Just For Laughs: Hasan Minhaj, Russell Peters, and Vir Das to Perform at the Largest Comedy Festival in Montreal

Stand-up Comedians Hasan Minhaj, Russell Peters, and Vir Das are among a slew of artists slated to perform at Just For Laughs, billed as the largest comedy festival, held annually in Montreal, Canada. The anniversary edition of the festival, to be held from July 13 to 31, also includes comedians Peters, Patton Oswalt, Chelsea Handler, Jo Koy, Iliza Shlesinger, Marc Maron, Hannah Gadsby and Ronny Chieng will host galas that will take place throughout the festival. Kevin Hart and Bill Burr will headline the festival which also includes “several club shows that will feature a variety of special guest performers,” according to a Variety report.

“We are overjoyed to be able to bring the preeminent Just For Laughs Festival back to Montréal this summer, for a historic milestone festival” president Bruce Hills said in a statement sent to Variety. “We share in the world’s heaviness right now, and as leaders in the comedy industry, we are hopeful that we can provide some much-needed levity and premium quality laughter for all audiences, industry and artists planning to gather in Montréal this July.”

Produced by the Just For Laughs Group, the festival regularly attracts more than 2 million attendees. The event has served as a launching pad for the careers of many notable comedians, including Hart, Dave Chappelle, Amy Schumer, Kumail Nanjiani, Ali Wong and Pete Davidson. This year will mark the first in-person Just For Laughs festival since 2019.

Both Minaj and Das are currently touring in North America. Minhaj’s one-man show — “The King’s Jester” —marks his comeback on the comedy circuit, his primary claim to fame. It also marks Minhaj’s return to his “storytelling roots four years after the global success of his Netflix comedy special “Homecoming King,” which garnered rave reviews and won a 2018 Peabody Award.”

Das, who is currently in the country with his Manic Man tour, is India’s biggest stand-up comedian and a Bollywood star. He has now crossed over to become a global comedy sensation, filling an international vacancy for an authentic Indian perspective and being hailed by Variety magazine as a “Top 10 Comic To Watch.”

The Indian comedian and actor will next be seen in the Judd Apatow film for Netflix He was the first comedian from India to have a stand-up special on Netflix, which since resulted in a multi-special deal with the platform for them to be the exclusive distributor of his stand-up. Since then, Das has written and produced four Netflix specials in five years.

See Also

Stop the Fight: Don’t Exacerbate the Hatred That Has Kept Indians and Pakistanis Apart for Decades  

The most recent one, “Outside In,” was shot entirely in quarantine with audience members virtually attending from around the world, and he just received an international Emmy nomination for the special before that, “For India.”

Outside of his Bollywood films, Das starred as an actor in the ABC spy dramedy “Whiskey Cavalier,” the Randall Park and Constance Wu starring sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” and the Netflix series “Hasmokh,” which he created and executive produced.