Get ready for another laughter ride as our favourite stand-up comedians are back with more jokes to remember for a long time once again. These stand-up shows will not only make you laugh because they’re funny but also give you various perspectives on life, making the jokes hit close to home. 

Kenny Sebastian 

Kenny Sebastian is one of those comedians who will undoubtedly make you laugh but don’t expect offensive jokes coming from him. He picks up the relatable topics, even the topics you may have been bullied a lot about among your friends. But, he knows how to keep it light-hearted without making you feel bad about anything at all. At his recent show, he kept his jokes about height and how people of different heights suffer differently. This stand-up will take you back to the days of your youth and remind you of the childhood fun we all miss every day. Learn more about Kenny Sebastian by going through our interview with him!

Varun Grover

They say you need to be politically aware to be the right audience for Varun Grover’s stand-ups and they tell the truth. Varun Grover is one of those stand-up comedians where you can’t put your brain on shutdown mode and enjoy it without thinking too much. If you’re a sociology and current affairs enthusiast, this is the stand-up for you. As Grover makes you laugh with his witty jokes, he keeps his bureaucratic subtle commentary intact. Alongside, he also points out the dying cultures such as ethical journalism and the quality of government services. All in all, this is a must-watch stand-up if you’re into jokes based on wit.

Abhishek Upmanyu 

Abhishek Upmanyu entered the stand-up comedy space in recent years and received a lot of love due to his unbeatable storytelling skills. In his recent show, he dedicated a section to his life journey about why and how he entered the field. He starts with the obvious inferior remarks that all comedians receive in gatherings and get-together parties. As he tells his incredibly hilarious stories, he also touches upon the little elements that evoke more and more laughter. He rightly highlights the struggle of securing good employment and the anxiety it brings along. He also jokes about the very famous Bollywood nepotism and knows how to make subtle and non-offensive jokes about common disabilities. As Abhishek Upmanyu himself has speech issues, he uses his weakness as his strength and makes you roll on the floor laughing. This 40-minute stand-up comedy is packed with beyond comical and is a must-watch if you’re a comedy lover.

Zakir Khan

In his latest stand-up comedy show, Zakir Khan brings lots of laughs and relatable stories about love and life. He talks about the funny side of keeping your dating life a secret from nosy parents. Additionally, he tells how guys today deal with the pressures of being too macho. With jokes that hit close to home, Zakir explains why men sometimes struggle to understand and be nice to others, especially women. He also points out how guys might downplay women’s efforts in everyday things and exaggerate their importance. Zakir hilariously shows the awkwardness when guys try to talk to girls, making everyone in the audience crack up. He even shares the ups and downs of being a comedian and dealing with society’s judgments. This comedy special is a must-watch for a good time filled with laughter and a reality check on toxic masculinity. 

Anubhav Singh Bassi 

Anubhav Singh Bassi is renowned for his funniest stories and his storytelling skills. He does it naturally and is relatable to every middle-class person. His stories are unbelievably funny and make you recall “the young days” with your friends. Similarly, this one will also make you recall the days you might’ve felt economically inferior but still laugh out loud. His subtle references to here and there, everyday things, be it popular Bollywood movies, animals or your local rickshaws or so you say, ‘tuk-tuk’ make the jokes even funnier. This 8-minute stand-up is packed with laughter, free of cheap jokes and will force you to carry the jokes with you on your next trip to Dubai.

This stand-up comedy marathon will make you chuckle. Whether you want a good mindless laugh or some currently informed jokes, this marathon has it all for you. Keep your Friday night free and binge these comedians for a joyful weekend. 

After the regular 9 to 5, cramming work, and meeting deadlines, everyone needs an escape from the so-called “matrix”. There’s no better way to unwind than laughter. Here is a list of six humorous and relatable stand-up performances that you will love and a refreshing break from the usual hustle and bustle.

Siblings by Shashi Dhiman

Shashi Dhiman narrates her childhood stories with her three siblings. Her memories with her siblings are universal childhood stories we all laugh at during family gatherings. Her storytelling skills, fictional exaggerations, and renowned and funny relevances from around the world add more to the comedic element. 

Hate Holiday With Wife by Angad Singh Ranyal 

Angad Singh Ranyal’s recent stand-up performance on holidays and the memories you make during holidays also revolve around universal experiences. He narrates his memories and experiences, exaggerating the bits and pieces all 90s kids have experienced. While he dedicates a chunk of his performance to his married life, unlike many common married jokes, he successfully departs from misogyny, keeping the performance a light-hearted, laughter-inducing, and fulfilling watch. 

Stand Up Ki Duniya Mein Pehela Kadam by Sangeeta Reddy aka The Sweet 50 Plus

Sangeeta Reddy is a new stand-up comedian who is starting out quite late in her journey according to traditions. Her first performance narrates her urge to step into the comedy light of the so-called unconventional life. Moreover, she rightly points out the prevalent misogyny, sexism and consequent discrimination women in comedy face. What makes her performance an absolute banger is how she twists the tale to bring out the irony in complicated subjects while keeping the entire mood light and hooked. 

Dubai by Anubhav Singh Bassi

Anubhav Singh Bassi has gained an immense amount of popularity in recent years for his amazing storytelling skills that make you laugh in an instant. It is both his stories and the way he narrates that keep you hooked and laughing all the way through. In his recent performance, he describes his inexperience with the luxuries. It is something that every person from a middle-class family living in Indian suburbs will relate to.

Gold Digger by Shreya Priyam Roy

Shreya Priyam Roy takes a unique approach to money in her performance. Simultaneously, she reverses the narrative that shames women for their aspirations of their significant other while men have been abusing their liberty of the same through several patriarchal structures and customs. She twists them into a funny tale and a string of observations, keeping the performance nonchalant, casual, and humorous. 

Jiju Aur Jeevansathi by Aashish Solanki 

Aashish Solanki’s recent stand-up performance is the one that most people in their mid 20’s would find themselves relating to. One thing that is common in every desi household is the constant pestering of marriage and finding the perfect significant other. With marital apps like Jeevansathi around the corner, Aashish narrates the experience of finding the right guy for his sister. 

Childhood, was such a beautiful phase of our life, we didn’t care whether our friend was wearing Gucci or Rupa, we didn’t care whether our friend celebrated Diwali or Eid, all we cared about was the fun and frolic and the lip-smacking Motichoor ke Laddoo of Diwali and Gosht Biryani of Eid. That’s how simple and fun our childhood was, untainted by societal norms and expectations. And as they say, good times always pass by in a blink of an eye, and so did our childhood. 

Pariya – Swaraj Singh

Being an adult and still keeping the inner child alive is not something that’s easy or possible, but every now and then when we choose not to wear the different shades of discriminatory glasses that society provides us with, we positively contribute to making this world a better place for us and others. And that’s exactly what Swaraj Singh managed to do but sadly this trick only works when others follow suit as well, otherwise, you would end up being the only Pooh in a land filled with Grinches. 

Fairies are the most popular character in a child’s world, and as the fairy tale norm dictates, they must be in a white gown with long hair, a smile on their face and a magic wand that solves all of the world’s problems just like Doraemon’s magic pouch (Disclaimer: Fairies are capable of solving kid’s problem only, the adult world is too messed up for them to bother). But as we grow up we realise fairies come in a variety of forms, some have short hair, some long, some wear vibrant colours, others dull, some frown all the time while others can’t keep the smile off their face. And for Swaraj, his fairies came from a not-so-distant land but rather from a neighbouring country, Pakistan. A land with whom his country’s war never ended is where his saviour from dark times arrived. Even though they looked past all the religious differences that divided their nation and became two peas in a pod doesn’t mean the roots of those differences vanished. And just like the tree that once lost its branches gets rejuvenated if its deep roots are still intact, similarly, this tree of hatred also thrived as its age-old roots never actually vanished. 

Swaraj ends his heartfelt piece by making us wonder about the power of generalization that makes us think that everyone who belongs to one community must be evil, by reminding us that humanity doesn’t have a religion. 

Chappal – Parag Dubey

When it comes to discrimination how we hope it only comes in one form, but sadly it doesn’t. The story of Mahesh, a daily wage labourer, acts as a testament to that. Performed excellently by theatre actor Parag Dubey who manages to capture the true essence of what it feels like to help build something but not get any credit for the same just because you don’t exactly fit the type that the society has set, under 5 mins. Every human has a story to tell, and from the moment Mahesh enters the scene to the moment he left we can see how his life taught him that his story was not something that was worthy of being heard as he began by sharing how he was dumbfounded when somebody asked him to share his story but continued once that person gave him some prompt. And till the end of the video he stuck to those two prompts only and left us with the parting words, “bas yahi do bateein bolni thi, namaste” (Translation- Just wanted to share these two things, Namaste). Imagine humans who are considered the custodian of humanity making someone feel so less that they feel ashamed when compared with fellow human beings.

Storytelling is an art and very few people actually manage to excel at it. With the story of Mahesh (Performed by Parag Dubey) and Swaraj, both Dubey and Singh have managed to captivate the audience and make them wonder how selective is their humanity. 

Fleeting time shows us the beauty we have lived in our past and the desire to reminisce the memories. Looking back at them as a changed person with time truly shows your journey and how you have evolved. Presenting a set of beautiful stories retold. Captivating stories about first love, discoveries and interactions make you reflect on your past and experiences.

Girl Crush – Sheena Khalid

Sheena Khalid illustrates a narration of first love and its perception and impact on an individual’s life. The realisation and discovery of the moment and memory with a person who manages to make you feel a certain way, embedded in your head. Sheena’s delivery emphasises every single word she utters. Conveyed the feeling of jitters, excitement and nervousness she felt in the past. The people we meet in different phases of our life are sheer reflections of what we were and what we have evolved to. Sheena Khalid takes everyone back to memory lane reminiscing their teenage year and first love. She emphasises how we have a piece in our hearts dedicated to all, we encounter in our lives.

Love is Love – Swati Sachdeva

Swati takes a humorous tour of her experiences as a bisexual in a conservative societal space. Her stance of narrating her story in little innuendo jokes and trivial household humour leaves the audience in laughter. The delivery of her story encourages acceptance of all or hope of evolution in an ignorant society. She remains nonchalant throughout the standup sharing her past dating experiences and the hilarious assumptions she came across while at it. Swati’s approach creates a wave of appreciating and accepting people for who there are, love at the end of the day is truly unconditional.

Ek Ajnabi Mulaaqaat – Priya Malik

A tale of ‘Don’t trust strangers’ turns into a lesson to become a reliable one to others. Priya narrates her paranoia and speculation when she misplaces her wallet in Uber while returning from Australia. The worth of her wallet with all her essentials makes her spiral about the uncertainty of getting it back inclining towards the insincerity of people. Her conversation with the Uber driver who returned it back to her with utmost sincerity turns out to be an enlightening experience for her. The denial of any reward but as an act of his ‘imam’. In a world so selfish it’s high to initiate selfless intention and propagate ethics.

Woh Keh Na Saka – Mehak Mirza Prabhu

A mesmerizing poetry performance is telling a tale of love. Mehak portrays a beautiful image of unfolding her love story from the beginning. Her narratorial voice is immensely soothing going back-forth between what she remembers and what happened. The use of words, the trivial incidents and the influence they have on someone is so captivating. Mehak is seen reminiscing and reliving, her expression dripped with nostalgia giving a glimpse of memories she cherishes to this day. Mehak’s phrase,’ Woh Keh Na Saka’ has a beautiful story of the interior banter between them from her perspective showcased poetically. She ends her session with her composed song which is lyrically appealing.

Sure, everyone can narrate tales and stories, but storytellers have the magic to do the same. The lyrical and smooth recitation of these recollected memories and anecdotes weaves magic. There is indeed a tone, a narrative style, and a beautiful synchronization of the words in a storytelling performance. While we believe most stories are spun out only fictionally, it is quite wrong. Non-fiction and real-life stories teach us more about our world, our surroundings, and ourselves. Our experiences define us and the experiences of others become a medium through which we can view ourselves in the other person’s shoes. It becomes both a hope and a warning for us. Storytellers Priya Malik and Rakesh Tiwari share some small snippets from their lives. They bring out the essence of seemingly insignificant moments of life, and make us aware of the complexities and simplicity of life. 

Here we bring two of these storytelling performances by Priya and Rakesh. A tale narration which will win your heart, and maybe resonate with your soul too. 

Bade Hokar Kya Banoge? – Priya Malik 

Priya Malik is a poetry writer, poetry performer, and a storyteller. In this standup performance of hers, Priya gives us a glimpse of her life, who she was and who she is now. This is a story of passion, dreams, and desperation. Priya Malik wasn’t always a poetry writer, and she never even considered it as her career, even though she loved the arts and theatre from the very core of her being. Born in a middle class Indian family means one has to find a stable financial route, and unconventional career paths like acting, dancing, singing are looked down upon. Priya kept her artistic hobbies aside, and did all kinds of jobs, from call centres to teaching at the best school in Australia, yet her life was still missing an essential scoop of it. She still wasn’t satisfied. Priya, through her life story, beautifully laid down the dilemma in which we live, but at the end of the day, we must respond to our heart’s calling. Listen to her story, and you’ll be amazed to listen to Priya’s undulating journey, and how she finally reached her desired destination.

Papa, Waqt Aur School – Rakesh Tiwari

Rakesh Tiwari is a splendid storyteller and a poetry writer. His words bear so much thought, symbolisms, and metaphors. It is a treat to listen to his tales, poetries, and anecdotes. In this episode of another of his standup performances, he brings to light the mystery of time. Narrating his childhood days, back from 1999, Rakesh recalls about his childhood. Although he wanted to impress his dad with a good score in his board examinations, he failed with an average percentage score. Through this experience, Rakesh learns that time is indeed a powerful play. It is time which has the control over many aspects of our lives. You’d be fascinated to listen to Rakesh’s point of view, his perception towards time. And the ending of his story will make you look for the hope and comfort you thought you lost. Applause to Rakesh Tiwari for bringing such a thought-provoking story on time and its enigma.