women having self-esteem has made men feel bad about themselves. This is my observation. I, of course, hashtag, not all men. You know, like, whatever that stupid movement was. But it's just without trying to demonize gender, it seems like they're having a really bad response

to someone else having a better life. Yes, I think that if I were to operate, maximum compassion for that guy, which I will now attempt to have, despite his disruptive behaviour, I think that men are cripplingly lonely and have certain, I think that the things that men have taken for granted as we, as men historically set about commanding and changing the world and sort of going, no, we're not, we'd have time to share our feelings and socialise and be honest with one another and have community. We have time for that.

We're too busy going in this sort of forward direction. I think that now men are realizing, what, what the fuck? I could have had friends in an emotional life and I could have shared. It's not a million miles away from some of the comics I was talking about earlier, but to an extent myself included,

who have spent 20 years driving up and down motorways and schlepping around the country. And, you know, there are bigger countries with further away gigs than they are in the UK but then you feel like oh what you can just be online now and I didn't have to do that but I put all that work in you know so this sort of disenfranchisement

and also lack of community and I think that's why there's so much toxic masculinity at the moment is because it's helping them find community with each other I think it's helping to fit to artificially fill a void left by the lack of community Yeah, that makes so much sense.

I think so. So those boys are my audience back home just to give you, just to explain why I'm so edgy. I mean, yeah, I think being, and I hate seeing it because it makes me sound so like victimy, but like being a woman and being Muslim are like, I feel like double barriers. Sure, multiplying factors. Yeah, how I'm perceived. But I try not to fixate on that, but I'm aware of it. Because if you fixate on it too much, then that becomes your story.

That becomes who you are. That becomes too much. And that must be infuriating as well. Like, you have all this genuine shit to deal with. But if you talk about it, it's like, oh, get over it. So I mean, oh, come on. I can't even express myself on this incredibly important thing. I've realized that's for private time.

Like, I have to express it in private spaces and I can lightly touch over it in a public forum like this because it makes you sound whiny. And nobody wants to see a whiny person because everybody has something to whine about in their lives. So they're like, shut out it's shocking it's the great misunderstanding about privilege isn't it

that people who do not ever need to think about their privilege not only do they never need to think about their privilege but they also get to write off other people's complaints about their lack of privilege as whining yes

yes Jesus Christ well you well done because you've extended him a lot of compassion I love the use of the word quarrel you never hear the word quarrel these days. Super word choice. But I think, yes, do you have, are there particular bits of your material online, say? Because I know you've, like you said, you're a big Instagram user.

Are there particular routines or sets that you've put up there or jokes that you've put up there which have attracted an amount of opprobrium that has surprised you? Oh, sorry, what does opprobium mean? Oh, opprobrium, like angry reaction and... I love this word. I think that's what it means. I would check it before I. I used it in public, who are you?

I'm using it in Bristol tonight. Great. Yes, there are so many. So there was one bit about periods where, so there was this meme in the Indian subculture about how women comics only talk about. Oh, Christ, are you doing that as well? This is like your kind of speed running, like 40 or 50 years of British comedy. Oh, that's a huge problem, is it?

Okay, fine, yeah, okay. Yeah, they're like, oh, they only talk about their periods and their vaginas and their brats. and the boys were really angry that we were talking about it for a bit they hated it they were like shut up bitches stop talking about your problems so I did a whole bit about how

if men had periods we would know the end of it so I think it's okay for me to talk about my period and that was a whole it was called ghosts and periods it's on my YouTube channel the ghost bit is something else but the period bit is something else

so when I cut out clips from that period bit that attracted a lot of people being like shut up you know like we don't like hearing about men of course there was a bit about how men like to call women crazy that men did not like they were like yeah we call you crazy

because you are crazy and I was like case in point and I think sometimes you know how because you have to churn out so much material they're not all hits sometimes you're just putting things to put things up and I have been victim to that many a times when I'm like okay you know what

this clip is not my funniest I'm going to just put it up anyway because I have to put something up I have to promote the show next weekend And I think what I would say right now is happening a lot in India is women aren't afforded the space to be mediocre. I mean, the second they see it's not, like either they straight up hate you, like the period joke or the crazy joke or if it's like an okay joke, they're just like, oh, did we have to laugh?

Was that funny? I didn't even crack a smile. And it's like, yeah, no, I get it. I know that wasn't the best one. But I don't see you being so upset with the boys for being mediocre. It's like, let it go. Sure. That wasn't my best.

I'm also working for meta. Give me a break. Yeah. I'm doing my best. Can I just, I'm just going to pause and ask whether, when you're saying still working for meta, are you referring to an actual day job or are you talking about the experience that we all have of effectively working for meta by putting up material? I'm just an employer at Facebook man.

Aren't we all? Aren't we all? No. Yeah, that's upsetting. How do you feel about that? How do you feel about the fact that the contemporary, experience of a stand-up comedian is to have to be writer, performer, CEO, editor, all of those things, business strategist, business development person, and so much of it is in thrall to, or so much of it

provides, you know, it fills the pockets of billionaires. No, it's awful. I really, really hate it. And I told you this whole turning 30, taking stock of things. I tried everything in my 20s and I'm feeling less and less flexible, which is something that happens with. your mind also sets and your brain also your personality forms, it shapes, it hardens and it's not it's not like I'm not flexible but at the core of who I am I have some data

on it now and so this is very like computer science view of putting it but I have to say like I have to take stock of the information I have about myself and stop falling into the trap of listening to other people I hate that comedians have to do all of this I truly truly hate it

and I tried not to whine about it and I tried not to say that I don't want to do it and I try to give it a good goal but the more I meet people who are able to do all of this the more I think about doing all of it the less I feel like myself

the less magical life seems It's not liberating is it? Yeah life doesn't seem mystical and magical and fun and full of surprises if you are just playing to the algorithm then it just feels like

you are a robot and then you're like what happened to And then so this is where I'm at right now. Maybe if you have me a few years from now back on the podcast, I hope I've comfortably settled into being the person I want to be. But I just want to not have this conflict. I want to fast forward to where I am the exact type of comedian I want to be,

which is if how I'm perceived is niche, not understood by everybody and not as popular, I hope it stops getting to me and it's fine with me. I see. Do you mean you're already regarded as niche? Yes, yes, absolutely. Yes. Oh, that's interesting. I mean, I suppose in a British, in a kind of Edinburgh fringe cultural context, I don't, yeah, I wouldn't call you niche.

I would, I feel, I mean, I can certainly feel the sort of sense of like destined for explosive success that comes with your stuff. So they thought this about me in India as well when I started out and I have, over the years, I have become niche. They were like, oh, she's going to explode and she's going to be so big. I'm not saying I'm not doing well. I'm very happy. If I can do stand up for a living as my primary means of income, I'm so lucky and I'm so grateful for it that I can do this and this is what I can make my money off of.

So that's brilliant. I get to do what I love for a living. So that's big enough for me. But that might not be big enough in comparison to other male comedians and female comedians also because there's a slight language barrier. I do comedy in Hindi and English both. And then there are purely Hindi speaking comedians. and they're hilarious, and there is good and bad there also.

So I don't think languages. That just makes their numbers. They get to have more audience. I will say, not to distract from your point, but I so rarely will watch a piece of stand-up on social media or YouTube or what have you, which is captioned and has a foreign language in it, which I don't speak. I loved watching your stuff and almost trying to retroactively translate from my knowledge of jokes and the rhythm.

of which I was saying it, what's that? Oh, that must mean that. It's a fantastic experience. Oh, my gosh. After the fringe, I've started putting English captions even for the Hindi things, because I've realized I might have an audience that's global. Yes, and that really does work as well. It's not distracting at all when you read the caption. I mean, I do know that some of your YouTube stuff is automatically translated. I feel like that's quite a recent development. Like I'm watching it and it gives me the option to watch it in the original Hindi, or I get it. a slightly robotic AI voice performing your words. That I find very jarring. I'd rather have the captions.

Yeah, for my new videos, I wrote a full English translation. So it's an option on my video that I have put in. Yes, but it's someone else. It's an AI voice saying your punchlines. Oh, it's an AI voice. Yes. Oh, yes, this is a new thing. It's really new.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, gosh. It's so weird. That's so jarring. I thought I had another, you know, sometimes on your phone, an app will have a conflict and you'll be hearing like an audio book, whilst you're watching a video. It felt like that

and then I gradually worked out what happened. But listen, if it helps you, if it's an option that the user can switch on or off, fine. And maybe it helps you be more globally recognized. Yeah. I mean, I'm going to put the captions in there. And if it helps, then that's great.

But I think it's time as a comedian to renounce growth in terms of numbers for me. Like, I can go two ways from here. One is I can put my head down and really chase it. or two, I can just be like, that's just not me. Have you given that a lot of thought? I have been recently, which is why it's coming up so much. And I feel so bad because I feel like we've barely spoken about comedy.

No, no, no. We've talked a lot about comedy and we will talk more about it. But this is an element. And you're right in the specifically your challenge at the moment, which path do I take? Yes. I have enough success that I'm like, oh, this could go. There's enough juice there. There's enough followers that you could go, I could optimize for that.

And one of the things I imagine I would think in your position is, well, what about if I optimise for that just for five more years? And then I can be completely liberated and do whatever I want because I've already grown the core audience. Yeah. Does that occur to you? And do you think, no, I've been optimising. I'm ready to step off and do more authentic stuff, which, best case scenario, you do the more authentic stuff. And then that goes crazy viral and you're doing it on your own terms without optimising. But don't you think if I thought, like, do you think if I thought, oh.

Did you just calm yourself down? Yeah, I was like, relax. In these five years where I am optimizing to become authentic, I will inherently change. Won't I fundamentally become an optimizer then? Maybe. How will I become? Then when will, then it will be so hard to go back to being authentic. That's a really good shout.

Yeah, of course. Right. Of course. It's a, it's not a bad idea. But I think that those five years will change me. And then why? And then maybe too late. They're still late.

Yes, it's almost a parallel challenge to people who, again, we've got to think of a different word than optimise, but comics who become especially good at playing clubs. And you go, oh, you have all of this potential to do one person shows and learn to shepherd an audience through two hours of just you and your journey and all the rest of it. But you're brilliant at smashing a club for 20 or 30 or 40 minutes. and if you keep doing that for so long,

it's then you have to readjust and do a different, you know, a gear change in terms of your skill set. And I think that we, you know, I'm sure we both know comics who can become careworn through doing the same stuff over and over again. And I can think of good examples of that and less good examples of it where someone can rely too frequently on existing stuff and they can end up dead behind the eyes,

whereas they could have gone a different route and had all this potential. Yeah. Yeah, because they just were so afraid to bomb in that club gig because that's where they smash it. Yes. And that's a huge part of it, isn't it? The getting over your reluctance to bomb, meaning like if you want real growth,

if you really want to develop as an artist, you've got to bomb and you've got to be okay with it. How okay are you with bombing? I'm really okay with bombing. It is just that if it's a lineup show and then I have to have people watch it, my colleagues. It's not even the audience. I'm like, oh my God, now they're going to be like, she's not serious, she's not doing enough spots, she's not working hard enough. But that's

part of it, isn't it? Like getting over bombing, being prepared to bomb in the pursuit of artistic endeavors. Part of that contract is you have to be seen to bomb by your peers and you have to have some sort of, we should have an industry-wide code word that says that was an artistic bomb just so you I was learning. I'm sorry I was learning. Like very recently, the last bomb I remember that really shook me because I've gotten better at bombing also. I bomb more gracefully.

I'll get a few laughs. I'll be like, okay, I handle that well. But the last one that made me feel like first year of comedy again, there is this hilarious comedian. He's so, so funny. I love him. He's my friend. His name is Kostub Agarwal.

He does comedy in Hindi, and his comedy is like slightly dirty and it's very funny. And it's good jokes, okay? So I had to go up on stage after him. And how do I explain? like he is he's just so like on fire with his jokes and he's so like one after another and my pacing and my energy and my English comedy is very different and so it was a bad creative call I think to send me up after someone who is so strong a comedian and then I'm up then I'm like so has anyone here been to therapy and then everybody's like what the actual fuck is going on and I was talking about being a Muslim in India and it was just they it was not the audience's fault it's just that I don't I I I don't know I learned from that gig that if I'm following such a strong comedian I need to be able to think on my feet and maybe change the pacing of my delivery or the order of my jokes sure because I'm also very rigid so I was like no I should have opened up with this bit this bit would have gotten them on board and then I could have gotten into my stuff about therapy and being a Muslim. Why did I, why did I open? Yes, I think as a counterpoint,

I don't disagree, but I also think there may be a solution whereby you, you get, do you know, Aparna Nanchula? Yes. Yes. I'm a fan. So she, huge fan. I love what she does. That kind of way whereby, or even with Maria Bamford, whereby the fragility and the weakness and the depression and the sadness, those kind of things, is part, you know, like Baford says, the weakness is the brand. You know, is there a way whereby you can capture the sort of on-fireness and hold it and then be very intentionally different rather than having to be in the slipstream of that and going, I better get my biggest crowd-pleasing thing first to win them. I don't know.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's... I'm not disagreeing with you, but I think there is more than one way to... That makes sense to me. That would require a lot of practice. So what I would have to do is then tell my friend that I need to follow you on a lot of gigs. And that would actually be the way to go about it. That would work. Yeah, that would be helpful.

Because you're right. If I could lean more into how I am and who I am, become more myself to the point where even that captures their attention, that would be great. So that's on me then. Then I need to follow comedians who I like him enough to. to then do the weakness thing, the way you're saying. I don't know what exactly is. It's, yes. And I should say, I've tried to do that with, you know,

following people who are smashing is always hard. And I have made the mistake, I think, many times of going, I'll go on and I'll kind of, you know what I mean, and then try and be myself. And you get, that's a weird gear change as well. So who knows. But yeah, I would be, I know there's some, I can't remember who it is,

but I was talking to someone recently who has a habit of having opening acts who are much more famous than him doing new material. So he'll go, he'll be not in tour, but on, who was it? In central London, he'd do like a bunch of dates and it's his tour show, but before him he has his friends who have a bigger profile than him doing new stuff. And I thought that's good for you, sir. I was like, that's really, that's a really good, you know, keep you sharp kind of a thing. That's really nice actually.

Yes, keep you sharp is the way to do it. Yeah, and sharp or to keep you honest. There's that expression, it's an English expression that, you know, to keep me honest. I do this, which keeps me honest, or I don't know if I've, well, I know that I fail to explain that expression, but you know it or you don't. But I think to keep you authentic would be good, to learn to have authenticity in everything you do. Which is why you can't plan to be authentic in five years because that in itself is inauthentic. But you can plan to continue. To continue chasing authenticity, to continue removing obstacles?

Yes. I think. Yes. Yes. Yes. Who are your most inspiring people? Who are the people who are the most inspiring you? Ooh, this is this question and I always answer it.

And then I feel like I didn't answer it well enough. But at different points in my life, different comedians have vowed me. And there's so many. So I think my introduction to comedy was obviously Indian. so I really loved watching like Johnny Lever Parish Ravel and everyone they were in movies

and TVs a lot they were very very funny then I saw a lot of American stand-up so I used to really enjoy watching stand-up from Sarah Silverman Bill Burr

Maria Bamford Apana Nanchela and just a lot of like you know American people and I saw so much of that because I think they're very good at the marketing aspect of stand-up.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So they sort of reach all corners of the world first. I used to really enjoy watching Mitch Headberg. Just be like, oh, just one line. Just one line. That's all he's going to do. And they're so funny. And so, yeah.

And I was really wowed by them. Then I started watching Catherine Ryan. And then I saw Nikki Glaze. Then I went to like down the rabbit hole, rabbit hole, I say. I don't know why. Then I started watching a lot of women. And then I started watching British comedy. So I saw James A. Castro.

I saw Bridget Christie. Yes. I saw Josie Long. I saw Jordan Brooks. And I was like, but this is all at the fringe also. And some of it was online. Recently I saw Rose Matterfayor's new special on and on and on. So good.

And so I'm forgetting names. But I think every time I found someone to be so themselves and so uniquely themselves, I've been very vowed by it. Like, only you can do this. And this is you. Yes. That's the thing, isn't it? Only you can do this is a really nice sentiment. That's a good show title. But yeah, as a good kind of as a mantra for pursuing the pursuit of authenticity, only you can do this. Because I have seen comedians who are so good. They handle the room. They're so funny. They're so tight. Their writing is excellent.

And I know people who admire that as well. And that's brilliant. That's a real skill to develop. but I have always felt inspired by people where I was like, this is so uniquely you. And that show may not have been as tight or as like well written. Not written, like just written to the tea. And every pause was not considered. Maybe it was a little messy. But I just, I like them more.

I feel like they had an impact on my heart. Yeah, absolutely. It's like the difference between just having a conversation with someone and coming away going, God, they're great. I love that person. It's not necessarily because they'd considered and thought about everything they were going to say, but you really met them. Yeah. So before we wrap up, I have one final question.

Just before we get to that, is there anything that we've missed? Is there anything that you feel I've overlooked in you and your comedy practice? Is there anything you would like to have talked about? I'm thinking. But I think right now, because if we met at a different time, I think the conversation would be very different. And it's so hard to like take stock of everything somebody does. Of course. But I think based of where we are right, I am right now.

As a snapshot of this, you've turned 30, you're looking back at what you can take with you into the future. And you're at this decision, you've made the decision, you want to focus on what switches you on about comedy, the liberation, rather than optimizing for enormous global success. And that's truly where I'm at, because usually what I like to talk about is my show, my writing process, the different gigs I've had, the different types of comedy I enjoy. but really it's so overwhelming that this is all I think about right now for the past few months and I have completely stopped thinking about my show or the next show and narrative and structure

and comedy that excites me and all the different things I want to try I have just been zoned in on this because I've been feeling it from different parts and aspects of my life and people are talking to me about it so I'm really, this is where I'm at right now. Are you happy?

Oh, no. No, this is a controversial answer. But right now I'm not happy. But I will be happy because I have been happy. But at this moment in time, no, I am not. I think I'm in transition phase when it comes to my professional and my personal career. So I think I'm good. I'm all right.

But I don't think I'm happy because I think happiness comes from knowing yourself and I don't know myself right now. That's such a good answer. That's such a good answer. It is unusual. It's not completely unique that someone would say no. What a considered answer. Thank you. Thanks, Aroge. It's been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. I had such a good time. So that was Uruj Ashfak. You can keep up to date with her on Instagram at Uruj Ashfak.

I'm so, so thrilled that she came on the show. It was a real joy to meet her properly and spend some time with her. and she what I loved if you'll permit me and I don't maybe I should do this more often kind of recollect rather than talking about random nonsense actually think back to the interview but the thing is I'm always so mortally concerned with hurting anyone's feelings if I say nice things that aren't nice enough

or if I you know basically I imagine that everyone else is as neurotic as me and that they would even bother listening back to the podcast and I think to myself oh I'd better not say anything what if I said the wrong thing this is not setting up for anything bad you see i'm doing it again it's simply that urooge was so much more what's the word vulnerable's not the right word she was very open i think i was expecting someone a bit tougher um because she's so she's got these lovely qualities on stage whereby

the sweet little girl kind of vibe is has got this steely core to it that flashes and is very very funny um but i i thought i found her quite sensitive and i don't mean to suggest that was a surprise. Don't hate me for no reason, Uruch. But my point is, I so much prefer it if a person is in the room and we can read each other's kind of vibes. And it was a joy. A genuine joy to talk to her and I hope you enjoyed that. If you did, then hi you to the Patreon where you can get 25 minutes of extras exclusive to the Insiders Club on Urujj's comedy superpowers, the pressure to perform for clicks, and how vulnerable it makes you feel when you go viral. All of that stuff and more go to, it's not written down here, I'm going to have to remember it using my mind.

Patreon.com slash comcom pod. Find out how to see me live at Stuart Goldsmith.com slash comedy, details of upcoming previews and so on. And a little reminder, finally, that you can, or penultimately, that you can also get extra Comcompod stuff on Instagram and TikTok at Comcompod. Callum has got the Instagram up to 5,000, or nearly 5,000 followers now. Jump on it and follow it, because wouldn't it be a lovely little Christmas treat for him if we hit 5K before the end of 2025. And, of course, you can search ComcomPod on YouTube,

but I would hope it's coming up in your feed already, because it is mine, even though I'm in it, I consider that a surprise, because it comes up from a separate account to my own one. But basically, if you're into socials or YouTube, look for ComcomPod, and you will find a surprising and impressive amount of stuff. Finally, then, before the Thanks and the Postamble,

Stevie Martin, friend of the show, brilliant comic, lovely person, is running a student comedy fringe fund, currently £3,262 pounds, which is now open for applications. There's an introductory session on Thursday the 18th of December. The deadline to be part of that is January the 7th. Find out more, and you'll have to find out more. You'll need to know more than I know.

This is the last minute edition. From context, I feel like Stevie has raised just over £3,000 to which you can apply if you're a student and you want to go and do comedy at the fringe. It would be mad if it was something other than that. Surely it's that. What a great idea. Good work, Stevie. We should all be doing brilliant stuff like that. Find out more at linktree, which as you know is link, what is it, link tr, dot ee slash stevie m exclamation mark, but the S is a five, all lowercase apart from the M. Ready? Linktra. Dot E. So it spells link tree, but with a dot to, two decimal places to the left, slash five TV capital M exclamation mark. I think that it's much more clickable. It doesn't work as well read out. But there it is.

Thank you so much, Stevie. That's a great shout. I hope you all go and find out about that. And thank you not only to Urooge and the people at Soho who helped me organise getting Urooge on the show, but also to producer Callum for being evil, and to who are the other key players? I guess Susie Lewis, of course, our chief logging gremlin, I'm going to say, because it's Christmas. And also to Rob Smouten for the wonderful music. And as well, of course, our insider producer. who I'm going to anonymise to make them sound more exciting. R-S-I-C-D, D-P-S-A, J-L, G-M-L, C-S-D-M-K-K-K-S-A-W and J-B.

And a great big thank you to our special insider executive producers, N, Neil Peters, P, and A, Andrew Dennant, D. And, of course, to the S-S-O, that's the super-secret one. And that's all from me. I've got to leave the house in four minutes. Can I do a post-amble? Yes. This is the post sample. I'm just very quickly going to tell you more. Okay, two things. One, I just did a genuinely legendary IKEA run. 14 minutes, 33 seconds. I got to the main bit, like the entrance to the marketplace. You don't want to go through the shop, mate. Come on. This is junior league. You got got to the main bit where the cafe is, ordered a veggie hot dog, then, legged it in, bought four boxes of stuff from the, I'd already worked it out and naturally taken a

picture of the information so that I could scroll my pictures and find it immediately, even if I had no signal, picked up the four boxes, slammed them on the trolley, got back in time. It was only 1433 because I had to wait an additional three minutes for the hot dog. So we're talking in a... I considered... It was only two quid. I considered bailing on the hot dog just to get what I would consider a personal best. But I'm not that much of a nerdy dickhead. So I didn't. I had the hot dog and it was very delicious. So that's that. And then the other thing, This is a high-speed post-amble because I'm about to go and do the warm-up for the Graham Norton show for the last show of the year, or the last one I'm doing at least. I am somehow, I really hesitate to say this.

I feel like, just knock on MDF, I feel like I'm ahead of the game on getting things ready for Christmas. I'm so lucky and privileged to not be, not needing to be too many, needing to do too many kind of tough Christmas gigs. The ones I'm doing are all fun. everything's been gravy recently. God, I'll talk to you in the stew and A. I'm going to record for the Insiders Club later this week. I'm going to tell you all about the latest phase of the EMDR. And I don't know if producer Call and Will,

this is a therapy thing I've been doing, phenomenally successful and specifically pertaining to the podcast in a mad way. That's occupational, isn't it? Is that how they mean it? Who knows? But as a result of that and just feeling really on it, Yesterday, I texted a bunch of brilliant comics and said, Hey, do you want to come and be on the show next year

and help me celebrate 500 episodes? And I think every single one of them has said yes, and I'm just pinging off the walls. It's so exciting. So, oh, that was the final thing I was going to say in the remaining 30 seconds. I'm going to be tight on time here. You've got to read RAR by QNTM. It's absolutely impenetrable.

So my advice, here's how I did it. I started with there is no antimemetics division. Give that a go. Read the blur. If you like it, have a go at that. If you think it might be too much, go for, this is all by the same author, QN-T-M. Overlook the fact that the author's name is some letters. Just trust me. This is incredible, hard sci-fi about nanotechnology and AI, and it's just, oh, God, it's just delicious and mind-stretching, and you feel cleverer for having read it, or at least attempted. The book of short stories is called Valuable Humans in Transit. So start with that one. I think you can buy them as a PDF or an e-book from his website. So have a look for those valuable humans in transit. if you've only got time for one of them, read Gorge. Oh my God, it's all so, so good. So go and do that now, please. Me and my friend Carl are on an absolute sci-fi mission, recommending things to each other. So I've got to finish RA so that we can talk about it.

Okay, that's me. I'm off. Bye-bye. Retain a consistent sense of self, if you please. All right, it was more like a minute, but that is at least consistent.