How India鈥檚 booming comedy scene became a free speech frontier
Stand-up comic Masoom Rajwani performs a set at a Mumbai caf茅 June 20, 2025. He dropped out of law school nearly a decade ago to join India's growing comedy scene.
Fahad Shah
Mumbai, India
In a small caf茅 basement, stand-up comedian Masoom Rajwani is cracking jokes about a government-run school near his house.
鈥淭hey always construct a new floor just before elections, for votes,鈥� he tells the audience. 鈥淚 once went and asked the teacher, 鈥業sn鈥檛 this wrong? Isn鈥檛 this unfair?鈥� and the teacher was like 鈥楴o, this is how we teach maths to the kids! Elections happen every five years, the building has four floors: Tell me how old the building is.鈥欌��
The crowd chuckles as Mr. Rajwani wades into riskier territory.
Why We Wrote This
One of the greatest challenges for any democracy is to determine the boundaries of free speech. India鈥檚 booming stand-up scene is the latest battleground for that debate, as some comedians face backlash from Hindu nationalists.
鈥淭his is the state of the school, and the state of education is even worse than that. It is just propaganda. 鈥楻aj has five mangoes, Abdul has six oranges: Calculate when the Muslim population will surpass the Hindu population.鈥欌��
The room bursts into laughter and applause. But that joke, poking fun at the rise of Hindu nationalism and political leaders鈥� fearmongering of Muslims, could just as easily earn Mr. Rajwani a visit from the police.
India鈥檚 stand-up scene has evolved dramatically in the last decade, with Indian comics packing stadiums and raking in millions of views on platforms like YouTube. The risks have grown, too. Unlike in the United States 鈥� where a comedian might bomb a show or, at worst, get 鈥渃anceled鈥� because of an offensive joke 鈥� Indian comics have faced death threats, police complaints, and even jail time over sets that anger Hindu nationalists.
The country is already facing a broader crackdown on freedom of expression, which has targeted journalists, academics, and students who criticize the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Hindus-first political philosophy. Geeta Seshu, co-founder of the Free Speech Collective in Mumbai, says the government鈥檚 failure to uphold free speech has empowered right-wing vigilantes to try to police India鈥檚 booming comedy scene. She says these groups 鈥渁re easily insulted by satire, and lie in wait to take offense,鈥� forcing comics to walk a fine line between humor and controversy.
鈥淲e are not fortunate enough to have the freedom and maturity of Western comedy scenes,鈥� says Azeem Banatwalla, who has been a stand-up comedian for 11 years. 鈥淚 prefer to look at it as a test of my craft to dance along the lines that are drawn and redrawn by the powers that be. It鈥檚 all well and good to aspire to absolute freedom of speech and expect people to not get upset, but you have to be cognizant of the world and society you live in.鈥�
India鈥檚 online comedy boom
The rapid growth of internet usage across India has helped propel the country鈥檚 comedy scene forward. India currently has the largest youth population in the world, as well as the largest YouTube audience, with around 491 million users. A 2023 NielsenIQ study found that comedy was the most popular genre of content among the growing number of Indians who stream shows and movies on their TVs.
Mr. Rajwani, who dropped out of law school in 2016 to join India鈥檚 rising comedy scene, now has nearly 15,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 47,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts clips about feminism, Islamophobia, and other issues central to Indian society.
鈥淪tand-up is inherently antiestablishment and rebellious, which appeals to young people,鈥� he says, but in today鈥檚 India, that also comes with risks.
Using a Hindu deity鈥檚 name is the most dangerous, and jabs at politicians can also get a comedian in trouble with the law. Mr. Rajwani was once called to a police station to apologize for a religious joke that allegedly offended an audience member 鈥� a complaint that, due to a lack of evidence, never resulted in a formal case. He got off relatively easy, he says.
In 2021, Mr. Rajwani鈥檚 friend, comedian and actor Munawar Faruqui, spent 37 days in prison after the son of a BJP leader accused him and others of making 鈥渋ndecent鈥� and 鈥渧ulgar鈥� remarks about Hindu deities and India鈥檚 Minister of Home Affairs. Police found no evidence of Mr. Faruqui making such jokes, and the Supreme Court eventually granted him interim bail. His career has taken off in the years since, but danger still looms. Last October, Mumbai police upped the comedian鈥檚 security after a threatened his life.
鈥淭he audience will clap in a show, but no one will support you at a police station,鈥� says Mr. Rajwani. 鈥淏ut I think it is worth the risk. I鈥檓 as privileged as it gets 鈥� [an] upper-caste, English-speaking Hindu male from Mumbai. If I don鈥檛 speak, then who will?鈥�
Indeed, some comedians and free speech watchdogs worry that vigilante harassment is fostering an environment of self-censorship.
The Monitor reached out to over 30 comedians in Mumbai, where a mob vandalized a comedy venue in March over jokes criticizing the state鈥檚 deputy minister. Only four agreed to speak.
Responsible comedy
Akhilee Matta sees value in a little restraint.
鈥淐omedy should uplift, not offend,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f my parents are watching and celebrating my videos, I want them to feel proud 鈥� not uncomfortable or ashamed of what I鈥檝e created.鈥�
Ms. Matta spent over a decade in corporate India before her husband spotted that her wit could command a room. In 2019, he encouraged her to start attending weekend open mics. This year, she quit her day job to become a full-time comic.
Throughout this period, she has seen a growing trend of comedians being what she considers overly provocative to gain attention online. Some have appeared on 鈥淚ndia鈥檚 Got Latent,鈥� a YouTube show popular for its no-filter policy. In February, a police investigation over obscene and derogatory remarks led to all of the show鈥檚 episodes being removed from the site.
Hearing a petition regarding the show, Supreme Court judges acknowledged freedom of speech as a fundamental right, but stressed that it cannot be used to demean others. They indicated that 鈥渦sing filthy language is not talent,鈥� and that free speech 鈥渃annot carry with it the liberty to speak loosely on such serious issues and dismiss such statements as satire.鈥�
Online controversies have often helped comedians to shoot to fame, but 鈥測ou don鈥檛 need shock to succeed,鈥� says Ms. Matta.
Still, she feels that the audience bears some responsibility. If you don鈥檛 like someone鈥檚 comedy, don鈥檛 watch them, she says. 鈥淲e live in a democracy where everything is subjective, everybody has their own idea of comedy. I think performers should be a little responsible also,鈥� she adds.
Manjeet Sarkar thinks Indian comics, by and large, could be pushing the envelope further.
鈥淪tand-up comedy should challenge people,鈥� says the Bengaluru-based comedian, who is currently on a national tour. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a difference between offending someone鈥檚 comfort and disrespecting someone鈥檚 dignity.鈥�
His sets draw from his lived experience growing up as a Dalit, the lowest tier of India鈥檚 centuries-old caste hierarchy. Jokes about caste discrimination may not top vigilantes鈥� lists of triggers, but in India鈥檚 upper-caste-dominated comedy scene, they鈥檙e risky in their own right. Mr. Sarkar says he鈥檚 had trouble booking venues, and received backlash from both sides of the political spectrum 鈥� including from fellow comedians.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 not left vs. right,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 left upper caste and right upper caste. They all avoid talking about caste.鈥�
Overall, he tries to mitigate risks by resisting the impulse to shock the audience just for shock鈥檚 sake, instead rooting his sets in personal experience and historical research 鈥� and as long as he鈥檚 punching up, he鈥檚 OK ruffling some feathers.
鈥淚鈥檓 not here to provoke blindly,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 here to make it harder to look away.鈥�