What to know
- Sunthar Vykunthan and Mithusha Srikumar will headline Massey Hall on Jan. 31, performing standup in both English and Tamil.
- The duo’s partnership began in Montreal in 2023 and has since grown into an international tour across Canada, Europe, and beyond, connecting Tamil audiences worldwide.
- Their comedy draws on immigrant family life, Sri Lankan culture, and language, with the Massey Hall show celebrating Tamil Heritage Month this January.
Comedy duo Sunthar Vykunthan and Mithusha Srikumar are about to headline a historic show at Toronto’s Massey Hall during Tamil Heritage Month.
The Tamil-Canadian comedians are taking over the venue’s stage for a standup show in both English and Tamil on Saturday, Jan. 31.
The duo first met in Montreal in 2023, after Vykunthan asked Srikumar to open one of his comedy shows. The encounter then led to a European tour, where they hit six different cities for nine shows, bringing inspiration and representation for Tamil audiences worldwide.
Vykunthan is already making history across the world, becoming the first openly Queer Tamil-Canadian comic to tour internationally. His journey in comedy first began as a hobby in 2018, but soon became his full-time job in 2022 after he lost his job in finance.
“I gave myself a year, and now it’s been four years, and I’ve toured all over Canada, U.S., Europe, India, in many cities, and performed in both English and Tamil,” he told Now Toronto.
Srikumar, also known as Me2chatt, was one of Vykunthan’s fans, having watched his videos even before becoming a comedian herself.
Born and raised in Canada, with both parents from Sri Lanka, she says comedy has always resonated with her, and eventually inspired her to start her own journey in the industry.
“There’s nothing that beats Tamil comedy. So, I grew up watching varied, really famous Tamil comedians from Chennai. And once I started that, I started getting [their] mannerisms and all of that,” she said to Now Toronto.
“On Tiktok, I started posting videos, and slowly I started incorporating my parents and just telling people all sorts of family [stories] with the background of immigrants and they started resonating with the videos. So, that’s how I started in 2022 and then went on Instagram, and ever since then, it’s been going really well.”
Vykunthan, who grew up in Scarborough after his parents immigrated from Sri Lanka, said that despite being from different generations, the two comedians have deeply connected based on their shared background.
He explains that a big part of their show is speaking about their personal experiences with immigrant families and aspects of Tamil culture, which he believes also resonates with audiences.
“When we do comedy in our own language, we really own our own voice, our own language, our own experiences. And then when we put it out online and there’s subtitles there, it resonates with a whole different audience,” he said.
“The most beautiful thing about doing Tamil comedy is we remain authentic to who we are. Performing in Tamil for both of us is an example and a way of resisting… Our parents fled Sri Lanka because of their Tamil identity, and for us to own our language and be able to have a command of language and speak in that language and make jokes in that language and create for our community is very special.”
A CELEBRATION OF TAMIL HERITAGE MONTH
More than a historic standup comedy presentation, the Massey Hall show represents a chance for the artists to celebrate their backgrounds and represent their communities during Tamil Heritage Month.
In Canada, the month is celebrated in January in recognition of the meaningful contribution of Tamil-Canadians to the country, which is home to one of the largest Tamil diasporas outside of Asia, according to Canadian Heritage.
“The Tamil population in Toronto is one of the largest populations outside of Sri Lanka, and most of this population came during the 80s and 90s, when there was conflict in Sri Lanka, and [many] fled Sri Lanka because of the genocide and the war,” Vykunthan said.
“Because of that, our community is so tight knit and culturally-entrenched in being Tamil, and we grew up going to Tamil classes and learning about the culture.”
For the comedian, the heritage month and Thai Pongal, a Tamil harvest festival that usually happens from Jan. 14–17, represent a warm break from Canada’s cold winter, and an opportunity to reflect on his culture.
“It brings a renewal along with New Year’s to celebrate our Tamilness, but sort of give thanks… and to reflect on all the things that we can be thankful for, especially now, when there’s so many crazy things going on in the world.”
Meanwhile, Srikumar says celebrating Thai Pongal with her family and watching Tamil movies are usually her favourite way to spend the month, but she is looking forward to a different celebration at the Toronto venue.
“I feel very proud and happy that I’m able to celebrate this Tamil Heritage Month at the oldest venue in Toronto as well. So, this is very cool, and we’re the first to do it in our community. So, I’m really glad, hopefully this puts a further step for new artists and many more people to come within the community.”
Vykunthan and Srikumar will be hitting the Massey Hall stage at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and tickets are available now at the venue’s website.
