Kaneez Surka
Kaneez-e-Fatema Surka (born 28 October 1983) is a South African improv comedian, actress, and YouTuber, based in India. She started her career with the show The Week That Wasn't. She has performed on various stand up platforms.
Kaneez Surka

Eldrichr · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Birth Name
- Kaneez-e-Fatema Surka
- Birthplace
- Umtata, Transkei
- Education
- Rhodes University (B.A.)
- Born
- 1983 · Mthatha.
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Occupation
- comedian · youtuber · television producer · film director
- Languages
- English
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Kaneez-e-Fatema Surka (born 28 October 1983) is a South African improv comedian, actress, and YouTuber, based in India. She started her career with the show The Week That Wasn't. She has performed on various stand up platforms.
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Kaneez Surka (born 1983) is a South African comedian, film director and stand-up comedian, among other activities. The comedian was born in Mthatha. Kaneez Surka studied at Rhodes University. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q56222589 · wikipedia · Kaneez Surka
In this article
Biography
Biography
She was a judge on the first two seasons of the Amazon Prime Video stand-up comedy reality show Comicstaan. She also hosts an online comedy game show, The General Fun Game Show on YouTube.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Kaneez-e-Fatema Surka • Birthplace — Umtata, Transkei • Education — Rhodes University (B.A.) • Active — 2006–present • Genre — Improvisational comedy • Notable Work — * The Week That Wasn't • The General Fun Game Show • All India Bakchod • Comicstaan • Website — kaneezsurka
Early and personal life
Early and personal life
Kaneez-e-Fatema Surka was born on 28 October 1983 in Umtata, Transkei. She studied in DSG, Graham School and attended Rhodes University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in law and psychology. Ethnically a Gujarati, Kaneez Surka was born into a Muslim family originally from Kapadvanj, which allowed her to have a deep understanding of different cultures and religions. In 2018, Surka accused comedian Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment, stating that Mittal had forcefully kissed her on the mouth. Mittal denied the accusation, leading to Surka publicly posting what had happened on Twitter. In October 2018, Mittal said that "she gave the improv artiste, who was hosting an open mic, a peck on the lips as a joke, as a part of the act" and apologised later to Surka when she realised "the discomfort she had caused".
Career
Career
Surka was part of the Mumbai improv scene since 2009. Her initial work in Mumbai was with Divya Palat's Imps troupe. Surka was co-director of a Mumbai-based story-telling club "Tall Tales" in 2013. She achieved mainstream popularity on the satirical news show The Week That Wasn't on CNN-News18 (formerly CNN-IBN). She also worked with Weirdass Comedy, a Vir Das venture and then began collaborating with and making appearances in several All India Bakchod videos including roles such as Clitika from "A Woman's Besties", "Honest Weddings", "Honest Bars & Restaurants" and the Instagram character from "If Apps Were People". She also teaches the art of improv comedy, proving her comedic skills by being on the judge panel in Amazon Prime's stand-up comedy reality show Comicstaan and Improv All Stars: Game Night for Amazon Prime Video and Queens Of Comedy for TLC. Surka is part of an improv group called "The Improvisers" along with Abish Mathew, Kanan Gill, and Kenny Sebastian, and has released an improv special titled Something From Nothing on Amazon Prime Video. She started hosting the reality show The General Fun Game Show on her YouTube channel in 2017. Surka moved to New York in 2022 to advance her standup career and performed her standup special I Found My People. She moved back to India and resumed her reality show The General Fun Game Show.
Filmography
Filmography
• Year — Title — Platform — Role • 2005 — Dosti: Friends Forever — Film — Anjali's friend • 2014-2015 — The Living Room — TV series • 2015-2016 — Various AIB videos — YouTube • 2016 — Better Life Foundation — TV series — Plays Vashma Chandi (1 episode) • 2017 — Son of Abish — YouTube — Herself with Swara Bhaskar (Season 3 Episode 7) • 2018 — The Improvisers: Something from Nothing — Amazon Prime — Herself • 2018-2019 — Comicstaan — Judge • 2020 — Ladies Up — Netflix — Herself • 2021 — Comedy Premium League • 2025 — I Found My People — YouTube — Debut standup special
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Kaneez Surka”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q56222589: Kaneez Surka
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.People find it easily digestible when guys are a little crude: Comedian Kaneez Surka. Hindustan Times. 15 December 2016.
- 2.Kaneez Surka on stand-up, multiculturalism and political humour. The Indian Express. 13 May 2018.
- 3.Kaneez Surka: I m scared to do stand-up comedy. mid-day. 24 July 2018.
- 4.From #MeToo to Bolly humour: Kaneez Surka takes our really random rapid fire. t2online.com.
- 5.Watch: Mallika Dua, Kaneez Surka reprise roles in AIB's If Apps Were People 2. Firstpost.
- 6.Comedienne Kaneez Surka hosts Sapan Verma, Sahil Shah and RJ Malishka in her game show. mid-day. 22 May 2018.
- 7.Comicstaan's Latest Episode Focuses On Kaneez Surka's Improv Round!. Businessofcinema.com. 24 July 2018.
- 8.'Comicstaan' Review: The Future Looks Pretty Funny. The Quint.
- 9.Comedians talk about books they read in new YouTube series. mid-day. 14 March 2017.
- 10.Things to do in Mumbai today. Mumbai Mirror.
- 11.Instagram. www.instagram.com.
- 12.Kale, Arun. Kaneez Surka. Astray. 26 August 2014.
- 13.Vadgama, Arpita. I want to explore story-telling: Kaneez Surka. The Times of India. 19 November 2016.
- 14.Kaneez Surka accuses comedian Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment. 10 October 2018.
- 15.#MeToo: Comedian Aditi Mittal apologises to Kaneez Surka, says her intentions were not 'sexual in nature'. The Economic Times. 2018-10-11.
- 16.NDTV. Laughter Therapy With The Rising Stars of Comedy. 18 May 2015.
- 17.Gianani, Kareena. Tell stories at Tall Tales, Mumbai's newest storytelling club. Mid Day. 19 May 2013.
- 18.Small talk: The improv lady. Mumbai Mirror.
- 19.Singh, Jasmine. Nothing half-baked about it. The Tribune. 26 July 2015.
- 20.Comictaan. firstpost.
- 21.Sundaram, Sushmita. In stand-up-loving India, a comic is determined to bring improv into the mainstream. Scroll.in. 2018-10-02.
- 22.Queens Of Comedy. Mumbai Mirror.
- 23.Singh, Anvita. Kaneez Surka on stand-up, multiculturalism and political humour. The Indian Express. 13 May 2018.
- 24.Gangal, Ashwini. I’m Brown, But Not Desi American, Says Kaneez Surka. India Currents. 2023-07-22.
- 25.Chakraborty, Riddhi. Kaneez Surka: ‘Everyone Defines Me as a ‘Female Comedian’; No One Really Sees Me as an Improv Artist’. Rolling Stone India. 2017-05-23.
- 26.Anonymous. LOL: Stand-up comedy hits refresh with quiz, game show formats. Hindustan Times. 2019-05-04.
- 27.‘I’m Freaking Out’: Kaneez Surka On Returning To India, Finding Her Own Voice & Reviving The OG Format Show - DeadAnt. DeadAnt.
- 28.Abish Mathew. Son Of Abish feat. Kaneez Surka & Swara Bhaskar. 24 November 2017.
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Kaneez Surka is recorded with the occupation comedian. Recorded as comedian, youtuber, television producer and film director.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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