For a special talent show organised on the eve of Woman’s Day, a 42-year-old housemaid named Deepika Mhatre, found her chance to channel her love for comedy on a platform like never before. A typical day in her life starts at 4:30 am when she boards the local train to sell imitation jewellery. She then goes to her second job as a housemaid. She cooks in five homes and travels between Nala Sopara to Malad every day.

After her first performance, she met stand-up comic Aditi Mittal who trained her and helped her work on her comic skills for over a year. She now makes a dash after 6:00 pm for her evening gigs across Mumbai.

Deepika Mhatre also featured in Episode 2 of Aditi Mittal’s Bad Girl on Youtube which has one of her gigs and her interview. You can see it here:

Her gig is sure to keep you hooked. She starts by saying that stand-up comics are often seen mocking their maids, but it is now her turn to make all the jokes. Through her gigs, she makes jokes on the people she works for.

Her comedy isn't limited to that. Mhatre also pushes the envelope and cracks jokes about men, particularly her husband and the patriarchal cultures of the society. She jokes about how women are supposed to fast for their husbands so that they can be together for all the seven births, but she wants a variety of choice in men instead.

Mhatre is grateful to Sangeeta Das, a Mumbai resident, for whom she has been working for about six years, for giving her the first chance to perform on stage. She is also a mother of three daughters and fondly speaks about how they enjoy her performances. According to an interview with The Better India, she shares that her husband is an asthma patient who doesn’t keep well, so she has most of the financial responsibilities of her family.

Fighting all odds and keeping a broad smile on her face, she proudly says that she isn’t scared of the crowd while performing on stage because she has spent her life selling jewellery on the trains. Her comedy is truthful, fun and relatable and her journey is a true inspiration to follow your dreams no matter what.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 12:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).