From the infamous laughing emoji on WhatsApp conversations, initialisms such as ‘LOL’ or ‘ROFL’ that are an integral part of Internet Slang, to feeling incomplete without scrolling through memes, and cracking up in the comments section of social media posts; we can’t imagine a world where we aren’t laughing about random situations at random times. And why should we? For starters, the science people of the world have already established laughter to be the best medicine and one that certainly doesn’t dig a hole into our health insurance.
World Laughter Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year to spread happiness in the whole world – which means you can go on a comedy-binge all day long! We’ve rounded up some fun shows and artists for you on Netflix, Prime Video and even Instagram; so all you need to do is press ‘play’. These are the comics who put the ‘fun’ in ‘funny’. We say, sit back and let them steal your week-long stress!
Ladies Up
Starring Kaneez Surka, Supriya Joshi, Niveditha Prakasam & Prashasti Singh, Ladies Up aired on the digital streaming giant Netflix on 27th March – just in time to entertain our quarantined selves! A women-centric show, each one gets 15 minutes to work their way into our happy hormones and send us into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
You should watch it because: of the female leads taking a no-holds-barred kind of approach towards their dating life and cringe-y people in the city of dreams. If you’ve been on a bad date or two, ghosted by the one you thought was the love of your life, questioned the existence of flavoured contraceptives and just men in general – this one’s for you!
Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies
Amit Tandon’s effortless humour has travelled to over 25 countries in person, and to a lot more virtually. Netflix took notice and brought him to the platform, and his viewership has been increasing ever since! Family Tandoncies is a hilarious spin on being a ‘married guy’ as he likes to call himself, but also on his life as an Indian.
You should watch it because: of the humorous take on an average, middle-aged Indian guy. Amit covers everything from being friends with an NRI crowd to the marriage version of romance. This show is definitely food for your desi soul, makes you say ‘true that’ a couple hundred times, and ensures that you are satiated by the end of it! Trust us, it’s as desi as it can possibly get!
Lauren Servideo – @servideo
Lauren Servideo, former television star turned Instagram comedian is, in one word – crazy. Making social media her primary medium of practice, Lauren Servideo serves up 30-second comedy shorts that are just too good to ignore! She tapped into Instagram’s extremely high potential for comedians and it has all been uphill ever since.
You should watch it because: of whacky attires, offbeat content, and extremely ‘normal’ but effective punchlines. Her Instagram feed is uncontrollably funny, and so is her mom. Head to her profile and you’ll know what we’re talking about.
Keep It Real by Kanan Gill
Kanan Gill is a household name in the Indian world of sketch & stand-up, and he never disappoints. Remember ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ on YouTube? Well, the boy in those videos is now a man, and one that makes us laugh till we can’t remember what we were laughing about. Taking over the Royal Opera House in Mumbai in his Prime show ‘Keep It Real’, Kanan Gill’s humour has once again proven to be gold.
You should watch it because: who doesn’t like to laugh about seemingly daunting, real-life stuff? Kanan Gill takes ‘reality’ by the scruff of its neck and brings it to stage along with him so he can make one, or a hundred jokes about it. In fact, the show starts with him seeking permission from his parents to tell their stories, and them asking him to go ahead but keep it real.
Biswa Mast Aadmi by Biswa Kalyan Rath
Again, remember ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ on YouTube? Biswa is the co-star of the video series, but also the knight in really basic armour who saves our day from all kinds of negativity! Alongside other prominent names in the genre, Biswa Kalyan Rath is really successful and highly sought-after! So much, that Prime Video made a whole show out of his ‘Biswa Mast Aadmi’ tour from 2015.
You should watch it because: seriously, who else is going to go on an angry rant about a banana? Or the woes of bachelor life? Or talk about laziness like it’s bliss? We can’t think of anyone except Biswa, who makes us visualise all his furious-funny observations with simple, heavily accented words and sends us into a frenzy!
Mo Gilligan – @mothecomedian
British, observational, and sassy – the perfect ingredients for comedy that actually makes you roll your eyes but also roll on the floor, laughing. AKA – Mo Gilligan! One the first stand-up comics to take to Instagram and make the best use of its ‘video’ feature, Mo Gilligan rules the platform’s comedy club. Want in? Head to his page for top-level humour.
You should watch it because: the guy has A-list fans, and an equally A-list sense of humour. Everyday things and people are nothing but a script for him, one which he really doesn’t need to work too hard on as it comes to him naturally! Also, impressions are really ‘in’ and these are the ones worth spending time decoding.
Meg Stalter – @megstalter
Another star player from the Instagram comedy league, Meg Stalter’s cutesy interpretations are winning hearts, undoubtedly! Her straight-to-camera videos are extremely viral on social media, and we also may have played a role in sending it to our friends’ DMs. This 29-year old comic is a performer in the truest sense of the term.
You should watch it because: of EXCEPTIONAL roleplay! We are head-over-heels for her famed video where she talks to her boyfriend ‘Mason’ but by looking into a camera and pretending to be a really difficult girlfriend or at least deriving inspiration from the ones that really are. This woman is sure to create a riot of laughter if you give her page a shot!
Just Keep Livin’? by Jen Kirkman
Jen Kirkman is a comedy artist with rave reviews! Best known for delivering truth bombs with a smirk, her act is going to feel really familiar if you’ve watched the Prime hit ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.’ That’s because she’s one of the writers behind award-winning series.
You should watch it because: as we mentioned before, there’s a lot of truth to her hard-hitting punchlines. She gets extremely candid about a number of real-life events ranging from solo travel to getting a tattoo at 41, life in 40s and street harassment. If you haven’t guessed already, she’s a bit of a badass and her act justifies her persona.
As Charles Dickens rightly said, “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour” – so keep smiling, keep livin’!
Happy World Laughter Day!
