OdessaProsser28 at 09:42, 18 February 2026

2026-02-18T09:42:45Z

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{{Short description|Indian stand-up comedian, actor and YouTuber}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kanan Gill
| image = [[File:Kanan Gill trailer launch Noor.jpg| 200px]]
| image_size =
| caption = Kanan Gill in May 2019
| native_name_lang =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1989|12|24}}
| birth_place = [[Bareilly]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| height = 175 cm
| alma_mater = [[M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology|MSRIT]] ([[Bachelor of Engineering|B.E.]])
| occupation = Comedian actor [[youtuber]]
| years_active = 2013–present
| website =
}}
'''Kanan Singh Gill''' is an Indian comedian, actor, author and [[YouTuber]]. He won the Punch Line Bangalore Competition. He is known for the YouTube series ''Pretentious Movie Reviews''<ref>{{cite web|title=Pretentious Movie Reviews | url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVmwHEj8mVmAkqqZjD8EKEY2iawIVHg3G|via=YouTube|accessdate= 5 August 2017}}</ref> where he reviews [[campy]] [[Bollywood]] films along with fellow stand-up comedian [[Biswa Kalyan Rath]]. He was one of the main personalities behind the YouTube Comedy Hunt and also co-hosted the YouTube FanFest India. In 2017, he released his own one-hour comedy special, ''Keep It Real on [[Amazon Prime Video]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Improvisers: Something from Nothing|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8259604/|access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> He made his debut on the big screen with the movie [[Noor (2017 film)|Noor]], alongside Sonakshi Sinha. In 2018, he was also a judge on [[Comicstaan]], a comedic reality TV show, on Amazon Prime Video. He released his new special ''Is this it?'' on YouTube in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-10 |title=Kanan Gill's Is This It? review: Crisis comedy for the anxious age |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/kanan-gill-is-this-it-review-crisis-comedy-for-the-anxious-age-17164721.htm/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=CNBCTV18 |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Kanan was born in [[Bareilly]] to a [[Sikhism|Sikh]] family and spent his early years in [[Dehradun]] and Delhi. His father Charanjit Singh Gill, an officer with the [[Indian Army]] was also the principal of [[Bangalore Military School|Rashtriya Military School, Bangalore]]. At an early age, he moved to [[Bengaluru]] with his family. He did his schooling at [[Ahlcon Public School]], New Delhi and [[The Frank Anthony Public School, Bengaluru]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Take it from Gill | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/take-it-from-gill/article6112500.ece|work=The Hindu| date=13 June 2014|accessdate=14 June 2014| last1=Rodricks| first1=Allan Moses}}</ref> He pursued a [[Bachelor of Engineering|B.E.]] degree in Computer Science at [[MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology]]. He was a part of a band where he later became the lead singer when he started writing "funny songs".

==Career==
Kanan worked as a software engineer at Exeter Group Inc., for three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Stand Up Comedian: Kanan Gill |url=https://www.liveinstyle.com/stand-up-comedy/bio/kanan-gill |accessdate=14 August 2018 |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814232759/https://www.liveinstyle.com/stand-up-comedy/bio/kanan-gill |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the meantime, he participated in and won a competition called ''Punchline Bangalore'' followed by another win at the Comedy Store in Mumbai. He then quit his job to pursue a career in comedy.

He gained popularity with the viral YouTube series ''Pretentious Movie Reviews''. He reviewed critically panned popular Hindi movies along with [[Biswa Kalyan Rath]]. Kanan also worked in an improvised sketch comedy show, ''The Living Room'' on [[Comedy Central India|Comedy Central]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/141130/entertainment-tvmusic/article/kanan-gill-unplugged|title=Kanan Gill unplugged|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=December 2014|access-date=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/42539_Comedy-Central-to-premiere-The-Living-Room|title=Comedy Central to premiere 'The Living Room'|publisher=Afaqs.com|accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medianama.com/2014/11/223-disney-owned-youtube-mcn-maker-studio-signs-up-indian-channels-aib-kanan-gill-others/|title=Disney owned YouTube MCN Maker Studios signs up Indian channels: AIB, Kanan Gill, others|date=26 November 2014 |publisher=Medianama.com|accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Reviewer duo Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath throw a few punches at bad Bollywood movies|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/reviewer-duo-kanan-gill-and-biswa-kalyan-rath-throw-a-few-punches-at-bad-bollywood-movies/articleshow/34867519.cms |accessdate=3 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016050802/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/reviewer-duo-kanan-gill-and-biswa-kalyan-rath-throw-a-few-punches-at-bad-bollywood-movies/articleshow/34867519.cms |archivedate=16 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/delhi/Kanan-Gill-and-Biswa-Kalyan-Raths-first-live-show-in-Gurgoan/articleshow/40598905.cms|title=Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath's first live show in Gurgoan|work=The Times of India|accessdate=29 December 2014|last1=Tuli |first1=Aanchal }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/take-it-from-gill/article6112500.ece|title=Take it from Gill|author=Allan Moses Rodricks|work=The Hindu|date=13 June 2014 |accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How To Make Your YouTube Videos Work|url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/How-to-make-your-YouTube-videos-work/articleshow/45128593.cms |accessdate=3 December 2014 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116040451/http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/others/How-to-make-your-YouTube-videos-work/articleshow/45128593.cms |archivedate=16 November 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/boys-of-bollywood/|title=Boys of Bollywood|work=The Indian Express|date=3 May 2014|accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/english-entertainment/comedy-central-sees-potential-in-localised-content-141117|title=Indian Television Dot Com – Comedy Central sees potential in localised content|author=Anil Wanvari|publisher=Indiantelevision|accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://creativemornings.com/talks/kanan-gill/1|title=Kanan Gill|work=CreativeMornings|accessdate=29 December 2014}}</ref> Gill made his acting debut in Sunhil Sippy's ''[[Noor (2017 film)|Noor]]'' in 2017, alongside [[Sonakshi Sinha]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Today's headlines are tomorrow's garbage: Sonakshi|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Todays-headlines-are-tomorrows-garbage-Sonakshi/articleshow/53074037.cms|accessdate=6 July 2016|work=Times Of India|author=Natasha Coutinho|date=6 July 2016}}</ref> The same year, Gill launched his special ''Keep It Real'' on the Amazon Prime Video.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6774914/|title=Keep It Real|website=IMDb}}</ref> In 2020, his special 'Yours Sincerely' was released on Netflix.

In 2023, he also starred in the Norwegian [[romantic comedy]] called ''[[Christmas As Usual]]'' alongside Ida Ursin-Holm.

On 18 January 2024, [[HarperCollins]] released ''Acts of God'', Gill's debut novel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Kanan Gill is more excited about writing movies than acting in them |url=https://www.vogue.in/content/kanan-gill-is-more-excited-about-writing-movies-than-acting-in-them |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=Vogue India |language=en-IN}}</ref> It is a [[Comic novel|comedy]]-science fiction story based on a short story that he wrote in 2016–17.

== Filmography ==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Year !! Film !! Role !! Language
! class="unsortable" |Notes
! class="unsortable" |{{abbr|Ref|Reference}}
|-
|2017
!scope="row"|''[[Noor (2017 film)|Noor]]''
|Saad Sehgal
|Hindi
|
|<ref>{{cite news |title=These Artists Became Famous In Most Unconventional Ways |url=https://www.news18.com/photogallery/movies/these-artists-became-famous-in-most-unconventional-ways-1821685.html |accessdate=14 August 2018 |work=News18 |date=2017}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan="2"|2023
!scope="row"|''[[Aachar & Co]]''
| style="text-align:center;"|{{emdash}}
|Kannada
|Co-writer
|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ottplay.com/news/aachar-co-the-movie-is-about-love-and-family-says-co-writer-kanan-gill/b6101e07c8864|title=Aachar & Co: The movie is about love and family, says co-writer Kanan Gill|date=14 July 2023|work=[[HT Media|OTTplay]]}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Christmas As Usual]]''
| Jashan Joshi
|Norwegian English
|
|
|-
|}

===Web===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Platform !! Name !! Notes
|-
| 2017 || [[Amazon Video]]|| ''Keep It Real''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://t2online.com/lifestyle/kannan-gill-s-show-keep-it-real-is-the-freshest-thing-you-can-stream-this-week/cid/1.75748|title=Kanan Gill's show, Keep it Real, is the freshest thing you can stream this week|access-date=13 January 2018|archive-date=14 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114132137/http://t2online.com/lifestyle/kannan-gill-s-show-keep-it-real-is-the-freshest-thing-you-can-stream-this-week/cid/1.75748|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/kanan-gill-breaks-down-technology-for-parents-in-brunch-wtf/story-K1AZhpUzYOV7l5nz13AGpK.html|title=Kanan Gill breaks down technology for parents in Brunch WTF}}</ref> ||
|-
| 2016–2019 || YouTube || ''Better Life Foundation''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://webisoda.in/webseries/better-life-foundation/|title=Watch Better Life Foundation – Season 2 out now on Hotstar (2016) online {{!}} Episodes {{!}} Cast {{!}} Review|website=Webisoda – The Indian Web Series Hub|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-13}}</ref>|| Produced by Them Boxer Shorts Released by [[All India Bakchod]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Whats-Good-And-Not-So-Good-About-AIBs-Latest-Web-Series-Better-Life-Foundation/#.aj9vxyomu|title=What's Good And Not So Good About AIB's Latest Web Series 'Better Life Foundation'}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=3| 2014–present || rowspan=3| YouTube || ''Pretentious Movie Reviews''||
|-
|''I Can Do That''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://webisoda.in/webseries/i-can-do-that/|title=Watch I Can Do That (2017) online {{!}} Episodes {{!}} Cast {{!}} Review|website=Webisoda – The Indian Web Series Hub|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-13}}</ref>||
|-
|''How Insensitive''||
|-
| rowspan=3| 2014–2017 || rowspan=3|YouTube || rowspan=3| ''Son of Abish''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://webisoda.in/webseries/son-of-abish/|title=Watch Son of Abish – Season 6 out now (2019) online {{!}} Episodes {{!}} Cast {{!}} Review|website=Webisoda – The Indian Web Series Hub|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-13}}</ref>|| Season 1
|-
| Season 2 with [[Biswa Kalyan Rath]]
|-
| Season 3 with [[Sonakshi Sinha]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2018
| rowspan="2" |Amazon Video
|''The Improvisers: Something From Nothing''<ref>{{Citation|title=The Improvisers: Something from Nothing|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8259604/|access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref>
|Alongside [[Kenny Sebastian]], [[Abish Mathew]], [[Kaneez Surka]]
|-
|''[[Comicstaan (TV series)|Comicstaan]]'' – Season 1<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://webisoda.in/webseries/comicstaan/|title=Watch Comicstaan – Season 2 Out Now (2018) online {{!}} Episodes {{!}} Cast {{!}} Review|website=Webisoda – The Indian Web Series Hub|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-13}}</ref>
|Himself – Judge<ref>{{cite news |title=Comicstaan emerges as the most watched show on Amazon Prime Video in its first week |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-comicstaan-emerges-as-the-most-watched-show-on-amazon-prime-video-in-its-first-week-2639724 |accessdate=14 August 2018 |work=dna |date=21 July 2018}}</ref>

|-
| rowspan="2"| 2019
|Amazon Video
|''Sketchy Behaviour''
|
|-
|Amazon Video
|''Comicstaan'': Season 2
|Judge

|-
|2020
|[[Netflix]]
|''Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.celebswhoop.com/kanan-gill-yours-sincerely-review-netflix/| title=Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill's Netflix Special | publisher=CelebsWhoop.com |date=30 April 2020}}</ref>
|
|-
|2023
|Paytm Insider, YouTube
|''Is This It?''
|Limited Edition show<ref>{{Cite web |title=IS THIS IT? {{!}} Kanan Gill |url=https://kanangill.com/home/tours/teetar.html |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=kanangill.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Is This It? {{!}} Kanan Gill's newest and greatest comedy special |url=https://insider.in/is-this-it-kanan-gill/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=insider.in}}</ref>
|
|-
|2026
|YouTube
|''What is this?''
|Limited Edition show<ref>{{Cite web |title=WHAT IS THIS? {{!}} Kanan Gill |url=https://kanangill.com/home/tours/teetar.html |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=kanangill.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Is This It? {{!}} Kanan Gill's newest and greatest comedy special |url=https://insider.in/is-this-it-kanan-gill/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=insider.in}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|8379182}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Kanan}}
[[Category:Indian stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian male comedians]]
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:Indian YouTubers]]
[[Category:People from Bareilly]]

Kanan Gill - Revision history

OdessaProsser28 at 09:42, 18 February 2026