Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Sharon Verma Recalls Four-Year Journey From Mumbai Job To Comedy
Sharon Verma moved to Mumbai four years ago to work as a writer at Hotstar.
She said she had only Rs 100 with her, although she had Rs 1.2 lakh saved in the bank.
She wrote for several well-known actors and entertainers.
Her manager helped her show her ideas to senior colleagues.
She found a mentor at work and was excited when one of her ideas appeared on screen.
In 2024, she started performing comedy at open-mic events.
She left her full-time job in February 2025 to become a stand-up comedian.
A joke involving Samay Raina and a painful historical issue later caused criticism online.
Sharon Verma said she moved to Mumbai four years ago for a writing job at Hotstar with Rs 100 in her pocket and Rs 1.2 lakh in savings.
She wrote for celebrities including Ranbir Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raghav Juyal, Vicky Kaushal, Kiara Advani and Bhumi Pednekar.
Verma credited her manager and a workplace mentor with supporting her ideas and career development.
She began performing at open-mic gigs in 2024 and quit her full-time job in February 2025 to pursue stand-up comedy.
A viral exchange on India's Got Latent involving a reference to Kashmiri Pandit displacement drew criticism from social-media users who said tragedies were being treated as jokes.
- Who
- Comedian and writer Sharon Verma, along with host Samay Raina and social-media critics.
- What
- Verma described her move to Mumbai, writing career and transition to stand-up comedy; a later comedy exchange sparked backlash.
- When
- Verma moved four years before her anniversary post, began open-mic performances in 2024, and quit her full-time job in February 2025.
- Where
- Mumbai, including her workplace and local trains; the exchange occurred on India's Got Latent.
- Why
- Verma moved to Mumbai after receiving a writing job at Hotstar and later pursued comedy after beginning open-mic performances.
Critics Of The Joke
Comedy And Personal Choice
Use of tragedy in comedy
Critics Of The Joke
A social-media user criticized the exchange for normalizing jokes about real issues and tragedies.
Comedy And Personal Choice
The exchange was presented as banter in a comedy-show setting, and Verma’s response emphasized that she left her state by choice.
Reference to displacement
Critics Of The Joke
Critics objected to the reference to the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the early-1990s insurgency.
Comedy And Personal Choice
The article does not report a detailed defense of the reference, but describes Verma’s reply as a pointed response to Raina’s characterization of her as a Bihari who came to Mumbai for a job.
- Initial move
- Sharon Verma moved to Mumbai four years before her anniversary post.
- First Mumbai job
- She received a writing job at Hotstar.
- Money at the time
- She said she had Rs 100 in her pocket and Rs 1.2 lakh in bank savings.
- Open-mic debut
- She began performing at open-mic gigs in 2024.
- Career change
- She quit her full-time job in February 2025 to pursue stand-up comedy.
- Notable show
- She performed her “Weak Independent Woman” set on Samay Raina’s India's Got Latent Season 1.
- Backlash
- A later exchange referencing the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits drew criticism on social media.