Vasu Primlani is widely known as India’s leading laughter expert, using comedy as a tool for healing, awareness, and transformation. A celebrated stand-up comedian, motivational speaker, and cancer survivor.
When Namita Nayyar from Women Fitness got in touch with Vasu Primlani, the conversation naturally turned to her unique work with laughter as a tool for healing and transformation.
The Moment She Believed in Laughter
For Vasu Primlani, laughter was never just entertainment—it was discovery.
While researching humor, she came across studies showing how laughter was being used even in cancer therapy. What struck her most was that comedy healed not only the audience, but the performer, too.
“Comedy is palpable,” she says. “You can immediately feel the shift. It changes something inside you, instantly.”
That instant shift would later become central to her life’s work—and her survival.
Laughter: A Therapy Disguised as Joy
Most people see laughter as emotional relief. Science sees something more.
When we laugh, our immune system wakes up. Natural killer cells and T-cells increase. Immunoglobulin A strengthens respiratory defenses. Stress-related inflammation drops. In simple terms, laughter removes the biological blocks that prevent the body from healing.
The heart responds too. Blood vessels dilate, circulation improves, and blood pressure lowers after a good laugh—effects similar to light aerobic exercise.
Neurologically, laughter switches the body from “fight or flight” to “rest and repair.” Cortisol drops. Endorphins rise. Serotonin and dopamine stabilize mood.
Even forced laughter works—because the body responds before the brain judges.
“Laughter doesn’t replace medicine,” Vasu explains. “But it changes the internal environment where healing happens.”
A Joke That Changed a Man’s Mind
One of her most powerful moments didn’t happen in a hospital or lab—it happened on stage.
After a performance at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, where she performed her famous “Delhi man” set on objectification, an elderly Muslim man approached her.
He told her:
“Meri beti hei, and uski bhi apni beti hei. Main maanta hoon jis prakar se aap kehte hain, dilli ke ladke ladkiyon ko dekhte hain, aaj bhi main ladkiyon ko aise hi dekhta hoon. Aur khuda kasam, kal se na karoonga.“
Laughter, in that moment, didn’t just entertain.
It transformed awareness.
Everyday Laughter: A Daily Practice
Vasu believes bringing more laughter into daily life doesn’t require a personality change or forced positivity—it comes from small, intentional habits that create the conditions for humor to arise naturally.
She suggests:
- Schedule humor: watch a short comedy clip or revisit something that already made you laugh.
- Laugh socially: share jokes, memes, and small stories with people daily.
- Drop perfection: laugh at missed turns, wrong words, and small mishaps.
- Use the body first: smiling, playful movement, or laughter yoga can trigger real laughter.
“Don’t wait for life to become funny,” she says. “Train your body to allow lightness.”
The nervous system responds to these physical cues regardless of mood, making laughter more accessible during stressful periods. Finally, surrounding oneself with people, media, and environments that value lightness—without cynicism or cruelty—creates a steady backdrop where laughter feels safe and natural. Over time, these small habits accumulate, making laughter less of a rare event and more of a daily rhythm.
Laughter at Work: The Secret Productivity Tool
In corporate spaces, laughter does more than boost morale.
- It lowers stress hormones that interfere with memory and decision-making.
- It builds trust and psychological safety.
- It makes leaders approachable and teams more creative.
“Teams that laugh together recover faster from setbacks,” she explains.
“Laughter is not a distraction from work—it makes better work possible.”
Learning to Laugh Again
People who call themselves “too serious” haven’t lost humor—they’ve trained their nervous system to stay guarded.
Vasu advises:
- Start privately with gentle humor
- Practice permission without performance
- Laugh with life, not at yourself
- Treat lightness as emotional flexibility, not weakness
Learning to laugh again isn’t about becoming less thoughtful or serious; it’s about becoming more emotionally flexible. “Seriousness narrows focus. Laughter widens it.”
Laughter as Self-Care for Women
For many women juggling work, family, and deeply ingrained expectations, laughter can become a powerful form of self-care precisely because it interrupts the constant state of responsibility. Women are often socialized to prioritize others’ needs, manage emotional labor, and hold everything together quietly. Laughter offers a momentary release from that vigilance.
It:
- Lowers emotional labor
- Breaks guilt
- Restores identity beyond roles
- Softens perfectionism
“Laughter says: I don’t have to hold everything together all the time.”
It’s not escape—it’s renewal.
When Laughter Became Survival
Laughter didn’t just help Vasu live better. “Laughter has helped PREVENT difficult times in my life.”
“It helped me through cancer,” she says simply.
“Through pain. Through fear. Through the darkest times.”
And beyond herself, she has seen laughter lift others out of depression and despair.
“I know I’m making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”
Her Message
“Choose laughter, especially on hard days. Not even ‘on’—especially.
It will save your life.”