Rajasekhar Mamidanna

Rajasekhar Mamidanna is an Indian stand-up comedian, improviser and writer born and raised in Hyderabad, Telangana, in 1984. He studied computer science engineering and later completed an MBA in marketing in Bangalore, where joining the public-speaking group Toastmasters helped sharpen his performance skills. He had performed mimicry during his college years, but a meeting with fellow comedian Nitin Gupta in 2012 pushed him to commit fully to stand-up comedy as its own craft. Starting with shows at Hyderabad's Cafe Mocha and college events, he built a reputation for clean humour, musical storytelling and relatable, self-deprecating observations, going on to perform over 200 live shows across Indian cities including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore. He co-founded the Hyderabad comedy collective Funny Side Up together with comedians including Rohit Swain and Umesh Somani, and later also co-founded the city's improv troupe The YesHoles. He has appeared on NDTV's Rising Stars of Comedy, given TEDx talks, and hosts the segment Crazy News on Hyderabad's 10TV.