It’s been a big year for Indian comedy. Indian comedians took over the silver screen with performances in films such as Thank You For Coming (Dolly Singh, Kusha Kapila, Shibani Bedi) Sukhee (Kusha Kapila), The Great Indian Family (Srishti Dixit) and Jawaan (Viraj Ghelani) and performed at some of the biggest international venues (Vir Das at the Esplanade, Singapore and Carnegie Hall, New York and Zakir Khan at The Royal Albert Hall, London). The audience in India embraced live standup comedy as a viable entertainment option as well, with international acts such as Daniel Sloss and Trevor Noah selling out their three-city tours and Indian comedians including Samay Raina, Anubhav Singh Bassi and Harsh Gujral performing to packed venues across the country. Just ahead of Trevor Noah’s Off The Record Tour, BookMyShow’s analytics revealed that the ticketing platform had already sold almost one million tickets by the end of September. 

“Comedy is amongst the top 3 categories of live entertainment for BookMyShow along with music and sports,” Anil Makhija, COO – Live Entertainment, BookMyShow, told DeadAnt. “Among the various verticals that we have under live entertainment, comedy stands out with a spectacular performance having already exceeded pre-COVID levels in terms of business. Rising affinity towards the well-established, renowned standup comedians along with the emergence of new talent in the ecosystem has also played an integral role in contributing to the genre’s overall growth of over 2.4x since 2019.” 

Live comedy remains popular in metro cities, but interestingly the data also shows a rise in ticket sales across tier-II and tier-III cities. Vadodara, Nagpur, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar saw a 2x rise in ticket sales, Jaipur witnessed nearly a 3x growth and Surat and Indore experienced a remarkable 4x growth. “These markets offer a significant step towards democratising access to premium entertainment experiences,”  said Makhija. “We’re witnessing a broader demographic attending comedy events. While the core fan base remains strong, there’s been a notable influx of younger attendees as also families, indicating a wider appeal and accessibility of comedy as a form of entertainment.”

Makhija also attributes the growing interest in comedy to the COVID-19 pandemic when most of us tuned in to our favourite comedians’ live streams, watched their recorded comedy specials or caught their online shows. “The pandemic actually proved to be a great aid in widening the appeal of comedy as a genre and also providing stand-up comedians with exposure from newer markets as well as from newer audiences within existing markets,” he said. “This translated naturally to better performing shows on-ground in the past few years with comedy shows finding new takers.” 

The success of Daniel Sloss and Trevor Noah’s India tours also makes Makhija excited about the future of comedy in the country. “Their success [Sloss and Noah’s] is a clear indication of the growing appetite for global entertainment in the Indian market amongst a vibrant and diverse audience here and it is evident that this is not limited to specific genres of live entertainment alone,” he said. “Furthermore, it’s a big win for the talent within the Indian entertainment ecosystem who are crucial for sustained success in this category as they increasingly grow to explore new opportunities along with global talent in this dynamic and growing market while also expanding their footprint globally.” 

However, live comedy in India still has some hurdles to face—the biggest one being catering to the diverse population of our country. “Understanding the nuances of these audiences and catering to different demographics remains an area that requires constant chipping away at, for certain audience demographics,” Makhija told us. “With collaborations, strategic partnerships and a deep understanding of the Indian entertainment landscape, we are working towards shaping a thriving future for standup comedy in India.”