Sunil Pal

Sunil Pal (born 2 May 1975) is an Indian stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor. He has played comic roles in various Bollywood films.

In 2010, he wrote and directed a comedy film, Bhavnao Ko Samjho, which featured 51 stand-up comedians including Siraj Khan, Johnny Lever, Raju Srivastav, Kapil Sharma, Navin Prabhakar, Ahsaan Qureshi, and Sudesh Lehri.

Early life Sunil Pal was born in 1975 into a middle class Marathi speaking family in Maharashtra. His father was an employee for the Indian Railways. He studied in Janata Vidyalaya city branch school, Balharshah. He came to Mumbai in 1995 when his father got transferred. He joined the Junior College. There he used to mimic his professors and famous actors. After college, he struggled for three years.

Career Early career During one of his interviews, Pal said "I was working at a tea stall in Santacruz as tea seller. Those days I'd sleep on the footpath and I used to use the telephones of a nearby shop to keep in touch with my contacts in film industry."

Films Pal's first major Hindi film, Bombay to Goa released in 2007, although he has played small roles in Hum Tum (2004) and Phir Hera Pheri (2006). He has also worked in Apna Sapna Money Money and he has produced, written, and directed a film called Bhavnao ko Samjho. Pal and his wife hold the Guinness Book of World Record for casting 47 stand-up comedians to act in a single film.

Controversies Pal has been involved in public disputes with several contemporary Indian comedians. In 2016, following the controversy surrounding comedian Tanmay Bhat's video mimicking Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar, Pal criticised Bhat and made remarks about the audience for English-language stand-up comedy that were widely criticised as homophobic.

In 2025, Pal criticised comedian Samay Raina and other participants following the controversy surrounding the latter's show India's Got Latent, particularly in response to the remarks made by Ranveer Allahbadia. Pal disparaged Raina and Allahbadia and argued that contemporary comedians relied excessively on vulgarity. Raina subsequently responded to Pal's criticism, calling him a "frustrated man".

The disagreement continued into 2026, with Pal and Raina exchanging jokes and criticism in public appearances, including an appearance together on The Great Indian Kapil Show.

2024 kidnapping Pal was kidnapped and held hostage on 2 December 2024. He was abducted, when he was on the way to an event in Haridwar, where he was invited by the kidnappers in the pretext of live performance. The kidnappers reportedly asked for a ransom of 20 lakh and released him after twenty four hours on the Delhi-Meerut road with ₹20,000 to return home.

The case took a new turn when two audio recordings surfaced, suggesting the incident may have been a publicity stunt.

Pal's wife reported the incident to the police, asserting that the audio recordings were edited. Police identified two main accused, named Lavi Pal and Arjun Karnwal, for kidnapping Sunil Pal and a similar kidnapping case of comedian Mushtaq Khan.

On 14 December 2024, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Arjun; he was shot and injured the next day during an encounter with police in Meerut. Police recovered an SUV along with ₹2.25 lakh cash and a mobile phone believed to be used in the crime from the accused.

On the night of 22-23 December, Police arrested the main accused person, Lavi Pal, for the kidnapping of Mushtaq Khan and Sunil Pal after an encounter in Bijnor. A total of seven arrests were made in the case.

Filmography Films Year Films Role Notes 2006 Phir Hera Pheri Munna Bhai's sidekick Apna Sapna Money Money Matha Prasad's assistant 2007 Bombay to Goa Lal Singh 2008 Krazzy 4 Taxi Yadav 2010 Bhavnao Ko Samjho Sunderlal Yadav also director 2014 Kick Money Back Guarantee also director 2015 Sasu Cha Swayamwar Baji Marathi film Main Hoon Rajinikanth Arvind Mukherji The Khaas Aadmi Dirty Politics Nathu Lal 2016Alya Have Shu?Gujarati film 2018 Teri Bhabhi Hai Pagle 2022 Gaali Galoj

Television Year Serial Role Notes 2005 The Great Indian Laughter Challenge - I Contestant (Winner) 2006 The Great Indian Comedy Show Host/presenter

Radio Year Show Role 2007 Dhamaal with Sunil Pal Co-host