From Being Punya to becoming Miss Lizzi

“It’s harder to make people laugh than it is to make them cry,” as the saying goes, every comedian no matter whatsoever big or small, gives off his/her best. Comedians, though not visible to all, form an integral part in each and every one’s lives− for the fact that a day without laughter is a day wasted.

We had the honor of interviewing Punya Arora, one of the funniest comedians in India. With about 2 million views on her YouTube video, ‘PurushkaSparm,’ her solo show, ‘Meri Maa Ki,’ and her regular Instagram comedy sessions as ‘Miss Lizzie,’ she is an avant-garde act in the comedy industry. ‘Meri Maa Ki’ is a solo show where Punya Arora comically delivers jokes about her single mother, these jokes act as more than just funny sentences as they throw a light on what prejudices and struggles Punya’s mom went through as a single mother. Her regular comedy segments as ‘Miss Lizzie,’ have been keeping us all entertained, especially at the crucial time of coronavirus lockdown.

Though many know her through her comedy skills, she has a lot of talents to display. She has been a professional photographer and a freelancer too. Ever since her childhood, she has been interested in doing various things like playing a piano, pottery, chocolate making, candle making, sketching and painting. She is a fitness enthusiast, one can easily find her meditating, exercising and doing hula-hoops every day.

Though being a comedian must seem all jokes and fun, there is a lot of struggle which is kept under the sheets for the sake of making us all laugh. Punya had a lot of ups and downs in life. Punya has mainly been a freelancer and just like almost every freelancer, she too struggled with payments. She had to struggle for getting the money she’d earned with hard work, and stay attentive towards avoiding people who want to pay with ‘exposure’.

Most of us idolize the artists we preach, and it’s the best we can do for an artist, but we must understand that artists too, are humans like us. They bleed when they fall too and there can be times when they feel down. Punya feels blessed on this part for having such a positive and encouraging mother who helps her put through her difficult times in life by cheering her up no matter what. Punya also states that meditation acts as a remedy for her, it makes her feel calmer and closer to her psyche.

All of Punya’s jokes come from her personal life experiences. Her solo show, ‘Meri Maa Ki!!’ is a positive and interesting indicator of how the Indian audience is becoming more open and acceptable towards jokes about things other than common and ‘safe’ topics. Punya is a perfect example of how each one of us have a life worth being narrated.

Punya tries her best for the audience to enjoy her shows more than they did last time and she tries to become a better version of herself as the days pass. Punya regards the proud smile on her mom’s face fills her with more delight than anything else and also makes her sure of the fact that she is going on the right track.

On being asked about what Punya does when she doesn’t get the expected response from her jokes, she stated that she accepts it and moves on to her next jokes. She believes that audience appreciates honesty and she wouldn’t showcase things which are not true to her heart.

Talking about her past life, Punya seems to have been the cheerful type of student in school. She loved to imitate her chemistry teacher in school and people loved her character. This inspired her to post videos on her instagram playing the character and times change, interests don’t! People have been loving and supporting her videos with the same enthusiastic fervor.

Punya has a lot of things yet to achieve, and an artist like her surely deserves much more recognition. There are a lot more artists like Punya who have been struggling to mark their own identity on a wide platform like YouTube. Most of the videos we check out on YouTube just for passing our time or for the sake of entertainment are made with a lot of hard work and money, yet we barely ever appreciate their work by leaving a like, let alone commenting or being willing to pay them for their work. Punya’s message to the people reading this article and her fans is to appreciate and support every artist, no matter how big or small. Rather than just watching their videos midway and skipping them occasionally, try showing your support by buying their live-show tickets. This interview with Punya filled our hearts with delight and pleasure. We wish her a great career ahead!