“People always want to know what my husband thinks of my comedy career. And I tell them that he loves it. He can’t wait for me to become famous and get on TV so he can finally press the mute button on me.” No matter how often Zarna Garg tells this joke during her performances, it consistently garners hearty laughter. “People enjoy that joke. Whenever I deliver it, couples in the audience high-five each other. It’s such a simple joke,” says Zarna over a video call.

Indian-American comedian Zarna is on a multi-city India tour with her comedy show Practical People Win, produced and presented by Fukra Entertainment.

Zarna’s path to comedy has been far from ordinary. From her early days in India to her current residence in New York, where she’s spent the past three decades, she credits her success to a twist of fate. ‘It’s the hand of God,’ she jests, playfully acknowledging her lack of ‘inner engineer’ in predicting this career path. “My kids suggested I record videos. When your kids say something, you don’t take it seriously. I thought this was probably a very bad idea. But my kids were very insistent.”

Mom forever

Zarna released informal home videos in 2019 on TikTok, which became popular. One of the defining aspects of her comedy persona is her identification as an Indian immigrant mom. Despite her growing success, she remains steadfast in this role, cherishing it as an integral part of her identity. “It’s who I am,” she asserts, emphasising that her jokes and stories stem from her genuine experiences as a mother navigating life’s challenges.

“I am an Indian immigrant mom, and I try to tell stories that relate to moms and kids all over the world, and I’m not only happy to have that spot, I’m proud to have that spot in the world,“ she says.

Zarna’s humour often revolves around family dynamics, including playful jabs at her daughter and two sons during performances. “We don’t take anything seriously in our house. This is who I am. And this is who I was before I became a comic. This is not new for my kids. I’ve been making jokes about this my whole life, “ assures Zarna, adding that her husband has a full-time career, her daughter studies computer science at Stanford and her sons are doing “serious things”. “We capture our real-life moments, and the videos you see on social media are filmed within two minutes at a time on my cell phone, with not even good lighting.”

We are like this only

A notable feature of Zarna’s comedy style is her politically incorrect, irreverent, and brusque approach. When asked about representing all mothers or speaking solely for herself, she clarifies that while she stays true to herself, she has found that her experiences resonate with millions of women globally. “I’m a boring and not cool mother at all. I want my children to become doctors. I’m constantly yelling at them about their homework and food, but no one takes my yelling seriously. They all think it’s funny. That’s how this whole career happened. I don’t just yell at my kids; I yell at their friends. I yell at their neighbours. I go to all their sporting teams. I start yelling at those kids because, in my opinion, everybody is living life wrong. I don’t know how to fix it,” she says, adding, “We’re going to be like this even when we’re 90 years old, we’re going to be grumpy and angry and we’re going to think everybody’s doing things wrong. And that’s OK because that’s who we are.”

A recurring theme in Zarna’s comedy is her humorous take on mother-in-law relationships, a topic that never fails to amuse audiences. She attributes the enduring appeal of these jokes to the universal nature of familial dynamics, particularly the relatable friction between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. “You are never going to run out of material, and you will never run out of people who want to watch it. It’s such an everyday experience; I have at least 10 to 15 years of stories ahead of me because the more I do this, the more my mother-in-law acts up also,” she says with a laugh.

I sell a vibe, not a joke

Addressing concerns about repeating jokes, Zarna emphasises that her audience values the overall experience rather than individual jokes. “It’s interesting how digital platforms have changed comedy consumption. We’re bombarded with thousands of jokes daily, making forgetting punchlines or specific bits easy. In this landscape, live performances offer something unique. People come to my shows because they like the vibe. I’m not selling a joke; I’m selling a vibe. People crave that personal touch, the energy of a live audience, and the feeling of being part of a community that laughs together, “ says Zarna, who gets requests to narrate a particular joke that they would have seen online.

Zarna Garg is the winner of Kevin Hart’s Lyft Comics and the 2021 Ladies of Laughter Award and has performed at Kennedy Center, Comedy Cellar, Carolines and has been featured on prestigious platforms such as Apple TV’s Gutsy series with Hillary Clinton, Tamron Hall, TODAY, the Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show and This American Life by Ira Glass. Last year, Variety Magazine listed her among the ‘10 Comics To Watch Out For’.

Relatable and relevant

While touring India, Zarna says her jokes will be slightly customised to keep them relevant to the Indian audience. “Ninety per cent of my jokes are global because I write for a digital medium. So I’m conscious of it when I’m writing. Most of the content is the same, and we make it relatable across the world.”

Zarna Garg deftly navigates the delicate balance between seriousness and humour in her family podcast, The Zarna Garg Family Podcast, especially evident in the first episode discussing ‘sex talk’. I find something humorous even when it comes to serious social issues. That is also the skill of a comic. Otherwise, we’re just having a TED talk. A professional comic can turn a nuanced topic into a joke. But at the same time, deliver a message. That’s what I do all the time.”