Laugh track: What's funny now

Comedy is viral on Reels. Stand-up shows sell out in small towns. Three Indian comics tell us what works, what doesn't and why the way ahead is no joke

- Urvee Modwel

Even five years ago, if someone admitted that they wanted to pursue comedy, reactions were different. Friends, family, nosy neighbours everyone worried if any money would come of it.

Then, in 2020, Instagram launched Reels, aiming to fight TikTok, but unwittingly giving all performers a platform. Funny folks didn't need a 15-minute show or a full house - clips under 30 seconds were going viral. Funny folks broke into mainstream entertainment. American comedian Matt Rife made cameo appearances on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Fresh Off the Boat.

Today, he has 6.4 million followers on Instagram,

For India, the playbook looks different. Viral fame is hard, sustained fame is harder. Bollywood has limited roles. Reels rarely pay. Comedians Amit Tandon, Abhinav Chand, and Shreya Priyam Roy tell us where the craft is headed.

Abhinav Chand
@RJAbhinavv. 4.1 million followers

Chand, 30, is best known in Delhi as an RJ, even though he left radio in 2018. He's been creating content ever since his former boss encouraged him to shoot videos in 2017. His video, Indian DJs vs.

Videshi DJs, had more than 5 million views in three days. He's collaborated with Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon and was among the first Indian digital comedy creators on the Cannes red carpet in 2022.

"I did five open mics after leaving radio," Chand says. "Two bombed, three worked well." What he needed was a formal platform for his writing, a tough ask in India. "Here everything is hit-and-miss," Chand says. Thankfully he's used to learning by himself.

New performers flounder because they lift published material instead of developing a style that comes naturally to them. "Analyse your work and find your comfort zone," Chand say. "Plan something with the resources that you have and experiment."