Madison Square Garden roars for ‘sakht launda’: A historic first for Hindi comedy

The legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City recently bore witness to a historic milestone as Zakir Khan — the beloved ‘sakht launda’ — took to its stage.

Khan’s performance marked the first time a Hindi comedy show headlined the prestigious venue, leaving the audience roaring with laughter and ultimately rising to their feet in a resounding standing ovation.

Calling it a "big day", Zakir wrote about how overwhelming it felt to perform for "6,000 people with Hindi comedy."

A part of his Instagram post read, "I am still processing... Thode din baad theek se bataunga kaisa laga. Abhi ke liye samajh lo ki it was a big day, not just because of the venue or capacity, but because some of my favourite people were in the audience that day."

"Anjaan desh, paraye logon ke beech itna pyar karne wale log mil gaye, aur kya hi chahiye. Log bahut door-door se drive kar ke aaye the, bahut se log toh 2-3 ghante ki flight se bhi aaye the. Main yeh sab kabhi bhool nahi paunga. It was big for me, for comedy in India, and for our desi culture here," he added.

His friend, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, also shared an emotional note before the performance. Calling Zakir's success a "dream come true".

In the run-up to the performance, his poster lit up Times Square billboards.

The netizens were proud and emotional at the same time.

A user wrote, “Comedian Zakir Hain Humareyyyy! Full senti, full khush, full proud!❤️,” another said, “Ye jazbaat hain sir!! This makes us so damn happy ❤️.”

A third commented, “This win feels personal♥️."

Another individual posted, “Jitne baar dekho utne baar Khushi ho rhi hai.”