Rishi Budhrani and Sharul Channa are two of Singapore’s leading comedians, with audiences from one end of the island to the other chortling with laughter at their shows. But imagine what they’re capable of together onstage. For those who’ve never experienced The Rishi & Sharul Show before, you’re in luck, as the hit show returns for its third edition, for one night only, at the Esplanade Concert Hall this March.

Using their combined wit, Rishi and Sharul are set to present an evening of no-holds-barred stand-up comedy to tackle everything under the sun, from family, relationships, dating, current affairs, politics, to of course – marriage, considering that the two of them are married to each other in real life. Gaining a faithful following thanks in part to their appearances on Comedy Central Asia, as co-hosts of CNA docu-series Rishi and Sharul Try, and on-screen animated couple Sammy and Priya from the Netflix animated series, Downstairs, Rishi and Sharul remain at the very top of their game when you experience them LIVE onstage.

Speaking to Rishi and Sharul, we found out more about what to expect from this edition of The Rishi and Sharul Show, as well as how much growth and change they’ve experienced over the last few years, and with each other. “It’s quite a big step for us to do our show at the Esplanade, considering it’s the national arts centre,” says Rishi. “And it makes sense to do it this year, considering that we did the first edition of the show in 2015, the next one in another five years, and now, we’re celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Rishi and Sharul Show.”

Both Rishi and Sharul have grown their own respective fan bases, not just in Singapore, but even beyond our borders, selling out big spaces while on tour in India, and feel it’s high time to see what happens when you bring them both into the same room. “I think that both of us are more than capable of selling a show, and what people are hungry for is to see how the dynamic changes when we’re onstage together, and roasting each other,” says Sharul. “The structure is simple – both of us will perform our individual acts, roasting each other until damn terok, and we will both be sitting in the audience while the other is performing, so people can really see our genuine reactions, and we’re hoping to introduce a live camera that.”

“Then after that, we’ll enter an improv style performance together, where we banter with the audience and do almost a Q&A style routine,” she adds. “And the last few times we tried that out, there’s something incredible seeing my fans and Rishi’s fans, some of whom are couples themselves and who may not always appreciate the other’s humour, you see them come together and discover new aspects of our comedy.”

Anyone in the arts and entertainment scene, especially with personalities and big and loud as Rishi and Sharul’s, would be subject to naysayers and criticism, but neither half of the couple ever let it get to them. “The first time we were dating, back when it was around 2010, there was someone who warned me about her, but to be honest, I didn’t pay them any mind,” says Rishi. “There’s a good Tupac quote, that goes along the lines of ‘I still want you to eat, just not at my table’, and well, I’ll always be kind to people, but if they step on my toes, then I’ll kindly ask them to mind their own business.”

“A lot of these are just opinions and first impressions, where if they witness me being angry, they might think I’m a bad person; I know I’m feisty and not afraid to push forward certain opinions, and people may not always appreciate that,” says Sharul. “But I’ve accepted that you can’t change or force people’s opinions. I know I won’t warm to certain people, but I also won’t put down their work just because I don’t like them as people.”

Both of them also admit that humour has been a key factor in keeping their marriage alive, partially because of how brutally honest they are with each other, and have learnt plenty about each other over the years, making for better conversations and interactions. “It’s very easy to focus purely on the negative traits of a partner during tough times, and all the things they might have done ‘wrong’. We need to take a step back and really learn how we can be honest with each other and accept valid criticisms, before working on building a better relationship together,” says Rishi. “These days, we’re a lot more appreciative and grateful to be in each other’s lives, and aware that what we say is not in malice, but to support and help each other grow.”

“We also each went through therapy, not couple’s therapy. I think it’s so important to sort out your own grief and pain individually before coming back together,” adds Sharul. “I’ve since quit drinking, and I’m now clean for a month, and I’m never touching alcohol again. In our talks, we’ve also come to realise that we have our own life separate from our parents, that they should not interfere with our affairs, and made peace with the fact that we don’t want children, and want to spend our lives traveling, doing comedy and charity work. Maybe even open a farm one day, or adopt a monkey, I don’t know. But what I do know is that we don’t need to adhere to the same thing or show off being a happy couple on social media – those kinds of people usually are just overcompensating for something else in the relationship.”

For Rishi and Sharul, there have been several key lessons they’ve learnt that they feel are useful as advice to other couples out there. “I think one of the worst things you can tell anyone is ‘I told you so’. You should not be seen as a moral authority, and some people just need to make mistakes on their own to learn, but to allow them to and without judgment,” says Rishi. “You can’t hold that mistake over them, and there’ll be a lot of lingering regret where they keep wondering why don’t you let them do this, if only you tried. They have to do it to learn how to be accountable for it, rather than not doing it because you said not to.”

“We have to exist peacefully as individuals first to better handle what goes on in our relationship, to give each other space to make decisions without imposing on them,” says Sharul. “If it’s one thing I’ve learnt as well, it’s that we are responsible for our own parents, not each other’s. If I can’t join him to meet his parents on a specific day, he should go, because they’re his responsibility. Same for me— we don’t both have to go just because we’re a couple. As the child of these people, you need to be 100% there for them, even if it’s toxic—you fix it, you take responsibility. And that was a huge realisation and change that also helped us progress in our relationship.”

As of now, both Rishi and Sharul seem to have reached a happy point in their careers and lives – and it just seems to keep getting better. “We’ve learnt to just be with each other, and understand the way we communicate. There was just the other day I had a complete meltdown after having a run-in with a pregnant woman, and I ended up taking it out on Rishi,” says Sharul. “But I talked to a girlfriend who explained what was going on, especially with how your hormones go haywire in such situations, and explained it to Rishi after the dust settled, and everything was ok again.”

“There’s people out there who say that men who are scared of their wives are cowards, but you know – you should absolutely be afraid of your wife who knows your deepest darkest secrets – if it’s a healthy relationship, you’ll know all these things about each other, and most of all, she won’t hold it against you,” says Rishi. “People who come to our show, they’ll learn all these and more, and I think it’ll be the last time they get to see both of us onstage together in Singapore for a long while, and hopefully, come away with new knowledge and realisations about life, society and marriage too.”

The Rishi and Sharul Show 3 plays for one night only on 21st March 2025 at the Esplanade Concert Hall. Tickets available from Ticketmaster