India’s creator economy: the YouTubers and comedians who built an audience

India has more YouTube users than any other country. As cheap smartphones and mobile data reached small towns and villages, a new kind of entertainer emerged: independent creators who wrote, filmed and edited their own videos, often in Hindi, and built audiences bigger than many television channels. Here are the people who defined that shift.

The sketch pioneers

Bhuvan Bam began making comedy sketches on his phone in Delhi in 2015, playing every character himself, and became one of the first independent Indian creators to reach millions. Amit Bhadana built one of India’s largest individual channels with clean, village-style comedy, while Prajakta Koli became one of the first Indian women to build a large YouTube following, later moving into films and streaming series.

Roasts, gaming and tech

CarryMinati became famous for fast-paced roast videos and gaming streams aimed at teenagers. Technical Guruji showed the scale of India’s Hindi-speaking audience for technology content, reviewing phones and explaining new technology in conversational Hindi.

Explainers

Dhruv Rathee built a large audience for well-researched explainer videos on politics, history and science, and became an influential voice among first-time voters.

Stand-up goes online

Stand-up comedians also found their audiences online. Zakir Khan became one of the country’s most popular comics with warm, story-driven shows in Hindi, and performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tanmay Bhat co-founded All India Bakchod, which shaped Indian internet comedy in the 2010s, and Samay Raina combined comedy with chess streaming.

From screens to stardom

Many creators have crossed into mainstream entertainment. Mithila Palkar went from a viral YouTube cover to leading roles in web series, and Kusha Kapila moved from satirical Instagram videos to films.

What it means

The creator economy has shifted power away from television networks and film studios. Creators from outside the big cities, working in Hindi and regional languages, have shown that talent and consistency can build an audience without gatekeepers. It has also raised new questions about content standards and responsibility — debates that will shape the next phase of Indian digital media.