JOIN USSamir Khullar, better known as ‘Sugar Sammy’, is a stand-up comedian based out of Montreal, Canada.
The multilingual funny man is best known for his irreverent sense of humour, which he expresses in fluent Punjabi, English, Hindi and even French. He spoke to Metrolife on his visit to the City as part of his India tour.
Recalling the story behind his strange name, Sammy says, “At the university, I used to throw a lot of parties and I’d get all the girls in for free, while the boys had to pay. So the girls used to
call me ‘Sugar Sammy’ and that nickname just stuck. I couldn’t get rid of it.”
Interestingly, what got him into comedy at a very young age was his first exposure to Eddie Murphy’s stand-up comedy special named ‘Delirious’, at the tender age of eight. He laughed at Murphy’s jokes very hard, and that was enough to inspire him to pursue the same career in his life. “I used to love watching Eddie Murphy as a kid and thought he was exceptionally funny. A few years later, when I started trying out my sets, I knew I just belonged there. It’s just about being up on the stage and making people laugh – that’s what I love most. Comedy’s better than sex!” laughs the comedian.
On his personal approach to comedy, he shares, “All my material comes from real-life situations. I try it out on people here and there and then, I do some private shows for my best fans. It’s simple – I put a Tweet or a Facebook update and inform them about a private show at a little bar that can take 100 people or so, try out new stuff on them and gauge the response.”
So, is he always on the look out for new material? “Yeah, that’s my job. Every time something funny happens, I need to write it down,” notes Samir.
He adds, “I come from a culture of four different languages and there’s both North America and
India in there. So for me, the biggest challenge is to build the bridge between my culture and people from all over.”
This is Sammy’s second visit to India, though the first official tour on a large scale. “I’m looking forward to just being here, meeting my fans and connecting with them. I’m also keen to check out some of the stand-up shows in town,” wraps up Samir, whose set in Bangalore was ‘raunchy, raw and irreverent’, just as he had promised.