Perhaps the most surprising British Asian book published in 2022 was 'Sex Bomb: The Life and Loves of an Asian Babe'.
Apart from being an accomplished debut, the acclaimed memoir tackled taboo subjects, presented a unique protagonist, and offered up the kind of comedy not seen before.
The widely acclaimed book from hijab-wearing stand-up comedian Sadia Azmat, set to be published in paperback on Thursday (25), explores religion, sexuality, dating, culture clashes and taking steps against all that is expected from a ‘good Muslim’ girl. The book, adding to the comedy career for Azmat, has been described as a testament to embracing who you are, sexual fantasies and all, regardless of the (often patriarchal) societal expectations.
Eastern Eye caught up with the fearless East London-based writer to discuss her debut book and why she didn’t think it was too controversial. She also revealed her inspirations and comedy hero.
What first connected you to comedy?
It felt like comedy was addressing the elephant in the room, calling things out that we weren’t brave enough to unpack in day-to-day life. There was a sort of power in the low status – it was unthreatening and yet so undeniable.
What led you towards writing this book?
Writing a book has always been something I’ve wanted to do, but didn’t know how to get involved in. I don’t have any publishing contacts or friends and my background is comedy and performing. Fortunately, I’ve always been writing whether it’s jokes or articles. In 2019, my article for Metro, ‘Horny women like me aren’t supposed to exist during Ramadan’, went viral. It affirmed to me that this was definitely something that needed to be covered as like everyone else, Muslim women also have wants and needs. I never identified with the media narratives about us being ‘repressed’ and I felt an authentic, first-hand account like Sex Bomb was long overdue.
Tell us about the book?
The book is a memoir and tells you everything you ever wanted to know about my life story. It includes lots of personal tales, lessons and even some standup comedy. There’s something for everyone. It’s fun, fresh, and lovely to be able to write the story I wanted to.
Were you at any point fearful that this book may be a little bit too controversial?
No, not really, I’ve been performing comedy for years and I rarely censor myself. I think people know that times have changed and so it’s not like a book can take all the blame of the lost opportunities for conversation. I’m hoping people can use some of the experiences to either learn how to do things differently and have better relationships themselves.
How much has the universal praise for this book meant to you?
Support is always a big deal and some of the DMs have been so heartfelt and unexpected. It’s really lovely when people enjoy what you do.
The cover of her book
What has been your most memorable moment during the journey with this book?
I was invited to appear on Frank Skinner’s show Sky Arts at Hay Festival. It was a dream come true meeting such a comedy legend and for him to read my book really means a lot. He quoted it as ‘honest, surprising, much needed.’
Is there one part of the book that is your favourite?
I have a bit about a disastrous date. It’s a bit bittersweet. I’d say it’s up there because it was really upsetting at the time, but when I wrote about it, I was able to look back on it and laugh. It was nice to see how much I’d moved on.
Who are you hoping this book connects with?
It would be great if women – particularly ethnic women – enjoyed the book. It’s for everyone but on a personal note I have a feeling that ethnic women have been underserved when it comes to original art and entertainment.
What can we expect next from you?
You can watch this space – follow me on Instagram @sadia_azmats
Could you tell us what is happening with you on the comedy front?
My book comes out in the US on August 29 and so I’m heading Stateside for a few months to tour.
Who is your own comedy hero?
Too many names to mention. I list my personal favourites in the book. I’ve learnt a lot from American comedians such as Patrice O’Neal. They are a masterclass on trusting your own gut rather than in the UK, which is about pandering to audiences trying to chase acceptance.
What according to you is the secret of great comedy?
Well, if I told you that, it wouldn’t be a secret!
What inspires you?
These are really good (and tough) questions. Lots of things inspire me. People exceeding their own limits. I think so often this world can have the effect of wearing us down and for the human spirit to rise up against that, even when the odds are stacked against them, is true strength.
Why should we pick up your debut book?
Sex Bomb: The Life and Loves of an Asian Babe is released by Headline May 25, 2023. Please get a copy. It’s original, honest, fun and a great read. Every sale makes a difference and if you get this for yourself or as a gift for a friend, it’s received lovely reviews and you will definitely laugh along the way. Plus, it’s got a lovely image of me and who wouldn’t want that?
Twitter: @ sadia_azmats_
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A seated Jain enlightened teacherAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Ganesha from JavaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Chinese silk painting depicting the BuddhaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
ArdhanarishvaraAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Head of a grimacing yakshaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
NagaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Bimaran casketAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hunia Chawla
A still from rehearsal
Them performing liveNajmuddin Saifuddin Qawwal Group
The cast of Marriage Material in key moments from the play, including Avita Jay, Kiran Landa, Omar Malik, Irfan Shamji and Anoushka Deshmukh
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity
The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013.
She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton. Their younger daughter, Surinder (Anoushka Deshmukh), is 16, her sister Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) is just a bit older.
They have a neighbour, Patwant Dhanda (Irfan Shamji), who, as we shall soon see, is not a very pleasant man. In fact, he comes across just as racist as Enoch Powell, who represented Wolverhampton South West for the Tories from 1950 to 1974.
It will be recalled this was a time when Sikhs working on the buses were told they couldn’t wear a turban. That was a hard-fought battle that had to be won.
The Bains, meanwhile, simply want to get their girls married off.
Nothing new here, I thought.
What makes the tale different is that the plot twists and turns down the generations. Mr Dhanda, who has the makings of a paedophile, makes a pitch for one of the girls when Mr Bains dies early in the play. “A life with no man in the house is no life,” he informs the newly widowed Mrs Bains.
Mr Dhanda has a wife but she has returned to India so he considers himself to be a free man.
Surinder’s English teacher from school, Miss Flanagan (Celeste Dodwell), who is also head of the fifth form, tells Mrs Bains about her daughter: “I don’t want to embarrass you, but she is bright. Ridiculously bright.”
She adds: “Mrs Bains, I think it would be a pity if Surinder didn’t stay on at school.” The initial response from Mrs Bains is not encouraging: “Too much education makes people’s brains get mixed up, they don’t sleep at night…”
But she is finally persuaded that Surinder should be allowed to stay on for a while longer before being married off.
Mr Bains was very old school. When Surinder confides she would one day like to be “a somebody”, he is amused that “my daughter wants to be a somebody”.
“Like you,” she tells her father.
Mr Bains consoles his daughter: “We will find a somebody for you to marry.”
At the point of a possible marriage, however, Surinder is sweet-talked by chocolate salesman Jim Wilson (Tommy Belshaw) into running away with him. They share a love of literature, and he calls her “Sue Bains”. But the relationship does not end well.
Once she has left, Surinder is written off as “dead” by her family. The story that is circulated is that she was only 16 when she was killed in a car crash. That’s better than to let on that she ran off with a white man.
By the time she is reconciled with her sister towards the end of the play, a great deal has changed. Kamaljit married Tanvir Banga (Omar Malik), a young man who helped out in the Bains’ corner shop. When the two sisters meet again, Tanvir has also died. But he and Kamaljit had a son, Arjan Banga (Jaz Singh Deol doubles up for this role after the death of Mr Bains). He has come home after his father’s death to help his mother who is still running the family corner shop.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhanda’s business has prospered. He now has a son, Ranjit Dhanda (the role is taken by Omar Malik after Tanvir’s death), and he is nearly as unpleasant as his father.
Arjan has an English fiancée, Claire (Celeste Dodwell). In London, Arjan worked as a creative director. But after deciding to stay in Wolverhampton to help his mother, he decides he cannot marry Claire because she is white. In other words, Asians are not free of racism, either. Happily, at the end, the couple are reconciled.
As for Surinder, she parted company with Jim Wilson after realising he was all talk, depended on her for money and had failed to earn a penny from his literary pretensions. She had prospered, though, as a hotel owner and had been transformed in time into a well-groomed businesswoman. After being tracked down by Arjan, she decides to return to her roots in Wolverhampton and help Kamaljit run the family corner shop. Perhaps 50 years had passed during the passage of the play.
Being subjected to racism turned some Asians into racists themselves. The word goreh (white person) is repeatedly spat out with venom. Maybe it is worth remembering the play’s audience isn’t exclusively Asian – white folk are watching as well. And maybe some of the toilet humour ridiculing white people, which always makes me cringe, could be cut out.
In Sanghera’s novel, there is a quote from Enoch Powell’s speech in November 1968: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact, he is a west Indian or an Asian still... he will by the very nature of things have lost one country without gaining another, lost one nationality without acquiring a new one. Time is running out against us and them. With the lapse of a generation or so we shall at last have succeeded – to the benefit of nobody – in reproducing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ the haunting tragedy of the US.”
In Marriage Material, where the acting is marvellous (apart from Mr Dhanda’s Indian mannerisms and accent being overdone) we do travel across a couple of generations.
There is a scene when Tanvir rejects Mr Dhanda’s vision of creating a little Punjab in Wolverhampton.
Mr Dhanda wants to take over the Bains’ corner shop and is putting pressure on Tanvir to sign the papers. He says: “In this country, money is the path to freedom.”
“Sign, please,” he instructs Tanvir. “We must make sure our children learn to behave nicely, according to our rules.”
He insists: “We maintain our identity so we can be ourselves.”
Tanvir disagrees: “We can be us here. With the goreh.”
Dhanda warns him: “Then we will be inviting chaos.”
Tanvir’s comment is telling: “You sound like Enoch.”
Kamaljit, who is expecting a baby with her husband Tanvir, says: “I would like my child to grow up knowing the history of the Gurus and to read the Granth Sahib. And to love their culture.”
Tanvir tells his wife: “I would like my child to go to the finest schools, to cheer for England in the World Cup and eat Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday.”
Kamaljit sets out a dream that has perhaps come to pass with many third and fourth generation British Asians: “Maybe our child can do both.” Much, much later, in a throwback to the past, we learn of Surinder’s O-level results: “Biology A, Chemistry A, English Language A, English Literature A, French A, History B, Latin A, Mathematics A, Physics A…”
Kamaljit tells her younger sister: “Never mind about the B.”
And that is quintessentially Asian. Their acting is outstanding.
Marriage Material is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, and at the Birmingham Rep from June 25-July 5