Writer, author, lyricist, activist, poet, and stand-up comedian Varun Grover is a well-known name in the field of the visual medium. He has won the National award for the best lyrics in 2015-16 for his song ‘Moh moh ke dhaage’ from the movie ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar. This intellectual activist is known for his strong opinion on the current political and socio-economic scenario in the country. His work includes movies like Masaan and Gangs of Wasserpur, Udta Punjab, Newton and web series like Sacred Games among many others. His poem ‘Hum Kaagaz Nahi Dikhayenge’ against the imposition of NRC went viral to become such a rage that it was considered as the unofficial anthem for solidarity in the fight against oppression. A few months ago, he was also in the news for uploading pictures wearing nail paints while smashing gender stereotyping.

Grover is known for his political satires. Be it on the ban that the movie Padmavaat faced or the stifling environment overshadowing the nation, this razor-sharp humorist doesn’t mince his words while taking a dig at such an unfortunate turn of events. ‘Aisi Taisi Democracy‘, the part comedy and part musical show that he performs with Rahul Ram (Indian Ocean) and Sanjay Rajoura touch upon uncomfortable topics in the present scenario.
Through the veil of humor, Grover highlights those issues that are either covered-up or not supposed to be spoken about for being highly sensitive. This powerful and empowered artist promotes awareness by coating the truth with a dose of humor. There are very few performers who have the potential to create such thought-provoking quality content applying the genre of comedy.
This is the twenty-second post in the Blogchatter A2Z challenge based on the theme ‘Laugh in the time of Corona.’ I will see you on Monday when I disclose the featured stand-up comedian in my post for W.
You can read the previous posts in the series here. I strongly recommend everyone to watch this video to understand how jokes can also make you uncomfortable and hit your conscience while laughing out loud.
Padmavat ka to achchha-khasa band baja diya. No doubt about his talent. He is one of the rarest. 🙂
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Very true, Ravish. He’s a versatile genius. Thank you for reading.
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Varun Grover is my favorite comedian and film writer right now. Masaan is a coming of age movie in Indian cinema, one of the few gems with a dalit protagnonist. I love the female characters he paints.
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I love that song so much that I put it on a loop sometimes “yeh Moh Moh ke Dhaage”…I am glad today I know who was the lyricist…. All thanks to you 🙂
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Yet another great comedian. Although I had loved the movie and Deepika in it too.
But agree he certainly hit the conscience.
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I like the lyrics he pens! 🙂
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Do check out the video, if you haven’t done it already. He does amazing political satires.
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I did the one you shared. Could not go beyond half (blame myself for this and not sure why. :-P).
I saw his channel has 5-6 videos. Will check out sometimes soon. 😀
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I guess we could blame it on too much Hindi. 😁
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He he.. Being honest here. I have loved that movie. Could not digest the troll! 😀
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I love his lyrics but will check the video for sure. Thanks for the recommendations
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Loving your write ups. An avid fan of Stand-up comedy. It completely relaxes a working mind after a long day.
These comedians have the nerve to speak their mind out and have faced a lot of criticism on choosing this as their profession.
I hope they can read your posts. Not checked your Twitter shares, tag them on Twitter. Sure they’ll look. Out of 26 atleast 1 will.
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Thank you so much, Sristhi. I have tagged them individually while sharing the posts. Amit Tandon, Captain Nick, Abhijit Ganguly, Appurv Gupta, Random Chikibum have been kind eto like, RT and respond to my tweets. The rest are either too big or too busy to notice.
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Good one. I only knew about his standup and not about his national awards.
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Let there be more Grovers in a world that’s becoming increasingly prosaic.
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He is so versatile. Thank you for sharing this awesome video. Reminded me of so many of his videos I had seen some time back. So good to actually know the person through your post.
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Thank you for reading, Jyoti.
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I do not like his stand-ups as much but he is one amazingly talented person. When I got to know about his scriptwriting career, I was so impressed. You have indeed brought out an amazing selection here in the series.
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I have not seen his comedy shows but have definitely heard his songs
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Thank you for reading
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This chap is good. I haven’t heard of him before but the video made me chuckle. Thank you for another great recommendation.
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Thank you for reading aunty.
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Varun is a gem. But among all, Through the veil of humor, Grover highlights those issues that are either covered-up or not supposed to be spoken about for being highly sensitive. I liked this most. This act makes him different and unique. Lovely post Sonia.
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Absolutely right, Swarnali. He stands out from the crowd. Thanks for reading.
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I also liked the one who you said, does comedy gigs for bringing smile on children’s faces. It’s amazing!
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I love that song but 8mm not familiar with his other work! Thanks for the recommendation!
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I love his scriptwriting and never knew he was good up as a stand-up comedian too.
https://www.spoonsandsneakers.com/
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I knew about his contribution to Bollywood but never knew that he was a stand up comedian!
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Thank you for reading.
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Thank you for this post and for your subject. I’ve only just discovered your blog, so will have to go back and read. My Hindi is weak and Varun Grover is very witty and fast-talking, so I will have to watch it over and over again to fully appreciate what he is saying. J
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I haven’t seen much of his work. But I will definitely check it out. 🙂
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Thank you for reading, Shweta.
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