Stand Up

Madhu is 17 going on 40 and starting her final year of sixth-form college. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders: her dad is putting pressure on her to do a law degree, which is the last thing on earth she wants to do. Her estranged sister is raising her nephew by herself in London, and contact is strictly forbidden. And Madhu needs money so she’s pulling in every single shift she can at a pizza place. What she really wants, though, is to be a world-famous stand-up comedian. When a YouTube clip of her dealing with college bullies with a hilarious verbal take-down goes viral, Madhu is suddenly catapulted into the bright lights of stardom – and it’s not long before a fellow Asian comedian gives her her first break as a support act on stage with her. But the road to comedy glory is not a barrel of laughs – and Madhu’s own struggles with her family and identity soon catch up with her.