Desi Comedy Fest to Conclude 2026 Nationwide Tour with Southern California Shows November 5–8

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Four performances in Ontario, Hollywood and Irvine will feature distinct South Asian comedy lineups, with the final show taking place on Diwali.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Desi Comedy Fest, a South Asian stand-up comedy festival founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014, will conclude its 2026 nationwide tour with four performances in Ontario, Hollywood and Irvine from November 5–8. The final show, at Irvine Improv on November 8, coincides with Diwali, the festival of lights.

The Southern California engagement follows performances earlier this year in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Chicago, six San Francisco Bay Area cities and three Texas cities. Since its founding, Desi Comedy Fest has featured more than 200 comedians and entertained nearly 20,000 attendees across more than 30 cities in three countries.

The festival's co-founders, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni, reflect the varied cultural experiences represented in its lineups. Koletkar is a Jewish comedian born in Mumbai who performs internationally as Mahatma Moses and was dubbed “The Indian Seinfeld” by The Indian Express. Nadkarni is a Hindu third-culture kid who grew up between Delhi, Doha and Bangalore. A Just For Laughs New Face, his comedy special Brown Jesus streams on Amazon Prime Video.

The participating comedians bring a range of cultural backgrounds and professional experiences. Ahmed Bharoocha, who is half Pakistani and half Irish, has appeared on Conan and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Kiran Deol is an Indian American comedian with Punjabi roots, born in England and raised in Florida. Shaman Johal is Nicaraguan-Indian-American and has appeared on Laughs on FOX. Pallavi Gunalan pursued stand-up comedy after working in biomedical engineering.

Other performers include Rajiv Satyal, who has performed on all seven continents; Feraz Ozel, who has appeared on Conan; Zahid Dewji, a former writer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; Fizaa Dosani, who has performed at Netflix Is a Joke Festival; DJ Sandhu, who has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; and Aliya Kanani, who has appeared at Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
From the Bay Area to a Nationwide Festival

The festival's story began in 2013, when Koletkar, troubled by tensions between Indian and Pakistani communities in the Bay Area and back in India, decided to defuse those tensions through laughter. He brought Indian and Pakistani comedians together for shows around their countries' Independence Days, just one day apart.

In 2014, Koletkar and Nadkarni turned that idea into Desi Comedy Fest, launching with four sold-out shows in the San Francisco Bay Area. The festival has since expanded to performances across the United States and internationally, including an appearance at Just For Laughs Vancouver in 2024.
"Your phone gives you a comments section. A comedy club gives you a room," said Nadkarni. "It's a lot more fun laughing together than arguing with strangers."

The Southern California performances mark the final dates of the festival's 2026 touring schedule. The Irvine performance takes place on Diwali, a holiday celebrated by communities around the world.

Southern California Performance Schedule

Thursday, November 5 | 8 PM | Ontario Improv
Ahmed Bharoocha, Rajiv Satyal, Pallavi Gunalan, DJ Sandhu, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni.

Friday, November 6 | 7:30 PM | Hollywood Improv
Kiran Deol, Feraz Ozel, Zahra Ali, Shilpa Das, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni.

Friday, November 6 | 9:30 PM | Hollywood Improv
Pardis Parker, Zahid Dewji, Aliya Kanani, DJ Sandhu, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni.

Sunday, November 8 | 6 PM | Irvine Improv
Fizaa Dosani, Shaman Johal, Priya Puram, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni.

All performances are in English. Additional event information is available at www.DesiComedyFest.com.

About Desi Comedy Fest
Founded in 2014 by comedians Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni, Desi Comedy Fest showcases South Asian comedic voices through performances in the United States and internationally. Since its inaugural four-show Bay Area festival, it has featured more than 200 comedians and entertained nearly 20,000 attendees across more than 30 cities in three countries.

Samson Koletkar
Desi Comedy Fest
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