Zakir Khan, born on 20 August 1987, is an Indian stand-up comedian who rose to popularity in 2012 after winning Comedy Central’s competition India’s Best Stand Up. He has released five hour-long stand-up specials on Amazon Prime Video: Haq Se Single (2017), Kaksha Gyarvi (2018), Tathastu (2022), Mannpasand (2023) and Delulu Express (2025).
He was born and raised in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, into a Rajasthani Muslim family of classical musicians, and he is the grandson of the sarangi maestro Ustad Moinuddin Khan. He spent a large part of his adult life in Delhi, comes from a humble background and credits his father with supporting his talent. He holds a diploma in sitar and is a college dropout, and has said that if he had not become a comedian he would have been a music teacher.
After his 2012 win, he became part of India’s stand-up circuit and also ghostwrote and produced radio shows. His style was praised in NDTV Prime’s The Rising Stars of Comedy. He is known for the punchline “Sakht Launda”, a humorous reference to a man with strong self-control who resists romantic advances, and for anecdotal comedy, with an audience on YouTube of more than seven million subscribers. In 2015 he co-hosted and wrote On Air With AIB, a news comedy show on Star World, with Sorabh Pant and Gursimran Khamba of the All India Bakchod group, and he co-hosted the fifth annual Golden Kela Awards.
He has also written and starred in the Amazon Prime web series Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare, and he featured with Bhuvan Bam in the first season of One Mic Stand. In September 2017 he was one of three mentors, with Mallika Dua and Hussain Dalal, for the fifth season of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, judged by Akshay Kumar, and he was a judge on the second and third seasons of Comicstaan, where he mentored contestants in anecdotal comedy.
Khan is also an emerging Urdu poet. He has presented his poetry at events such as Rekhta, and the first poem he wrote, “Mai Soonya Pe Sawar Hoon”, was composed on a train journey to Delhi. His other poems include “Apne Aap Ke Bhi Piche Khara Hoon Main” and “Bus Ka Intezar Karte Huye”. He hosts the show Farzi Mushaira on Amazon miniTV and created and hosts the podcast series Ummeed on Gaana, in which he shares stories with fellow comedians.
On 17 August 2025 he performed a sold-out show of about 6,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York, becoming the first Indian artist to perform a show entirely in Hindi at the venue. Fellow comedian Hasan Minhaj, who attended, called it a “historic night for comedy worldwide”, according to reports.
In January 2026 Khan announced an extended break from live comedy performances, citing health concerns and personal reasons. He said the break could last three to five years, possibly until 2030, with the final shows of his ‘Papa Yaar’ tour scheduled through June 2026. His career, from a sitar student in Indore to Madison Square Garden, has made him one of the best-known voices of Hindi stand-up.
Featured image: Zakir Khan, stand-up comedian (file photo, December 2017). Photo by Panigrahiasmitku, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
