Anubhav Singh Bassi’s Cheating crosses 100 million YouTube views

MUMBAI: From exam-room mischief to a 100-million-view milestone, Anubhav Singh Bassi’s Cheating has turned a tale of collective copying into a case of collective viewing. The stand-up video has crossed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the first standalone long-form comedy video by an individual comedian in India to achieve the feat.

Uploaded in April 2019, the video draws on Bassi’s college days, recounting how he and his friends planned “samuhik cheating” during examinations. What began as an attempt to build an audience, boost live ticket sales and get a few shows on the calendar has since become one of Indian stand-up comedy’s biggest digital success stories.

Bassi, a lawyer-turned-UPSC aspirant-turned-comedian, built his appeal through anecdotal humour, familiar situations and an unhurried storytelling style. Cheating struck a chord with viewers in India and overseas, with its punchlines and college nostalgia continuing to find new audiences seven years after its release.

The milestone is not a one-video wonder. According to the information shared alongside the announcement, four of the five most-watched standalone stand-up comedy videos on YouTube in India belong to Bassi.

Cheating leads the list, followed by Roommate and Hostel in second and third place, respectively. The figures underline the staying power of his storytelling-led comedy, where everyday experiences often provide the material for jokes that travel well beyond the stage.

Reacting to the achievement, Bassi said he had never expected the video to reach 100 million views. When he uploaded it, he had hoped for five million views to give his live ticket sales a push and help get his career started.

He said he was particularly surprised that audiences continued to relate to the video after seven years, adding that people in their 50s and 60s had told him they connected with it, just as their grandchildren did.

Bassi also recalled assuming that music videos, particularly Punjabi songs, were the usual contenders for the 100-million-view mark. When Cheating reached 80 million views, he wondered whether stand-up comedy had grown enough to command such an audience.

Bassi credited the achievement to the wider stand-up community, thanking senior performers, peers and younger comedians for helping the industry grow. He described the milestone as a moment for performers across cities, rather than just an individual accomplishment, and expressed hope that more comedy videos and specials would join the 100-million-view club.

He also said the record had been registered with the Guinness Book, adding that formal recognition would make the achievement even more exciting. No independent confirmation of a Guinness World Records title was provided in the announcement.

Bassi continues to perform his solo stand-up show Kisi Ko Batana Mat, which is scheduled for release later this year. Yet the video that helped introduce him to a wider audience continues to draw viewers, showing how a story rooted in college mischief can outlast the moment that inspired it.

Seven years after its upload, Cheating has crossed a milestone that reflects not only Bassi’s reach but also the growing audience for long-form stand-up comedy on YouTube. In this exam story, the numbers are in — and the punchline has lasted far longer than the college years.