The Indian Stand Up Comedy scene took an upward flight in 2015 when the trendsetters called AIB entered the live comedy arena. They brought about a revolution that changed the way Indians viewed comedy and not just that, they introduced the youth to the live comic scene and made them see how funny their side of the world looked or shall we say sounded. Unamused by the comedy we see on TV, we gladly converted and rightly so! Let’s know the best stand-up comedians in India.
A legend once said, a joke when shared with an audience, becomes 100x funnier. Well, we don’t really have a joke to share today but we sure have a huge list of the best jokers in the country that are hysterical and how!
List of Best Stand-Up Comedians in India –
1. Anubhav Singh Bassi
Speaking of the best of 100 Crores Laughter Club (okay I just made that up), Anubhav’s content tops the list. In a parallel universe, Anubhav could have been a lawyer or even a bureaucrat. He has the qualifications for it after all. But let’s thank our universe for blessing us with this iconic comedian, BassiJi. He tried his luck in multiple fields before finally finding solace and success as a stand-up comedian. With over 35 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 1.4 million on Instagram, this guy rides the chariot of laughter.
2. Gaurav Kapoor
Gaurav Kapoor is a Delhi-based stand-up comedian who has gained popularity in recent times. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he’s an emerging stand-up comic at the age of 35. He’s popular for his funny acts and anecdotal humour. His live acts do garner a lot of attention and praise from the general public, but his Instagram reels are equally laughter-inducing and popular. This explains why he has a following of almost 355K followers on social media. So take our word for it and keep an eye out for one of the best stand-up comedians in India, i.e. Gaurav Kapoor.
3. Aakash Gupta
Stand-up comedy may still be in its budding stages in India but we have an arsenal of stand-up comedians in India who can keep you hooked on their acts for days. Funny as hell, Aakash Gupta is a class act. His shows will have you laughing your butts off and in no time you’ll find yourself rolling on the floor laughing. So if you enjoy live comic acts, then please do yourselves a favour and book your ticket for his next show. Boasting a whopping 1 million followers on Instagram, this guy is definitely onto something!
4. Abhishek Upmanyu
With 1.4 million followers on Instagram and over 4 million followers on Youtube, Abhishek Upmanyu is one of the most popular stand-up comedians in India. Hailing from a North Indian family in Delhi, Abhishek completed his engineering degree and worked for renowned companies like Ranbaxy before starting his stint with comic timing.
Little did he know that his journey on the road of comedy would lead him to perform shows on national and international platforms. However, his favourite Indian stand-up comics are Aditi Mittal and Vinay Sharma. Most of his videos on Youtube gain at least 2 crore views per video. Now, if that’s not pure love for an artist, then we don’t know what is!
5. Aditi Mittal
Abhishek Upmanyu’s favorite female stand comedian, Aditi Mittal, also happens to be one of the very first female stand-up comedians in India in general. Aditi was a trendsetter and started doing stand-up comedy acts even when they weren’t even a thing in India. Her satirical acts have caught the fancy of many. Her journey from being a class clown to being an Indian Stand Up Comedian is awe-inspiring. Her humor is anything but dry. Her acts are often labeled unapologetically unique and thought-provoking.
6. Kunal Kamra
Kunal Kamra, naam toh suna hi hoga! Well, one thing that Kunal knows very well is how to stay relevant because any type of publicity is good publicity. His shows and comic acts are quite popular and that’s not an unknown fact. But what’s more popular and interesting about this guy is all the controversy that he gets himself caught up in! He loves making jokes about politicians and the government. Now we all know how that must be panning out for him being an Indian Comedian, that too being famous at that. It wouldn’t be wrong to name him one of the most controversial stand-up comedians in India. He has his own show named Shut up ya, Kunal! Running on YouTube. Needless to say, it has its own cult following!
7. Harsh Gujral
Harsh Gujral is also a popular social media personality apart from being one of the most renowned stand-up comedians in India. So if you are looking for a powerhouse of Entertainment, then this is your guy. His humour can be described as fresh, light and contemporary. His narrating style is easygoing, thereby managing to strike a chord with the audience. So next time this guy is in your town, don’t forget to book his show and have a bucket full of laughter with your friends and family.
8. Kapil Sharma
If the modern and progressive style of comedy is not your thing then head over to watch Kapil Sharma perform. Although he hasn’t done stand-up acts regularly, “The Kapil Sharma show has gained a lot of popularity amongst the older Indian Audiences thereby making him a household name. Progressive or not, this guy sure is funny as hell. This humour is crass but funny and that’s what matters, isn’t it? He has a knack for keeping the most perfect comic timing. His show has helped him become a popular show host for celebrities and PR for their upcoming projects. Whether you agree or not, he sure deserves to be a part of the top 20 stand-up comedians in India.
9. Atul Khatri
Going strong and giving tough competition to the newbies with new blood and talent, Atul is a piece of work. Popular for his rants, super funny tweets, engaging YouTube comments and confident stand-up acts, Atul knows how to leave his mark wherever he goes. Rated as one of the best stand-up comedians in India, Atul wears many hats. Being a qualified engineer and MBA, Atul had started off his career working as the CEO of his family-run business. Being the winner of the CEO’s Got Talent Season 1, we can tell that this guy does full justice to everything that he takes up, be it corporate or comedy!
10. Aishwarya Mohanraj
If we were speaking of the wittiest Female Comedians India has ever had the chance to witness, then this girl justifyingly secures a spot on the list. Her quick comic timing & enviable confidence helped her gain a spot in the list of 10 comedians on Comicstaan, Season 1. She’s not just a stand-up comedian but also a YouTuber who attracts crores of views on her videos. Her Instagram reels with her parents and boyfriend are quite popular with the viewers too, thereby making her a social media sensation!
11. Biswa Kalyan Rath
Biswa features on the list of most popular stand-up comedians in India. Besides being a very famous stand-up comic, he’s also known for his writing and youtube videos. His acts with fellow comedian Kanan Gill have gone viral multiple times. One of their very popular works being, the “pretentious film reviews” series produced and presented by the duo. He’s a regular in the comedy circles and is seen performing in multiple comedy clubs across the country. He’s also popular for acting in the sex comedy film Brahman Naman, featured on Netflix.
12. Kanan Singh Gill
Kanan Singh Gill is a famous Indian stand-up comedian, YouTuber and Actor. He is most popular for hosting his show called “Pretentious Movie Reviews” on Youtube with his comic partner, Biswa Kalyan Rath. They are often seen reviewing exaggerated Bollywood movies and making jokes about them. Needless to say, their videos garner millions of views and chuckles from their audiences.
13. Kenny Sebastian
Kenny caught the eye of the audience recently because of his wedding to his longtime girlfriend Tracy Viegas. Their intimate Goa wedding looked like it was straight out of a fairytale. Thanks to Instagram, we all got to witness the wedding of our most beloved comedian, Kenneth Sebastian Matthew. Not many know this but Kenny is a popular content creator, musician, and filmmaker besides being one of the most popular names on our list of Indian comedians. He is a judge on Comicstaan, which is a comedy-hunt reality show on Amazon Prime Video.
14. Zakir Khan
With over 7 million subscribers (70 lakh) on YouTube and almost 600 million views (60 crores) on his videos, Zakir Khan passes the funny guy vibe! A gem of a person, Zakir’s videos on love and heartbreak-related comedy never fail to amuse the masses. With multiple funny videos to his portfolio and a crazy fan following, Zakir tops the list of famous Indian Comedians. Head over to his YouTube channel to experience a riot of laughter.
15. Varun Thakur
Many of us know this guy as an actor, owing to all the shows he’s done on OTT and his role in the movie like “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”. But his original stint was actually with stand-up comedy! He’s still a regular at comedy clubs across the country and it’s his impersonations of famous personalities and his observational humor that make him stand out from the crowd.
Now that we have answered all your pressing questions like, “Who is India’s No. 1 comedian? And Who is the best Hindi comedian?”, we can now maneuver to explore the original Indian Comedy Scene, old school charm et al. Although we have more progressive artists at play right now, it’d be wrong to forget the chuckles we had watching Govinda, Johnny Lever, Kader Khan, Paresh Rawal among other actors who made us laugh all our childhood. This is especially true for those born in the 90s!
If you still are a fan of their work, then relive your childhood with our list of Bollywood Comedy Movies!
