Lilly Singh is ‘Doin’ It’ for her younger self

On paper, Doin’ It is an unlikely locus for those qualities. It’s a bawdy sex comedy in which adult virgin Maya (Singh), having spent her foundational youth in thrall to sexually conservative strictures, takes a last-ditch gig as a substitute sex ed teacher. (If you have seen even one teen sex comedy in your life, you can probably predict how well the work goes.) But there turns out to be an awful lot of adolescent Lilly in adolescent Maya, sans key moments of would-be harmless sexual exploration that end with mortifying results. Giving away the specifics would, of course, suck all the fun out of the film, and all the empathy too. Because as vulgar, lewd, and off-color as Doin’ It gets—truly, this isn’t a comedy for prudes, though prudes desperately need it—Singh, co-writer Neel Patel, and director Sara Zandieh, who likewise contributed to the script, hold compassion clear in their sights.

Singh and I spoke on the cusp of Doin’ It’s Sept. 19 theatrical premiere, months after its debut at SXSW, about the need for sex-forward comedy at a sex-backwards time, figuring out the proper balance for humor and heart, and how the film is ultimately a “love letter” to her teenage self.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Andy Crump: We are in a moment of cultural puritanism, where Gen Zers are less inclined to be sexually active. They don't like sex in their movies or in their TV series. I hear a lot about how, “you couldn't make this movie from 1975 today.” So I'm curious about the thought process for this kind of picture, given how people are sexually squeamish today.
Lilly Singh: I think it's because people are sexually squeamish that this movie is so important. For me, when I view this movie, I think of it as a love letter to younger Lilly. I'm a Millennial myself. I'm fascinated by Gen Z and what their views on sex are, and we have a lot of Gen Z actors in the movie as well. But the generation I grew up in was one where we didn't have sex ed for the most part. We didn't get the talk. It was not discussed. We didn't have the education, we didn't have TikTok, we didn't have all this at our disposal. So I think there's a lot of people, and especially, I'll even say women of my age and beyond, that would say, “We never got this, we never felt comfortable around this.” No one talked to us about sex in a way that was empowering or made us feel like we could enjoy it or we could be confident in our bodies.

So (Doin’ It) is a love letter to that generation of women, to be honest, and even Gen Z. It’s interesting. They're squeamish about it, and I know they don't want sex, but I think sex is actually a really beautiful thing. We should be encouraging people of all generations to have healthy discourse around sex. So the fact that they're squeamish, well, let's make sure they're not squeamish about sex. Let's make sure that Millennials can actually have the conversation, and say the word “sex.” My parents don't even admit to ever having sex. Every generation has their hurdles around this topic, which is why these movies are so important.

AC: How do you balance that intention against actually being funny? At some point, do you get concerned about the movie becoming advocacy, as opposed to hilarious?
LS: I appreciate that question, because my entire mandate, and my company's entire mandate, is entertainment for storytelling that has a message. I believe comedy is the best vehicle to have these difficult conversations, but for that to work, it has to be comedic, you know? So when I was writing this movie, I was very adamant that it would have to go there. I thought, “I'm talking about a taboo subject and I'm also doing it through a cultural lens, a South Asian lens that I grew up in—which is extremely taboo, like it is in most cultures. It would be terrible if I didn't actually go there, if I just kind of took a swing, but also played it safe.” We got it in the first five minutes of the movie. For those of you that see it: it goes there! [Laughs.]

When I had the draft of the script, I did a table read with some of my friends, some writers, some industry folks, people from all walks of life, and the feedback we got was,  make it raunchier. Make it dirtier. So I thought, “Okay, we're gonna make it dirtier.” So there's a lot of thought that went into finding that balance. I always want to say something, but people don't listen to what you're saying if they're not having a good time. I've learned that people's defenses go down when they're able to laugh and laugh in community.

The feedback of the movie that makes me happiest is, “I laughed and cried.” That's exactly what we tried to accomplish. We want to make you laugh. There's penises, there's vaginas, but then there's heart as well. 

AC: Another major organ!
LS: Exactly!

AC: You mentioned this is a love letter to young Lilly. While I think doing something important by trying to de-stigmatize sex in 2025, which is a weird thing to say—
LS: I know, right?

AC: It’s so strange. I’m curious, though, how much of what we see of Maya is really something that we’re seeing that is of you?
LS: Andy, a lot. A lot of what you see in Maya is me. Not all the things! My mom has not licked my vibrator; I was not a sex ed teacher. But I'll say that Maya's journey definitely reminds me of my own journey. In fact, there's many times in the film where I see myself in her and what she's saying, how she's reacting to things, I've been in that situation, I've been that way, I've reacted that way so many times. So it's been quite therapeutic to make (the movie), actually, because it’s like seeing a version of myself on screen.