May 14, 2026

What India Needs: Comedy, Censorship & Cancel Culture with Arvind Sunder

Send us Fan Mail Comedy in India can make you famous, have you cancelled, or even arrested. In this episode, Shutapa Paul sits down with comedian Arvind Sunder to explore the changing landscape of stand-up in India. From censorship and ‘cancel’ culture to social media outrage and the pressure of being politically correct, Arvind Sunder shares his honest take on what it really means to be a comedian in India. The conversation also dives into the business of stand-up, regional humour, the r...

Show Notes

Send us Fan Mail

Comedy in India can make you famous, have you cancelled, or even arrested.

In this episode, Shutapa Paul sits down with comedian Arvind Sunder to explore the changing landscape of stand-up in India. From censorship and ‘cancel’ culture to social media outrage and the pressure of being politically correct, Arvind Sunder shares his honest take on what it really means to be a comedian in India.

The conversation also dives into the business of stand-up, regional humour, the role of comedians in society, and why India needs to laugh more than ever.

Catch the full conversation on YouTube or listen on Spotify.

#WhatIndiaNeeds #Podcast #standupcomedy #comedyindia #cancelculture #censorship #indiancomedy #freedomofspeech #humour #comedian

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00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:28 - India’s unique sense of humour across cultures and regions

00:05:47 - Cancel culture, backlash and surviving as a comedian in India

00:09:30 - The craft of making difficult subjects funny

00:11:37 - The dream of reaching every Indian

00:16:24 - Is stand-up comedy in India actually difficult?

00:17:48 - Social media outrage vs live comedy audiences

00:19:30 - Comedy and censorship

00:21:57 - Dark humour, offensive jokes and a comedian’s responsibility