MAM
Zakir Khan hits the road with India’s biggest comedy tour ever
MUMBAI: In a blockbuster moment for India’s live entertainment scene, Only Much Louder (OML) and TribeVibe Entertainment, a BookMyShow enterprise, have inked a game-changing deal to roll out Zakir Khan’s biggest-ever stand-up tour—spanning more than 60 cities and reaching 160,000 fans.
It’s not just the largest comedy tour by an Indian comedian, but also the single biggest deal ever signed in India’s comedy circuit, setting a precedent for scale, structure and star power.
From metros to mofussils, this laughter caravan will traverse the length and breadth of India, proving that comedy isn’t just an urban indulgence anymore—it’s a mass cultural movement. The partnership blends Zakir’s magnetic stage presence and OML’s talent stewardship with BookMyShow’s data clout and TribeVibe’s grassroots muscle to deliver what could be India’s first truly nationwide comedy experience.
“This collaboration signals a new form of cultural consumption in India, one that is ambitious in scale, yet grounded in purpose. It’s not just about doing a 60-city tour; it’s about proving that India is ready to host and celebrate live entertainment at this scale across its full breadth. At TribeVibe, we’ve always believed in democratising access to great experiences and Zakir, through his authenticity and connection with audiences, is the perfect artist to lead this vision. Partnering with OML to bring this to life feels like a natural next step in the journey,” said TribeVibe Entertainment founder & CEO Shoven Shah.
Zakir Khan, meanwhile, is clear that this is about more than just laughs. “This isn’t just a personal milestone, it’s a celebration of how far Indian stand-up has come. I’m grateful to be doing this with partners who truly believe in the power of homegrown stories and the audiences who’ve made it all possible,” said Zakir. “This tour is not just about performing in 60 cities, it’s about taking the art of Indian stand-up to every corner of the country with the scale and seriousness it truly deserves. For years, we’ve dreamed of comedy being treated like mainstream entertainment, and this partnership is a massive step in that direction. I’ve always believed in building something bigger than myself, and this moment feels like that belief taking centre stage.”
OML SVP Rishabh Nahar framed the tour as a bold blueprint. Said he: “This tour doesn’t just mark a milestone for Zakir, but serves as a blueprint for the future of Indian live entertainment, bringing live comedy to the cultural and geographic heart of the country. With this partnership, TribeVibe Entertainment and OML hope to lay the groundwork for a touring economy that mirrors the scale, sophistication and ambition of global markets, where data guides decisions, artists build legacies and where audiences everywhere have equal access to transformative cultural experiences.”
With its eyes set on both major metros and Bharat’s backyards, the tour brings Indian comedy into its most ambitious phase yet.
And if this deal’s anything to go by, the punchline is simple: local is going live, and laughter is going long haul.
(Main Picture: Zakir Khan -centre – with the OML team)
MAM
Kerala election ads surged in 2026, with print nearly tripling and TV up 52 per cent
Political parties spent bigger and smarter this cycle, concentrating their firepower in the final weeks before polling day
KERALA: Kerala’s politicians discovered something in 2026 that seasoned marketers have known for years: timing is everything, and when in doubt, spend more. Political advertising during the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 surged sharply across traditional media compared to the 2021 cycle, with print and television leading the charge, according to the latest analysis by TAM AdEx.
Print was the standout performer, expanding nearly 2.7 times compared to 2021, a striking jump that underlines its continued grip on targeted political communication in a state with some of India’s highest newspaper readership. Television was not far behind, with ad insertions rising 52 per cent, reflecting the enduring appeal of mass-reach platforms for shaping voter sentiment at scale. Radio held steady, mirroring television trends and reinforcing its role as a reliable supporting medium.
The pattern of spending was as revealing as the volumes. More than 85 per cent of all political ad insertions were recorded in the weeks immediately before polling, a concentration that points to a deliberate, last-mile strategy. Ad volumes peaked during weeks four and five in both the 2021 and 2026 cycles, suggesting that parties have settled on a consistent playbook of high-frequency messaging in the home stretch.
The contrast between media types was equally instructive. Print advertising maintained a relatively even spread across the campaign period, serving as a vehicle for sustained, detailed communication. Television and radio, by contrast, displayed sharp spikes in the closing weeks, deployed as blunt instruments for high-impact bursts at the precise moment voters are making up their minds.
What the 2026 cycle signals most clearly is a shift toward more structured, data-driven media planning. The increase in overall volumes, combined with sharper peaks in campaign intensity, suggests that political advertisers are beginning to think less like propagandists and more like performance marketers, balancing broad reach with targeted engagement and watching the returns closely.
Kerala’s election advertising has, in short, grown up. The question for the next cycle is whether digital finally gate-crashes a party that print and television have so far kept firmly to themselves.
