Zarna Garg: Inside the Strategy to Disrupt Comedy Through Authentic Immigrant Storytelling

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Zarna Garg.

Raised in Bombay and living in multiple countries throughout the world, Zarna made her way to the United States at the age of 16. After losing her mother at 14 and facing the choice of an arranged marriage or leaving, she journeyed to America on her own. Her experience immigrating from India to the U.S fed into her deep love for storytelling. She builds her career on her passion for having fun while also sharing her life in America from an immigrant’s perspective. After receiving her B.S. in Finance from the University of Akron and J.D. at Case Western Reserve School of Law, she began exploring her love for comedy and became a screenwriter. From a lawyer and a mom to award-winning stand-up comedian and screenwriter, Zarna now uses her signature style to highlight the immigrant and American experience.

Zarna recently won the highly esteemed, Ladies of Laughter 2021 Newcomer Award, and is included in the list of New York City’s Top 100 Inspiring Small Businesses during the pandemic. She is also a featured comic on Kevin Hart’s Lyft Comic, a series where comedians tell jokes while disguising themselves as Lyft drivers. Additionally, Zarna is a featured performer for the Outstanding Mothers Awards, which supports the Save the Children foundation and features attendees including Halle Berry, Kate Hudson, Kris Jenner and more. She is now taking TikTok by storm, gaining more than 35 million views on her comedy videos.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I grew up the youngest of four and a girl in an Indian family in India, so basically, the servants raised me. Our driver drilled me on my times' tables. Even today when I help my kids with math homework, in my head I can smell the car air freshener.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

Picture this: I have been a stay-at-home mom for 16 years and my youngest is finally in school for the full day. Now what? Try and resume the law career that I never enjoyed or was particularly good at? Or try something new? I chose the latter.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’ve learned how much many of us cringe while saying “I love you,” and how we are all united in our hatred of our mothers-in-law. When I first started putting my standup comedy on TikTok, my most popular videos were making fun of my relationship with my mother-in-law or talking about how I’ve never said “I love you” to my husband (it’s only been 23 years). Millions of views and tens of thousands of comments later, people have chimed in saying they hated their mothers-in-law too, and they’d die before they ever said “I love you” to anyone they actually loved! The villainy of the mother-in-law transcends culture, language, borders. It was a revelation that just being myself, talking about my own life, could hit a nerve across generations all over the world!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I used to make every show a party. With invitations and goodie bags! As if I was hosting a Quinceañera or a Bat Mitzvah! I would socialize with my friends before, during, and after the show. I let my kids bring their friends and I had to make sure they weren’t being served any alcohol. This was great for everyone but me! By the time I hit the stage I was wiped out. I learned that for me to grow as a comedian, my standup needs to take precedence over everything else. My goal is to build my hour for my standup special and I can’t afford any distractions. For today it means I have to be selfish about my time on stage. And it’s working, I am almost there.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I have so many pots on the stove, I need a second stove, a toaster oven, air fryer and an Instant Pot! I have a screenplay, a TV pilot, a reality show, a self-help book, and my passion project, working towards a million followers on TikTok.

You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Let me work backward here. First off, if you pursue standup, you are going to fail. If you don’t fail, you are not taking risks, and playing it safe doesn’t belong in comedy. Hopefully, you will fail over and over and be driven to get back up and try again because that’s what it takes to be a successful comedian. Also, can you remind me of what I just said next time I bomb because I might forget?

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

In my opinion, showing diversity is good for business, plain and simple. Media is consumed by people all over the world, not just in white countries and by men. When diversity is not reflected in our viewing options, the platform risks becoming irrelevant.

Culturally speaking, I represent a large group of women who are rarely seen, if at all, and when they are, they are shown either as martyrs or shy, docile women with no opinions of their own. And we have opinions. Just ask my mother-in-law!

Lastly, I think it’s more fun. Didn’t we all devour Crazy Rich Asians? It was exciting to see that story on screen and enjoyed by so many. These stories make us all feel less divided, more united. Something the world needs now more than ever.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

• Don’t wait until you are ready — you are never ready. This is a business where there’s no other way to get ready than to force yourself to get on stage. Every show is a chance to learn and grow. And if you don’t grow from your performance, you’ll surely grow (literally) because of how much you start drinking. Either way, there is nothing to gain by waiting.
• Not everyone will love you — but you don’t need everyone, you just need a few. The world is billions of people. You need a few superfans to get your comedy career started. If you can’t find them easily you can surely bribe them to show up and laugh. Focus on the stories you want to tell and have faith that someone out there is going to enjoy hearing them. Check out how much fun we had at my rained-out performance with an audience of 7! https://vimeo.com/441051804/7a0e0383de
• Don’t worry about neglecting your kids — they’re going to resent you anyway, why not control the narrative or involve them in your work? Like here: https://www.tiktok.com/@zarnagarg/video/6922473962991521030
• Preparation is the most underrated secret power a comedian has — the only thing you can control is your act, not the venue, not the audience, just your JOKES. Many times I’ve felt out of my depth filming a TV show where I have to pretend to be a Lyft driver, or MC-ing a big charity event. But my standup comedy legs kicked in and kept me standing throughout everything that came my way.
• Don’t wait until you are thin enough — you will never be thin enough. People use weight loss as a delaying tactic and what I’ve found is that the audience relates to real people. No audience is out there looking for a perfect-looking comedian. They’re looking for an authentic comedian who is willing to bare his/her soul. Turn that weight saga into comedy gold.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

• Stay in touch with your friends. Show up for their events even if you have to come late, go early, or fall asleep during.
• Drag your mother-in-law into your work. Let her “help”–or should I say beg her to help. Sure, she may resist, but making her part of the process gives her ownership in your success. Just make sure she doesn’t get her own show.
• Remind yourself everyday why you’re doing this. (And remind me too if you remember.)

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Brown women are a force to be reckoned with–even after we become mothers! We are smart, funny, and we need to own our power. We need to tell our stories on every platform without fear or shame. We have to find our voice and our confidence will follow. There’s a reason we’re responsible for raising a ridiculous number of doctors, lawyers, and tech gurus. We know what we’re doing. Next, we’re going to raise a whole new crop of agents, managers, and producers.

On a serious note, millions of women now see their life stories reflected in my jokes for the first time, and I’m going to do everything in my power to be the first in a line of many and encourage them all to chase their dreams. Everyone except my mother-in-law.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I would have to start with my daughter. She was the one who saw my potential and insisted I try. She secretly invited everyone we know, and I mean everyone… family, friends, acquaintances to write me letters of encouragement to be a comedian. She left me no choice but to take the leap and see for myself if it was my calling. My daughter got me started, but my middle son made me a TikTok star. When the world closed down, he took over by putting me on Tiktok and setting me on a new path. I keep looking at my youngest, screaming “When are you going to become my agent!” In the end, I am most grateful to my husband for not only supporting me beyond the call of duty but also putting up with everything that comes with having a stubborn, loudmouth insomniac wife always putting the family on blast online and in real life.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

At just a year in comedy, I was offered to headline my own show at the world famous Caroline’s comedy club. I was afraid to accept but my husband was confident that I could and should do it. He said to me, “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” I repeated this quote to myself for days to avoid chickening out. Full disclosure: When the quote didn’t calm my nerves, I turned to cake. Lots of cake.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Our whole family is crazy about Gabriel Iglesias — he is hilarious, brilliant, and utterly adorable. I would like to hear his journey from open mics to sold-out arenas… and maybe he needs an opener?

How can our readers follow you online?

Follow me at:

www.instagram.com/zarnagarg

www.tiktok.com/@zarnagarg

www.youtube.com/zarnagarg

www.twitter.com/zarnagarg

www.facebook.com/zarnagargofficial

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!