New Delhi, March 21 -- In her latest show, Divine Feminine, stand-up comedian Prashasti Singh remarks, "Bolti aurat kisi ko pasand nahin aati (nobody likes a woman with a voice)." Throughout her hour-long performance, her body language and sharp lines channel rage at a world that reduces women to potential wives or "crazy" spinsters. Women in the audience roar with laughter, cheering her; men chuckle at regular intervals.

"Growing up, I suppressed my anger, perhaps because the women around me withheld theirs instead of expressing it. Now, I process it and release it into the world through comedy," says the 37-year-old, speaking to Lounge ahead of her Mumbai show earlier this month. But good comedy isn't born out of bitterness, she insist...