Urooj Ashfaq to present her show at Soho Theatre Festival in November

Urooj Ashfaq is rather candid as she discusses the initial reviews for her set How To Be a Baddie. “I had presented it at The Fringe in 2023, and though I won Best Newcomer, one of the reviews described me as a conservative comic.”

She clarifies the feedback not only spanned her line of comedy, but also her general outlook on life. “I thought it was an interesting point as well as a British way of looking at things. Talking about therapy, family issues or dating the way I did might seem conservative to them, but going by where we are at in Indian society, I believe neither my views nor my comedy is conservative.”

The comic seems to have her goal mapped out. “That was an interesting review and I knew I had to go back in 2025 to disprove it. That is why this show is called How To Be a Baddie; I’m going to be liberal and edgy and you have to be there to see how it pans out,” she says.

While the review could easily have been her license to prove herself, Urooj says, “These were experiences I had already lived before this review. However, I went back to them to see what I could add to the script to make my case of being liberal.”

“To be fair, a lot of what I present might not seem permissive by British standards, but the point of the show is to provide an understanding of where I am from and what it’s like. What’s important is that the jokes should be funny, and I think they are. The narrative only serves to drive a point.”

The artiste who was in Bengaluru this August will be back in the city to record her show in January and will also bring the new, revised version of How To Be a Baddie to the city in February next year. “The audience in Bengaluru is amazing. Almost all Indian comics love performing there. My show is now a year old and every time you present it, is a chance to improve, change or tweak it. You are confident about the things that work which aids in better delivery too.”

Updates on Urooj Ashfaq’s shows are available on social media