Laughter is a part and parcel of life; it goes on as you breathe every day, every second. Sometimes you are so low, that even smiling becomes tough that you start to think what happened to you. Day to day people get stressed for various reasons, it could be because of peer pressure , college , work , wife , kids , there is no end to this sort of mental trauma one faces every day. But then, if life kicks you, you must get up and get on with it, whining doesn’t help. But laughter does. Thus, this is where stand-up comedians come in. They try to entertain you so that maybe once, you forget all the stuff that demoralized you, that told you to quit everything and made you feel worse than a kid who lost his ice-creams. Stand-up comedy is a rising art in India and in the past decade there have been many important people who made this art look easy. Making a joke is easy, but working it out in front of hundreds and thousands of people on national television is not a matter of joke. They improvise; they create and thus create a new source of lovely entertainment for the entire family. Here is the list of the top ten stand-up comedians that Bollywood and the Indian along with the global community has ever witnessed.
1. Kapil Sharma:
Currently one of the leading comedians at this moment, the Indian community certainly loves this man. Hosting his show ‘ Comedy Nights with Kapil’ he has made it possible for anyone to laugh. People enjoy his shows more than any other. Inventor of the famous ‘Babaji ka Thullu’ this guy has become a nation sensation. Many celebrities have been a part of his stupendous show .He was the winner of the third season of the The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and won the Comedy circus back in 2010. His ability to connect with the audience makes him number one this list. Every Bollywood star who has ever featured in his show has certainly experienced one interesting encounter and be it Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan or Deepika Padukone , all have enjoyed his wonderful company. He has personified the abbreviation ‘LOL’ with his show and his talent is widely appreciated not only on a national base but also on an international base. A few months ago his set of Comedy Nights with Kapil was burned down due to a fire accident but he evidently got himself together and his show is probably the best show in India right now.
2. Raju Srivastav:
A man from Kanpur, India, probably one the famous stand-up comedians that India has ever seen. He has done around 3500 stage shows all over India. He finished as a runner-up in the The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and it was then when his career actually took a turn. He is famous for his fictional character ‘Gajhodhar’.Raju was in the news recently because of his appearance on ‘ Comedy Nights with Kapil’ telecasted on Colors. Post Sunil Grover’s exit and Raju Srivastav’s introduction in the show, this news got fueled. The Indian audience finally got the glimpse of India’s two most successful stand-up comedians performing on the stage together.One of Raju’s famous acts is his play about Sholay where his charecter ‘Gajhodhar’ explains to his fellow villagers how his experience turned out when he went for a movie show. His voice imitations were also something that kicked off his performance to very professional standard.
3. Johnny Lever:
An Indian actor and on the most popular comedians of all time. Famous for his stupendous role in many movies making them extra-ordinary, his contribution to Indian comedy cannot be easily forgotten. Receiving 13 Filmfare Award nominations for the Best Comedy category, he has worked in over 300 Bollywood since his introduction to the industry. He did a lot of shows and world tours, one of his first biggest tours was with Amitabh Bachchan back in 1982.Sunil Dutt was the first person to notice his potential and capability and offered him his first movie, Dard Ka Rishta. He featured many of his films with Shahrukh Khan and back in the 90s’, there duo was very famous.
4. Saloni Diani:
She is claimed to be one the youngest comedian of Indian history. Facing camera at a young age of three, she never looked back. She featured in the movie No Problem as ‘Tuk Tuk’. One of her famous characters on stage is ‘Gangubai’ which circles around the Maharastrain culture and has mesmerised a lot of people.She has also released a music album for Disney and was a part of promoting Shahrukh Khan’s show, Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain. Back in 2010, she appeared in Comedy Circus Mahasangram.
5. Gurpreet Ghuggi:
A funny Punjabi actor, he has worked in television and films.Born in small village of Punjab, this guy has really a thing for comedy. He performed on different television shows like Hans Baliye. He considers Chacha Raunki Ram (Balwinder Bicky) his guru and he got his recognition from the famous show of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Being famous in Canada, U.S.A, New Zealand, Italy and other countries, he has worked in a huge number of Punjabi films.
6. Sunil Pal:
A man from Maharastra become famous when he won The Great Indian Laughter Challenge back in 2005.Popular Indian comedian , actor and voice actor is on number ten on this list because of his performances which got a lot a of praise from the Indian audience. Featuring 51 stand-up comedians, his director movie Bhanvao Ko Samjho was released in 2010. Recently he is featuring in minor movie roles providing some small laughter remedies. One of Sunil’s signature performances is where he imitates a drunken person and how he reacts to different things in his surroundings.
7. Sudesh Lahiri:
Famous in Punjabi television and films, this guy was on the top three finalists in the Great Indian Laughter Challenge season III back in 2007.He also played a side role the movie Ready (2011). His popularity mainly grew from the shows of Comedy Circus 2. At the moment he is a contestant in the reality show of Comedy Circus Ke Mahabali.
8. Navin Prabhakar:
A commerce graduate from the Mumbai University gets the number eight position in this list. Beginning his career as an actor and singer, he later landed up in stand-up comedy. Famous for his mimicry, he was one of the contestants in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and his charecter ‘Pehchan Kaun’ become very famous.
9. Bharti Singh:
Ranking number nine in this list, this actress and stand-up comedian from Punjab did a real good job creating creative jokes about her looks instead of targeting anyone in particular. Her health gave her a platform to entertain people. She was also the runner-up of the fourth season of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. One of her famous characters ‘Lalli’ gained a lot of popularity during her reign over stand-up comedy and recently she also gained a rank in national pistol shooting and archery. She was recently in news because she was missing from the shows of Comedy Circus because she decided to participate in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa which airs on another channel, but Bharti said it was she will be returning to Comedy Circus some other season.
10. Swapnil Joshi:
He first started acting on television later moving on to the cinemas; his skills to make people laugh are profound. Successfully completing roles in different TV series like Krishna (2005), Hare Kkaanch Ki Choodiyaan (2005), Marathi film Checkmate (2008) and Marathi film Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai (2010), Duniyadari (2013) he also made his first appearance as a stand-up comedian in Comedy Circus 1 (2007).