The Who’s Who of the Desi stand-up universe: Top Indian American comedians.
Gone are the days when a caricaturized Indian guy cracking silly jokes as a 7-11 clerk would be the only Indian reference in American entertainment. From Aziz Ansari to Mindy Kaling, a number of Indian Americans have become legitimate A-Listers in the past few years.
So, as the many shades of brown continue to dot the growing comedy scene in America, here’s a look at some of the top Indian American stand-up comedians.
Aziz Ansari
But of course, since we started with him, Ansari deserves the first name on the list. But Ansari making the cut to the top has many reasons beyond just this. Ansari’s rise to fame is the stuff immigrant dreams are made of. A brown kid decides to go the stand-up comedy way in New York City during the early 2000s. These are still the times that immigrant parents won’t look beyond medicine or engineering as a profession for their kids. But well, this is America and dreams come true here. The winner of two Emmys and a Golden Globe made history in 2018 by being the only Asian ever to win a Golden Globe for acting on TV. The comedian who has diversified into being an actor, director, writer and producer is best known for playing Tom Haverford in Parks and Recreations and for creating Master of None. He was first noticed in 2007 when he created and starred in MTV sketch comedy Human Giant.
Ansari was born in South Carolina to a Muslim family that immigrated from Tamil Nadu, India. Both his parents are physicians.
Ansari was on the TIME list of 100 most influential people in 2016 and continues to create history with his newer formats. Last year, he had his fifth comedy special, Aziz Ansari: Right Now, after the hugely successful Live Madison Square Garden and Buried Alive.
Read More about Aziz Ansari here
Mindy Kaling
As Kelly Kapoor in the hit NBC sitcom The Office, Mindy Kaling for many Americans, was their introduction to an Indian American actor on national television. However, not many may know that Kaling started off as a stand-up comedian in New York City after she graduated from college. She toured the country solo as well as with other artists as a stand-up. As a comedian, actor, writer, producer and director, Kaling became a household name with The Mindy Project. Her latest Netflix series Never Have I Ever, which depicts the coming-of-age of an Indian American teenager, became one of the most watched shows of 2020. The Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Writing in Comedy Series for her work in The Office is also the co-creator of the very popular series Champions on NBC. She is also known for her work Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu. Kaling also has a great voice works film career and was heard in Despicable Me, Inside Out and Wreck It Ralph. She also starred in comedies, The Night Before, A Wrinkle in Time, Ocean’s 8 and Late Night.
Born as Vera Mindy Chokalingam in Cambridge, England, to Indian and Bangladeshi parents, Kaling emigrated to the United States, with her famil when she was less than a year old. She was a part of the comedy troupe at Dartmouth Collge where she studied. In 2017, she gave birth to a daughter.
Hasan Minhaj
Minhaj won perhaps all immigrant hearts in one evening when he spoke as the featured speaker at the 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner. The Indian American continued to delight as a stand-up comedian and with his latest show, The Patriot Act, he remains one of the few political satirists who are effectively using humor to fill the gap between the society as it is and as it should be. The comedian, writer, TV host, producer and commentator effectively check lists all the experiences of a brown kid in America. He began performing stand-up comedy secretly and would hide it from his dad until one day when he was busted. Minhaj’s dad got to know of his furtive small-time performances when he was involved in a minor car accident on his way to perform, while his dad thought him to be at a nearby library studying – perhaps to be a doctor just like his family tradition! From small performances to being on TIME’s list of 100 Most Influential People for 2019, he has traveled far and wide.
Minhaj first rose to popularity in 2014 with his work on The Daily Show. His first stand-up comedy special, Homecoming King on Netflix got rave reviews. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj laid a new foundation for political comedy especially for an immigrant artist in America. Winner of the Peabody Award, Minhaj comes from an Indian Muslim family from Aligarh, India. His parents immigrated to California and Minhaj was raised in the Golden State. He studied political science at University of California and continues to make good use of his political science background in his comedy acts as he comments on everything from politics to civics. He lives in New York City with his wife Bina and a daughter.
Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu can be credited to being one of the first Indian Americans to explore the stand-up comedian stage. The actor, filmmaker and podcast host began his career as a stand-up comedian in Seattle during the early 2000s. His big break came in 2006 when he was spotted performing at Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival by a booker for HBO’s Comedy Festival. He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2007 and found instant success from then on. He performed a stand-up on the Late-Night Show with David Letterman. His many appearances on Comedy Central made him a popular name. He has also appeared on a number of British shows. His stand-up comedy albums have been a success but one of Kondabolu’s most important contributions to the American comedy scene has been the documentary, The Problem with Apu, which he wrote, directed and starred in. The documentary examines how Apu Narsimhan from the Simpsons went on to stereotype Indians in America. Kondabolu was born in Flushing, New York to Indian parents from Andhra Pradesh. He was brought up in New York.
Aasif Mandvi
Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, aka Aasif Mandvi, was born in Mumbai, India, lived in Britain before his Muslim family emigrated to the United States, when he was 16. Mandvi became popular when he began appearing on the Daily Show as an occasional correspondent. Mandvi, however, left the show in 2015 and expanded his stand-up comedy career that spoke about race and immigrant identities in the West. He won a Peabody award for his web series Halal in the Famil. His ever-popular Sakina’s Restaurant is an award-winning show. He has also been the actor and co-producer of the HBO series, The Brink. Mandvi began his career by appearing in off-Broadway productions. Having appeared in many films such as the Mystic Masseur he continues his stand-up comedy tours.
There are a number of other Indian American comedians, who are trying to break into the big circle. They include Paul Varghese, who is best known for the hit reality show Last Comic Standing; Vidur Kapur, a gay Indian American stand-up comic; Aparna Nancherla, Raajeev Aggerwhil, and Alingon Mitra, and the millennial Abby Govindan. Here are some notable others:
Russell Peters
Why is Canadian Russell Dominic Peters on a list of Indian American stand-up comedians?
Well, it is for one simple and powerful reason: He was the first comedian of Indian heritage in North America to break into the Big League. Because of that reason, Peters has inspired a generation of Indian American stand-up comedians. Secondly, he now lives in Los Angeles.
The Toronto-born Peters attributes his 2004 performance on the Canadian TV comedy show Comedy Now!, which was uploaded onto YouTube and became viral, as the turning point in his career. The Canadian Indian released his debut comedy album Outsourced in 2006 and a second DVD/CD combo Red, White and Brown in Canada in 2008, and in the US in early 2009. Peters made it to the Forbes list as the third-highest-paid comedian in 2013 with a whopping $21 million. In 2015, he ranked 4th with earnings of $19 million.
Dan Nainan
Bloomington, Indiana,-born Dan Nainan is the son of a nuclear physicist from Kerala and a child psychologist from Japan. He served as a senior engineer with Intel Corporation and it was during that time he accidentally came across the world of stand-up comedy. His performance at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas created an impression among the audience that he had been hired as a professional comedian. He also performed in this year’s All-American Inaugural Ball.
Updated on April 03, 2023The Who’s Who of the Desi stand-up universe: Top Indian American comedians.The Who’s Who of the Desi stand-up universe: Top Indian American comedians.
4 Comments
Literally no one in comedy likes Dan Nainan lol hes such a loser
NM
Literally no one thinks Dan Nainan should be listed with these other accomplished comedians. This article was clearly written by Dan himself. If you are a ligitimate reporter, why the anonimity? Step forward and identify yourself or this article must be dismissed as fake news.
Holy cow, I’m truly flabbergasted to be mentioned with these comics,They are far away more successful and well-known that I am (and much funnier). Thank you so much!
My website is down right now, so for booking information you can contact comediandan at gmail dot com or just call 212-414-2129 (office). Thank you very much!
Dan