Pammi Aunty coming soon on TV, says Ssumier Pasricha

Pammi Aunty who has taken the internet by storm is celebrating her birthday today as her 50th video goes on air. Ssumier Pasricha, the brain behind the popular videos has planned a cake cutting ceremony with friends from his industry. “If they are busy shooting, I will raise a toast to her alone as Pammi aunty is the one who has made me popular,” smiles Ssumier. The actor has done theatre and TV — he was part of Sasural Simar Ka as the comic character Shailu and played the iconic transgender Manabi Bandyopadhyay (who became a principal of a college) in Code Red. But it’s as Pammi Aunty that Ssumier has grabbed attention. Here he talks about how he conceptualised the exuberant, annoyed Punjabi saas who purportedly harrasses her bahu and more.    

How have the aunties responded to your videos? Are they happy or annoyed?

They are happy, rather they are laughing and saying ‘how do you know so much about us?’ I take it as a compliment. I don’t know whether these aunties do the same thing to their bahus or not, but they are enjoying what I am doing and I am loving the attention. However, my mother is worried.

Why?

In the videos, I am incorporating a lot of stuff from my family. As an actor, I have observed so many things, and heard people discussing topics that I have picked up in the videos. At family weddings ek rishtedaar naraaz hota hi hai, whether it is Punjabi or Marathi. And we wonder ‘seriously are you fighting over this’? Though no aunties have directly asked me if I have taken off on them, my mother keeps telling me kisi rishtedaar ko copy mat kariyon.

How did it all start?

It was my nephew who told me that I should come on Snaptchat as it’s a cool application. When I went on the app I saw these icons, where you can make faces. I liked this icon, which I now call Pammi Aunty. I found it very cute and created one video saying ‘Simar makkhi ban gayi hai, mata rani iski raksha karna’, and I posted it on Facebook. People received it very well. The next day I posted another saying, ‘Meri bahu toh koi kaam nahi karti, mere marne ke baad mere bete ka kya hoga’. People laughed at it and that’s when I got the idea that saas-bahu theme is still in trend, why not try it. And it became a success.  

Why aunty and not an uncle?

There was no prior thinking. This icon looked comic and cute and I created it. I never knew I would become Pammi Aunty.  It became a hit all of a sudden.

What, according to you, has clicked with the audience?

The authenticity, the humour and the clean comedy is what is clicking with everybody.  People are relating to it because this is how Punjabi families react to certain situations that I am creating. I have people telling me this has happened in my house or you are talking like my saas, chachi, dadi, etc. These are common silly situations of typical Punjabi families.

Before you there was Chutki and now Pammi Aunty. What is it with men dressing as women becoming a hit?

There has never been a boundary in comedy as long as you can touch the heart and create humour. If I have to become a dog and make people laugh, I will do it. As an actor also, there shouldn’t be boundaries. If the script demands me to be funny and dress like a woman, I will do it.

Now we see several men in drag on TV. Don’t you think there is an overkill?

No, earlier too several actors have done it and I am doing it now. It’s just that mine is out-of-the-box, the reason it’s a hit. Nobody has done Punjabi saas the way I have done it.  If somebody comes with  different criteria again, it could be a hit.

So far, we haven’t seen any other character besides Pammi Aunty in the video..

I really don’t have many Punjabi friends, who can speak the language authentically, but yes I am building more interesting characters and approaching actors.

Since your videos are completely in Punjabi, do you think you are losing out on a section of the  audience?

I agree everybody can’t understand it and people have even told me that. But if I start talking in Hindi, it will lose its impact. If I tell the same joke in Hindi to make you understand, it probably won’t make sense to anyone. I tried it, but couldn’t laugh at my own joke. I think it’s the Punjabi tone and humour that is working, and I have to respect that.

Will Pammi Aunty come on TV?

Oh yes, she will be on TV soon. We are in talks with some channels.