Tarun Mohambhai

Tarun Mohanbhai first began his comedy career at school entertaining his
classmates. But it wasn’t until 1996, that he first performed live at Kitty
O’Brien’s comedy evenings.

In 1998 Tarun performed at his first New Zealand comedy Festival doing
stand –up and since then has performed all over the world with his own
style of stand up. That year he also went on to start his own company
That Indian Guy (www.thatindianguy.com) which went on to produce the
comedy shows Curry and Rice, Curry Muncher, Corner Shop
Confessions, One Mic Stand, Tarun talks Wedges, the first season of
D’Arranged Marriage, Joke in the Box and Existential Gentrification of
Tarun Mohanbhai and in 2018 had the Sell Out hit show Uber Funny.

In 1998 Tarun won Quest of the fest at the New Zealand Comedy Festival,
Billy T Nominee in 2002, and winner of best show at the New International
Comedy Festival in 2004. ( Now called the Fred Award )

He then went on to appear in TV’s Pulp Comedy in 1999 and consecutive series. Recently he has also appeared in Choppers Republic of Anzakistan when screened in New Zealand and Australia.

In 2002 Tarun devised D’arranged Marriage with Rajeev Varma, for which he was nominated for a Billy T Award. The show was a sell–out success and was picked up by Mollisons in Australia on an international
contract. In 2003 he toured extensively with D’arranged Marriage both nationally and internationally with selling out at The Sydney Opera House for 14 nights.

From 2002 onwards, he created Those Indian Guys with New Zealand Actor Rajeev Varma. With Those Indian Guys Tarun has toured extensively with D’Arranged Marriage and From India with Love to Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, USA and the U.K. between 2003 and 2010.

In 2003, he was a co founder of The Untouchables Collective, New Zealand’s first South–Asian theatre company, which premiered its first production Yatra at the Wellington Fringe Festival 2004, to great acclaim.

In 2005 Tarun was starred along with other comedians in Last Laugh a hidden camera show for TV2.

In 2007, Tarun starred in two prime time comedy shows for TV3: The Millen Baird Show and A Thousand Apologies. The Millen Baird Show was nominated for Best Comedy Programme in the 2009 Qantas Film
and TV Awards in New Zealand. 1000 Apologies is groundbreaking New Zealand Television: the first prime time sketch comedy show in the nation that focused on the Asian and South Asian experience which he also
was a contributing writer for.

Tarun’s Television credits include: Pulp Comedy (multiple series), Mercy Peak, Australia’s Comedy channels “Forum Gala”, 2002 Billy T Awards, Asia Down Under, Some of my Best Friends Are Indian, Havoc, Mike King show, Last Laugh, A Thousand apologies, The Millen Baird show and Amazing Extraordinary Friends, Radi Radi Rah and Choppers Republic of Anzakistan

Feature Film credits include: Tyrannical Love, Curry Munchers AKA Vindaloo Empire, My Wedding and other Secrets and Stars in Her Eyes, Guns Akimbo.

TV Writing Credits Include: 7 Days, A Thousand Apologies, Best Bits, Last Laugh, The Project

Short film Credits Include: The Warning and Love in the time of Chlamydia.

In January 2008 Tarun worked alongside 11 other performers to take part in a live sketch show for CBS in Los Angeles which was performed for casting agents and studio executives. And from 2008 –2010 Tarun
was the host of the Asian Radio Show on Radio Live and now has his own show on Humm Fm.

Since 2012 – Present along with Nick Rado Tarun runs Laugh Club NZ which runs comedy night around New Zealand