By Hemant SharmaStand-Up comedy refers to comic acts and jokes rendered live on the stage in front of an audience. History of stand-up comedians in India extend from the likes of Raju Srivastava and Shekhar Suman who used to entertain the audience in the late 90s and early years of the 21st century. However, stand-up comedy gained wider recognition with the advent of shows like The Great Laughter Challenge and Comedy Circus which promoted numerous talented stand-up comedians. Today stand-up comedy is a popular genre of entertainment in India. The rise of social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram have catapulted a number of stand-up comedians to fame. Their live comedy performance and videos get millions of views on YouTube and other platforms. Let’s have a look at the top 10 famous stand-up comedians in India for 2025.
1. Shraddha Jain
Shraddha Jain is an engineer and RJ turned comedian who has become a sensation in the world of stand-up comedy. She is known for creating humorous content based on middle class life, her own observations in daily life and personal anecdotes. Her wit and energy and ability to connect with the audience is widely appreciated. Jain first ventured into stand-up comedy with short Instagram videos which soon became super hit among the audience.
Shraddha Jain regularly performs in her own live stage shows and is invited to numerous events like literature festivals. In the year 2024, she won the National Creators Award in the Best Creative Creator (Female) category.
2. Anubhav Singh Bassi
Anubhav Singh Bassi is a popular stand-up comedian who is known for creating comic content from ordinary life situations and delivering them effortlessly to the audience. He is hugely popular on social media with his YouTube videos garnering over 200 million views and more than 3 million followers on Instagram.
Anubhav Singh Bassi has performed stage shows in more than 35 cities across India. His first stand-up comedy web series named Bas Kar Bassi was released on Amazon Prime in 2023.
3. Abhishek Upmanyu
Abhishek Upmanyu is an engineering graduate who worked for a prestigious firm, Ranbaxy, before venturing into stand-up comedy. He entertains the audience by covering various everyday topics in a highly hilarious and witty manner. Some of his popular stand-up comedy programs are Delhi, Mumbai and Rich People, Marriage and Indian English and Friends, Crime and the Cosmos.
Abhishek Upmanyu has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube channel and around 1.4 million followers on Instagram. He regularly performs live shows in India and abroad.
4. Aakash Gupta
Aakash Gupta is a popular stand-up comedian and theatre artist. He first shot to fame in stand-up comedy by participating in the stand-up comedy competition named Comicstaan, emerging as a co-winner with Samay Raina. Gupta is known for his impressive comic timing, clever observations, relatable content and humorous takes on various issues in the society.
Aakash Gupta has over 4 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. His video named Sarojini Nagar was the one of the first Indian stand-up comedy videos to trend at number 1 on YouTube. He has done a number of national comedy tours till date.
5. Harsh Gujral
Harsh Gujral is a leading stand-up comedian and social media personality. He is known for his witty punch lines, impeccable storytelling skills and ability to find humour in everyday situations in life. Gujral has over 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and over 2.3 million followers on Instagram.
Harsh Gujral performs live shows in both Indian cities and foreign countries. He is jokingly referred to as Sasta Vicky Kaushal due to his resemblance to the Bollywood actor. His most popular video titled Shadi Ki Rasmein garnered over 21 million views on YouTube.
6. Gaurav Kapoor
Gaurav Kapoor is a former fashion management executive turned stand-up comedian. He is widely appreciated for his clean comedy, wit, observational humour and ability to switch topics smoothly. Kapoor tours the country and gives live performances, and also has multiple big corporate clients like Maruti, Yes Bank, Bacardi, Hindware and others.
Gaurav Kapoor has appeared in two popular web series, Pushpavali and Humorously Yours. He has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and over 8 lakh followers on Instagram.
7. Aashish Solanki
Aashish Solanki first came to limelight by winning a stand-up comedy competition, Comicstaan 3. He is known for his clean comedy and humorous and witty takes on cultural norms and everyday situations in life. Solanki does comedy tours of the country for his show, Good Boy Better Show.
Aashish Solanki runs a popular show on his YouTube channel named Pretty Good Roast Show where he and other comedians roast the guests. His YouTube channel has over 1 million subscribers.
8. Aditi Mittal
Aditi Mittal is one of the first female stand-up comedians in India and also one of the most prominent faces of English stand-up comedy. She is known for her thought-provoking satirical acts. Mittal performed her first solo show at the Canvas Laugh Factory, Mumbai, in the year 2013.
Aditi Mittal has appeared in a number of shows, such as Fools Gold Awards on Comedy Central, Phenking News with Cyrus Broacha on CNN-IBN and an American documentary.
9. Amit Tandon
Amit Tandon is one of the best observational stand-up comedians in India. He is known for his family-friendly brand of comedy, insightful observations, wit and charm. His show tiled Family Tendoncies on Netflix was the first Hindi solo stand-up comedy show on the platform and the first Indian solo stand-up show to remain in top 10 for 15 days.
10. Zakir Khan
Zakir Khan first rose to prominence by winning India’s Best Stand Up, a competition organised by Comedy Central. He was a part of the comedy group, All India Bakchod, and co-hosted and wrote a comedy show called On Air with AIB. Khan has released multiple stand-up comedy shows on Amazon Prime, such as Haq Se Single, Manapasand, Tathastu and more.
Conclusion
Stand-up comedians are reshaping the comedy landscape in India. Even though some stand-up comedians have courted controversies especially over obscene jokes, the majority of them continue to entertain the audience through their talent to make one laugh.