Standup comedy and Indian stand up comedians have finally caught up with not just the youth but also people who are in the age where they start imparting wisdom. YouTube has become a platform where people demonstrate their talent and most of them will tell you the same that they owe their popularity and career to YouTube.
With YouTube, a whole new generation of standup comedians have emerged in India, when the past generation gave us veterans like Raju Srivastava, Sunil Pal, Bharti Singh, and not to forget Kapil Sharma, just to name a few, the new generation made a connect with the comedians of this generation. These comics have the ability to connect with the audience, and even have their own forte.
Who Are 20 Best Indian Stand Up Comedians In 2022?
Let us take a look at the list of top 15 Indian stand up comedians that you can and must watch on YouTube:
#1. Zakir Khan- “The Sakht Launda”
Zakir Khan received initial fame when he won Comedy Central’s “India’s Best Stand Up Comedian” in the year 2012, but most of us got to know him after AIB Diwas when he performed on “When I Met a Delhi Girl”. Zakir speaks in Hindi, and specialises in anecdotal form of comedy (Story Telling). Zakir has the talent where the audience just connects with him… his stories and underlying statements in his jokes are just so relatable.
Zakir Khan has not only judged the famous Comicstaan Season 2 on Amazon Prime but has 3 shows on Amazon and have over 4.5 million subscriber on YouTube.
#2. Abhishek Upamanyu
Upamanyu’s USP is his poker face, he brings jokes from his experiences and delivers them with utter straight face. Having studied Chemical engineering he delivers the engineering jokes which will tickle your funny bones, and he is not limited to that. He talks on topics like Breakups, discrimination in India, childhood stories, and respecting the elders which are not only funny as they can be but also eye opener at times.
Upamanyu is a Delhi boy at heart and have settles in Mumbai to pursue career in Stand Up Comedy. With over 2.2 million subscribers on his YouTube Channel he amongst the most followed Indian Stand up comedians.
#3. Biswa Kalyan Rath
Biswa Kalyan Rath is an IIT graduate in Biotechnology and received fame after YouTube show called ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ which we highly recommend check out. Biswa left his steady job at Oracle and you can often see him joking about his experience in both his company and IIT.
Biswa has not only seen in multiple shows on Amazon, but have also created and written the series “Laakhon Mein Ek” on Amazon. Additionally, he has not only judged Comicstaan 1 but the second season as well.
He has been a judge of Comicstaan, both season 1 and 2.
With over 500k subscriber on YouTube, he is one of the top Stand up comedian in India
#4. Kanan Gill
Kanan and Biswa first met during an open mic in 2013, and Kana did the ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ along with Biswa. If you loved or even heard how good ‘The Living Room’ by Comedy Central was, thank Kanan, as he contributed towards many of its sketches.
Kanan and Biswa (above mentioned) did ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ together and post that Kanan received immense love from the Indian audience. At the beginning of his stand up career he contributed greatly to a Comedy Central sketch program called The Living Room.
He has been a judge of Comicstaan, both season 1 and 2.
Also Read: 20 Best Indian Shows On Amazon Prime
#5. Kenny Sebastian
Kenny Sebastian is the full package and quite famous amongst the ladies. A comedian, musician and filmmaker who has traveled around the world as a stand-up comic has also released numerous of his comedy specials.
He started his comedy career back in the year 2014 where he not only wrote but also directed a season of the “The Living Room” which needs no introduction of its own. Kenny started creating his own films at an early age 15 years and by the time he turned 23 he had already directed 12 shorts films and two feature films.
Kenny uses music to deliver his jokes, and shares videos quite regularly on his YouTube channel for his fans. “Chai time Comedy with Kenny Sebastian” is a monthly video blog that Kenny do. He uses it as a platform to discuss and take a different turn at everyday topics- ‘over a cup of Chai’ and obviously with a guitar in his hands.
He has been a judge of Comicstaan, both season 1 and 2.
#6. Abish Mathew
Abish Mathew amongst the most popular Indian stand up comedians. He is not only known for his sketches, song lyrics, but also some funny enactments. He has his own talk show on YouTube called “Son of Abish” which we recommend you watching.
He is known for his work with and for the All Indian Bakchod where he not only acted in their videos but also help bring them to life. He has been a host of Comicstaan, both season 1 and 2.
Abish Mathew is a comic who can be called Jack of all trades and master of none… don’t get us wrong, he is funny enough to tickle your fattest bone but what we are trying to say is, and you will see on his channel, he is very versatile and can accomplish different genres of comic.
#7. Aditi Mittal
Aditi Mittal is one of the first female standup comedians in India. She is not just a successful Indian comedian but is also a very successful writer and has written columns for DNA, Grazia Magazine, Financial Times, and FirstPost.com.
Mittal was not only ranked amongst the top 10 comedians of India by The Times of India in the year 2012 but also made the list for the Top 30 Witty, Intelligent, and Incredibly Fun Indian Women you must follow on Twitter by CNN-IBN.
She has also had very own Netflix special called ‘Things They Wouldn’t Let Me Say’.
Mittal started her comic career in 2000s, and in 2009 she was was even a part of all-Indian stand-up show hosted by the Comedy Store. Mittal has also worked as a supporting actress in movies like “Phenking News” and “Jay Hind”.
#8. Neeti Palta
Neeti Palta started her career in 2006 when she co-wrote television puppet series “Galli Galli Sim Sim” that aired on the DD National, later in 2012 she won the RAW Comedy competition which was sponsored by the OZ Fest, and since then she started posting comedy videos on her YouTube channel through which she gained her popularity.
She even wrote the Bollywood movie “O Teri” which, though did not do well at the box-office, had fair share of comedy in it. She has not only appeared on many comedy web series like Comedy Up Late, Comedy Central Stan-Up, Aisa!, Almost Sanskari, but also judged the Amazon’s original Comicstaan Season 2.
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#9.Anubhav Singh Bassi
Anubhav Bassi, a lawyer-turned-UPSC aspirant turned stand up comedian is a unique storyteller who makes fun of himself and every other thing that has happened to him so far. His comic style is exceptionally relaxed and mellow, with the entire act appearing to be a casual conversation with funny content.
Bassi maintains a very low online presence, with just four YouTube videos and few Instagram monologues. However, his YouTube videos, have received over 100 million (10 crore) views, and he has over 2 million (20 lakh) subscribers as well as 700,000 Instagram followers. He is hands-down one of the most talented indian stand up comedians of the new generation.
#10. Vir Das
Vir Das was one of the earliest stand up comedians of India and very few people know that he is a columnist and a musician in addition to being a Bollywood actor and a world-class comedian. His timely jokes and spot-on references, is what makes him stand apart from other comedians.
But did you know that he was a professional stand up comedian before making his film debut? Vir Das has performed over 100 stand-up comedy shows, 18 movies, around 35 plays, 6 comedy specials as well as 8 TV shows and is known for his wit and humour. His YouTube channel features clips from his stand-up shows, as well as Potcasts and other content which you should not miss for the world.
#11. Atul Khatri
Atul Khatri, an engineer and an MBA degree holder, worked as the CEO of his family’s computer business before turning to stand-up comedy as a hobby. He has been in a number of comedy clubs and was a member of the comedy group East India Company. He also participated in a number of OTT shows and TV commercials for well-known brands. CNN-IBN rated him one of the best Indian comedians, and he was the only Indian comedian to appear at the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival. In addition, he was the first-season winner of CEO Got Talent.
#12. Harsh Gujral
Harsh Gujral is a indian stand up comedians who began his standup comedy career on YouTube in 2017, and quickly rose to fame. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and he has 470K Instagram followers.
Harsh is an engineer by education who has worked with many MNCs. During his workplace boredom, he used to write jokes based on his observations of society, which became the foundation of his comic style. His humour, which was inspired by Kapil Sharma, is based on real-life events and people.
#13. Gaurav Kapoor
Delhi-based Gaurav Kapoor is a name that is gaining popularity in the Indian stand-up comedy circuit.
Known for his funny take on common life situations, his stand-up specials have included topics such as smartphones and passwords, as well as destination weddings. The journalism degree holder who left his corporate career to pursue full-time comedy says he finds something humorous in almost everything.
His YouTube channel has 789K subscribers, while his Instagram account has 260K followers. He is currently employed with the French international brand Celio as an Assistant Manager – Retail Planning, Merchandising, and MIS.
#14. Akash Gupta
When Aakash Gupta appeared on Amazon Prime Video’s Comicstaan Season 2, he quickly gained populairity as a phenomenal comic artist and became one of the best stand up comedians. He and Samay Raina were co-winners of Comicstaan Season 2. Then, he launched his “Excuse Me Brother” mini-tour throughout the country.
The 27-year-old comedian from New Delhi graduated from Delhi University, where he gained an interest in theatre and performed in plays.
Prior to standup comedy, Aakash worked in the theatre. Also, he has over 2.39 million subscribers on YouTube now.
#15. Rahul Subramanian
Rahul Subramanian, a stand up comedian from Mumbai, has also worked in Sketches and Improvisational comedy shows, most notably with AIB, and on Amazon Prime with Kaneez Surka.
The 32-year-old aced the show by making us laugh at the most mundane and unexpected things. Perhaps this is why Rahul Subramanian chose the nickname “Random Chikibum” for his YouTube channel.
Rahul Subramanian spent quite sometime managing e-commerce, corporate branding, and digital marketing at Mahindra Rise before shifting to stand-up comedy. He gained popularity for his humorous acts that the urban Indian middle class can connect to.
#16. Vijay Yadav
Vijay Yadav is an Engineer, Entrepreneur, Teacher, and least but not last a Stand-Up Comic as well. Vijay Yadav joined the comedy industry not so long ago, Yadav initially wanted to be a writer and after attending the “Hello Meet” he was fully motivated to do and even came across AIB’s First Draft Writers’ program – a six months internship program for screenwriters – but unfortunately could not make it through.
However, he was later awarded with another chance, and joined Coalition – a program catering to diverse categories of Art, where he opted for comedy and got a chance to meet and interact with like-minded people. He started performing at open mics and with some time he rose to popularity.
Vijay Yadav is shares videos of his performance on his YouTube channel from time to time. Yadav with his humble beginnings can now be seen sharing stage with the likes of Zakir Khan, Jeeveshu Ahluwalia, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Varun Thakur, and others.
#17. Abijit Ganguly
Abijit Ganguly is a indian Stand up comedian who do not deprive his fans of his comedy who could not make it to his live performances. He shares videos on his YouTube channel regularly. Ganguly has done over 1000 shows in the past 4 years alone.
His jokes are based on day to day activities like relationships, racism, parties, middle-class life, and more. Somewhat like Zakir, Ganguly too works around anecdotes (stories from experiences) which make it all the more relatable.
He has also given interviews to many leading magazines like, The Hindu, Times of India, The Hindustan Times, and others. He has also appeared in the news channel, NDTV, in the show called the ‘Rising Stars of Comedy’.
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#18. Sundeep Sharma
Sundeep Sharma needs no introduction to many of you here reading this list, he is a veteran stand up comedian and a voice artist. His comedy genre is storytelling, and he, unlike many other, has the ability to retain the viewers/audience. He, in the past, has worked with leading media agencies and most notably is the voice behind many of the characters from “Gustakhi Maf” a NDTV’s satire.
Sundeep is also a trained actor as he went to IMAGO (now known as Barry John Acting School) in 2003/04 and even acted in various plays. He has also acted alongside the Big Bang Theory star Kunal Nayyar in a play in Delhi.
He has also assisted Bollywood Directors Shoojit Sicar, Ketan Menhta, and others in productions department and also handled foreign casting for Aamir Khan starrer Mandal Pandey. He is amongst the most watch Indian YouTube Comedian.
#19. Gaurav Gupta
Gaurav Gupta is a doctor, oh sorry, a dentist by profession. He started his comedy career in in 2010s and rose to heights when in 2015 won the 94.3 Radio One FM’s LOL Contest. Based out of Delhi, this Baniya comic becomes a Punjabi when it comes to jokes delivery. He has also won various other open-mic competitions.
Being a Baniya, he makes the most jokes about his community and you will hold your stomach laughing, he is that funny. Most of his jokes comes from the fact that Baniya are known to be stingy at heart when it comes to money. He uses both Hindi and English when performing.
As his YouTube reads “dentist by profession and a comic by recession”, he will leave no stones unturned to tickle your funny bones.
#20. Appurv Gupta
Appurv Gupta is a household name when it comes to stand-up comedy, he completed his B. Tech in 2012 and then pursued comedy, and he even performed in the toastmasters clubs in his initial days and since then have done over 1000 shows in India and overseas.
He rose to fame when in 2013 one of his videos went viral on social media and messaging app WhatsApp, but many people did not know who he actually was as he forgot to add his name in the video… what more you look in a comic? Hahaha
There are many more Indian comics who are second to none when it comes to comedy, YouTube, Amazon Videos, Netflix, Hotstar and other online streaming media platforms have helped these comedians come closer to their fans. So we recommend clicking on any one of the links above and start binge watching the comedy videos.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Question 1: Who is India’s No 1 comedian?
Answer 1: There are many standup comedians in India who are brilliant with their humour. One stand-up comedian who stands out is Zakir Khan. He is one of India’s most well-known stand-up comedians. His popularity grew following his appearance at AIB Day in 2016. He has a vast fan base all around the world, thus his shows are popular in many countries.
Question 2: Who is the best Hindi stand up comedian in India?
Answer 2: We have a plethora of great comedians that create unique and entertaining content to woo audiences. This has resulted in an increase in Indian stand-up comedy. Because YouTube has such a large audience reach, many stand-up comedians use it on a regular basis to broadcast their innovatively funny content on their YouTube channels. Abhishek Upmanyu is one of the best and most promising comedians in Hindi, and he will keep you laughing until the end.
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