Pune-based comedian Tarang Hardikar brings stories from India to NZ comedy stage

The New Zealand International Comedy Festival is back, bringing its mix of talent to stages across Auckland and Wellington. Among this year’s line-up is Indian comedian Tarang Hardikar, who is ready to introduce Kiwi audiences his distinctly observational style.

Based in Pune, Hardikar has built a reputation across India for comedy that leans into the everyday, dissecting the ordinary and turning it into something sharply funny. Now, he’s taking that perspective international with If I’m Not Wrong, his first solo hour and debut global tour. The show will run at Q Theatre from 7–9 May as part of the festival.

“I was in a state board school and I had always been into creative things like I used to write songs from a young age, make different games so when I discovered comedy it was yet another way to express myself."

That creative instinct carries through his latest set, which blends anecdotes from his childhood with a running thread of curiosity about the world. The questions he poses are as random as they are relatable: Why has no one ever seen a growing coconut tree? Why is the biggest prize in sports a cup? Why didn't you keep the paneer in the fridge?

“I do a lot of observations mixed with stories from school from when I was in India which is I think a common experience Indian children have shared,” Hardikar explains about his upcoming act.

If I’m Not Wrong sees Hardikar revisiting those early experiences and unpacking how they’ve shaped his thinking and humour.

“It’s mixed with detailed observations about math, language and everything in between.”

His path into comedy started early. At 18, after years of writing plays in school, he began leaning more deliberately into humour.

“I used to write plays in school and other classmates would act in it. “I was tired of the serious plays so I would add humour in them for our own joy and that’s what got me into writing comedy”

From there, his first performances in college included impressions, many inspired by comedians he admired at the time. But over time, that evolved into something more personal.

“I think the more I started doing it the more I found comfortable just being myself on stage,” Hardikar shared.

That comfort has shaped his voice today, one rooted in close observation and a fascination with how things work.

Hardikar says that the inspiration of most of his humour comes from making the ordinary funny as he enjoys “dissecting things like language and the origin on things.”

Still, he’s candid about the trial-and-error nature of stand-up. Not every joke lands, and he’s learned to sit with that.

Sharing his comic journey, he told The Indian Weekender that if something like this happens, he gives it a break and pick it up again to get it back.

His New Zealand shows mark a first visit to the country, and the trip is about more than just the stage. A fan of The Lord of the Rings, Hardikar is hoping to visit Hobbiton movie set while he’s here.

“I also like being in nature and I know New Zealand has lots of great treks,” he shared.

As for the show itself, it’s still evolving. Hardikar has been actively refining the material, adding, removing, and reshaping bits to keep the performance fresh.

While some jokes are tailored with universal appeal, he notes that material specific to Kiwi and Kiwi-Indian audiences will come with time.

For now, he’s inviting audiences to meet him halfway, somewhere between laughter and reflection.

“Come prepared for laughs and some thinky observations and story that will take turns you may not expect.”

And with years of experience now behind him, even the writing process has begun to shift.

His jokes, he explains the process, now takes less time because he now feels freer on stage to come up with the framing.

To book your tickets, visit here.