15 Jhakaas Stand-up Comics going viral around the world
We all know Mumbai is the hub of the entertainment industry. The city has given us some of the biggest talent houses which have made a name for themselves in India and the world. While the entertainment industry is vast, it cannot be denied that the comedy sector takes up a huge space of it, and every year we are able to see various fresh faces joining this ever-expanding empire.
Mumbai has produced some of the most iconic stand-up comedians in India and we at Engage4more have prepared a list of all of these brilliant artists-
1. Rahul Subramanian
Rahul Subramanian is a famous stand-up comedian from Mumbai. He started his comedy career with his YouTube channel, Random Chikibum in 2014 and performed at many live events in India and abroad. He also performed at the Kala Ghoda Festival and the Pajama Festival 2015 in “Comedy Race”, where 30 of the top Indian comics enthralled the audiences. He has won the open mic contests at the Canvas Open Mics, Pajama Fest, and East India Comedy Virgin Pants. Known for his wit and humor, Rahul is a regular at some of the top comedy venues in Mumbai like Three Wise Monkeys, The Little Door, Canvas Laugh Club, The Hive, and many more. He is popular for his punches on the middle-class lifestyle and was also featured in the Hindustan Times under, ‘Comedians who got most laughs’.
2. Atul Khatri
Atul Khatri is a veteran from Mumbai on the Indian comedy circuit. He started his comedy career at the age of 43, whilst still being engaged in his family business. He was the only Indian to perform at the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival in 2014. Once rated among the top Indian comedians by CNN-IBN, Khatri is also the winner of the CEO’s Got Talent Season 1. He is also a favorite among the corporate audience and people from high up the ladder, he was one of the three finalists at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival held in 2012. Also acclaimed for his hilarious YouTube videos, he’s one of the most successful comedians in India who brings a fresh perspective through the eyes of a 40+-year-old.
3. Amit Tandon
Amit Tandon is another famous stand-up comedian from Mumbai well known for his comic timings and punches. He has performed over 700 shows across the globe and is also responsible for bringing the popular comedy face-off show, Fight Comic to India. His comedy is centered around everyday life and he is noted for his hilarious and clean comedy. He also hosted a weekly show “Sannu Ki” on Radio City91.1 and was the first comedian featured on NDTV’s Rising Stars of Comedy. A regular at the ‘Best of Stand-up’ lineup at The Comedy Store, he was the runner-up at ‘CEOs Got Talent’ on CNBC TV 18, the well-known humorist and professional stand-up comedian, also known as ‘The Married Guy’, is a complete entertainment package for your whole family.
4. Abhishek Upmanyu
Abhishek Upmanyu is an internet sensation from Mumbai, with over a million subscribers on YouTube, who has constantly featured on Scoop whoop, Buzzfeed, etc. Abhishek managed to carve out a niche for himself in the comedy world in less than five years. Most of his punchlines end up becoming hilarious memes and if you’ve seen him performing you’d know why. His comedy shows, ‘Thoda Saaf Bol’, ‘Rotten Eggs’ and ‘Jealous of Sabjiwala’ gained immense popularity. The stand-up comedian, haiku enthusiast, and writer have a good grasp of both Hindi and English, he’s famous for his jokes on the urban lifestyle and trouble faced by the youth. His over-the-top comedy with original punch lines on topics ranging from childhood and Indian Parents to feminism and racism makes him a contemporary and observational artist and comedian.
5. Kenneth Sabastian
Kenneth Sebastian or Kenny is a well-known stand-up comedian from Mumbai, with over 1000 live shows across the country and abroad, to his name. He first rose to prominence through a YouTube channel that broadcasts clips of his stand-up shows. In 2017, he did a comedy special with Amazon Prime and in 2020 made his Netflix debut. He was also a judge in Comicstaan, a comedy reality show. He has performed at corporate shows for companies like Wipro, Infosys, Google, Adobe, and many more globally recognized brands. Famous for his comical representation of “Indian parents” and middle-class upbringing, and relatability with the masses, he brings humour to the most mundane routine things, making him one of the most loved stand-up comedians in India.
6. Sumukhi Suresh
Sumukhi Suresh who hails from Mumbai is one of the most versatile female comedians in India and is a popular face in various web comedy sketches. She rose to fame after portraying the character of an NGO employee, ‘Sumukhi Chawla’, in India’s first mockumentary-style series, Better Life Foundation. Sumukhi hosted the first season of Comicstaan and was a judge for the second season. She is famous for writing and acting in many comedy sketches, starring in movies, and creating viral videos on YouTube. She has also created the semi-autobiographical, Amazon Prime series, Pushpavalli. Hindustan Times referred to Sumukhi Suresh as “India’s Tina Fey.”
7. Angad Ranyal
Angad Ranyal who is a promising stand-up comedian from Mumbai has performed at over 700 live shows across 17 cities in India. He has also performed internationally in countries like Singapore and Malaysia. An engineer and MBA by qualification, Angad is a comedian by passion and heart. He was also invited as a speaker for TEDx Talks, where he talked about the challenges of taking up an unconventional path. He was rated as one of the top 20 stand-up comics in India by CNN IBN and was nominated for the Forbes Top 100 celebrities list in 2014. Apart from stand-up, he has also written for comedy specials like Comedy News Network, India vs World, Men are from bars and more. He has written events for LifeOK Screen Awards, IIFA Cineyug, and Indian News Awards. He is a clean comedy ideal for corporate events well known for his comedy punches on IT, corporate lifestyle, relatable humour about relationships, lifestyle, etc.
8. Biswa Kalyan Rath
Biswa Kalyan Rath is an Indian stand-up comedian who lives in Mumbai and came to prominence with a YouTube comedy series, Pretentious Movie Reviews with fellow comedian Kanan Gill. Biswa is an IIT graduate, who gave up his job to become a full-time comedian. He started doing stand-up comedy in 2015 and went on his first tour the same year. He is one of the main personalities behind the Comedy Hunt on YouTube and also co-hosted the YouTube Fan-Fest India 2015. Biswa has been featured on ‘The Rising Stars of Comedy’ by NDTV Prime. He is well known for creating humour out of any ordinary daily life situation and is popular among the young crowd for making jokes on unconventional and out-of-the-box topics.
9. Abish Mathew
Abish is one of the most versatile & popular stand-up comedians from Mumbai, best known as a former member of ‘All India Bakchod’ and as the host of his own comedy talk show ‘Son of Abish’. His YouTube channel has garnered over 90,000 followers from India and abroad. He has worked with a number of popular Indian comedy companies including East India Comedy, Weirdass Comedy, and The Papa CJ Comedy Company. He was featured in Forbes India’s list of successful artists, 30 under 30. He has performed at many notable comedy venues like New York Comedy Club, Lifelines Canada, and Utrecht Comedy Festival. He hosted the YouTube FanFest 2016 in Mumbai. His performances comprise of funny & original songs. He is popular for his versatile one-man sketches and Improv comedy.
10. Aditi Mittal
Aditi Mittal who hails from Mumbai is one of the first female stand-up comedians in India who has been rated amongst ‘India’s top 10 stand-up Comedians’ by The Times of India and is also featured in CNN-IBN as ‘Top 30 witty, intelligent and incredibly funny Indian women to follow on Twitter’. In 2009, she was one of the first 5 Indians to be featured in an Indians-only stand-up show called Local Heroes, organized by the U.K based ‘The Comedy Store’. Today, she is a regular at Canvas Laugh Factory, Comedy Store Mumbai & has performed at many humor festivals across the country, at clubs in the UK & at Laugh Factory, Los Angeles. In 2013, Mittal was invited by the BBC for the prestigious 100 Women conference in London. She has also been featured in the American documentary, Stand-Up Planet, along with American & South African comics. She was one of the founding members of the Ghanta Awards & the Filmfail Awards, two of the biggest parody award shows in India. She is famous for her unconventional take from the female point of view and hilarious takes on political issues. Her narration of social issues like feminism and misogyny through humour is a treat to watch.
11. Sorabh Pant
“One of India’s top 10 comedians” (Times of India), Sorabh Pant has done over 2000 shows in 100 cities across 12 countries. He is from Mumbai and has toured through India, South East Asia, the U.S, Canada and also became the first Indian comedian to have his own show in China, Singapore, and Bangladesh. He has two standup specials on Amazon Prime Video – My Baby Thinks I’m Funny (2017) and Make India Great Again (2018). He’s also an author and has written 3 novels, as well as 1 non-fiction book. In 2012 – he was listed No. 1 in the top 30 most interesting Twitter users in India. He is the founder of East India Comedy – one of the country’s biggest comedy collectives. He has been highly appreciated by audiences and fellow comedians; Rob Schneider called him “Very Loud! Killed in every city”, Wayne Brady said, “He is the second brilliant Indian comedian I’ve seen, after Russell Peters.”
12. Urooj Ashfaq
Urooj Ashfaq is one of the most sought-after young talents among the new generation of comics taking the scene by storm. She is from Mumbai and found her first claim to fame through the TLC show, Queens of Comedy, where she was one of the finalists and a comedy force to reckon with. Urooj has traveled across the country with her stand-up act and performed alongside some of the stalwarts, like Kanan Gill & Kunal Kamra. She has also worked on numerous projects as a comedy writer and put her best wits to use in both fiction & non-fiction formats (Better Life Foundation, Die Trying). She has also acted in multiple comedy properties (AIB’s If Apps were people, When some is sick sketches). She is famous for her effortless and crisp comedy. Known for her hilarious punchlines and jokes on the entertainment industry, she is one of the most popular youth-centric comedians.
13. Varun Thakur
Varun Thakur is a well-known stand-up comedian and actor from Mumbai who is the co-founder of SnG Comedy- one of India’s premier stand-up, YouTube sketch, and improv groups. He has performed at many live shows and has also anchored TV shows for channels like MTV, MTV Indies, UTV Bindaas, and a cricket-based show for the popular digital platform, Hotstar. He has acted in Bollywood films too, including the very popular ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. He is popular with the young crowd and is best known for his high-energy mix of acting, observational humor & impersonations. Those who know him love his alter ego on stage i.e. “Vicky Malhotra” and his hilarious take on society.
14. Abijit Ganguly
Abijit Ganguly is a stand-up comedian from Mumbai who has done over 2000 shows including stage shows, pub gigs, college shows, and corporate gigs. He has performed regularly in the ‘Best of Stand-up’ at Canvas Laugh Club, Indian Comedy Club, and was part of India’s first English stand-up festival ‘Weirdass Comedy Festival’. Abijit has performed for various organizations, such as American Express, Sapient, McKinsey Knowledge Centre, Deloitte, HDFC, Shell, Mercedes Benz, Dassault Systems, PWC, Sakri IT Solutions, Microsoft, Glaxo SmithKlein, and more. He is a multiple-time TEDx speaker & featured on NDTV Rising Stars of Comedy. His sets are observation-fuelled anecdotes and he is a favorite for corporate offsite, rewards, and recognition events.
15. Sahil Shah
Sahil Shah is a well-known stand-up comedian from Mumbai who is also one of the founding members of East India Comedy- a popular comedy collective and a YouTube channel. He has performed at over 900 live events, including performances in New York, London, Singapore, and Dubai. Apart from comedy clubs and sold-out auditorium shows, he has performed at multiple colleges across India and has also given a TEDx talk. He has been featured on Channel V’s “UR FIRED” and “The Front Row” on Star World and has written scripts for many notable award functions like GiMA, Screen Awards, and more. He is one of the most famous stand-up comedians of Indian OTT, popular for his rib-tickling jokes on observations of daily life.
These comedians from Mumbai are going places and reaching the top for all the good reasons with their skills and talent.
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