Draft:Manjeet Sarkar

Manjeet Sarkar is an Indian stand-up comedian widely recognized for his satirical and anecdotal style of comedy. His performances are notable for addressing topics such as caste, capitalism, millennials, and rural life in India.

Early Life
Sarkar was born and raised in a village in the Nawarangpur District of Odisha, Eastern India. He pursued his Bachelor of Pharmacy at the Roland Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Berhampur, and obtained a post-graduate business degree from ISBR Business School in Bengaluru.

Career
Based in Bengaluru, Sarkar has been a regular performer at various comedy clubs and venues in the city since 2018. His debut performance took place at an Open Mic event hosted by The Habitat - Comedy and Music Cafe in Mumbai. In August 2022, a viral Instagram reel featuring Sarkar jokingly advising upper-caste audience members gained significant attention. Subsequently, he received coverage from The Guardian, The Print, Brut, Christian Science Monitor, Asia News, and more.

In December 2023, Sarkar was one of the first stand-up comedian to represent India at the United Nations. He performed as part of the global line-up for A Night of Comedy to Stand-Up For Human Rights hosted in Bangkok by the UN Human Rights Office. He subsequently launched his Untouchable World Tour in 2024, where Sarkar performs his stand-up solo and screens his first featured length documentary Untouchable: Laughing Out Caste.

Untouchable Tour
In October 2022, following his viral reel, Sarkar announced his nationwide tour, "Untouchable." This 60-minute stand-up comedy show delves into Sarkar’s upbringing, his absurd experiences, and a series of observations on village life and metropolitan life. Notably, Sarkar is the first comedian from the Dalit community, from Bengaluru, and from rural India to announce an all-India tour. The fourth and final leg of the "Untouchable" tour in India concluded in December 2023. The show was reviewed by popular Indian media outlet The Print.

In 2024, Sarkar launched his global tour of Untouchable. This decision to take the tour across the world was covered by various media platforms, including Deadant Comedy.

Untouchable: Laughing Out Caste Documentary
Untouchable: Laughing Out Caste is Sarkar’s first documentary that covers his groundbreaking journey across India and the world, capturing his unique perspective on rural and urban life, caste, and class. The film highlights the universality of issues faced by marginalised communities and the transformative power of artistic expression. Untouchable: Laughing Out Caste is codirected by Mike Noone, Boston-based photographer.

The film is scheduled for official public release in 2025. In 2024, early drafts were screened at Art, Unfettered festival in Chennai, India, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and Melahuset in Oslo, Norway as part of the Untouchable World Tour. The film has been featured by Platform Magazine and A-magasinet. After attending the screening in Oslo, the Director of the International Dalit Solidarity Network also released a review.