David Batra

A Swedish comedian, television host, and actor is David Batra. Born on November 29, 1972, in Lund, Sweden, he is of mixed heritage; his father, Satish Batra, is an Indian professor of medicine from Punjab, while his mother, Marianne, is Swedish-born. David Batra’s education included attending Spyken high school in Lund; he also obtained a master's degree in marketing from both the University of Lund and Slippery Rock University, and a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Batra began performing stand-up comedy in October 1994 at Hotel Kramer in Malmö.

Batra’s career encompasses television work and published writing. On Swedish national television, David Batra has written for and performed in prominent roles within comedy series, becoming known through shows such as 'Räkfrossa' and 'Kvarteret Skatan'. He has also appeared on BBC and CNBC, and frequently appeared on the radio program 'På minuten'. From 2009 to 2010, he participated in Cirkus Möller. In 2009, he debuted in the TV4 program Parlamentet and released a CD of 'irritating and annoying sounds', including sounds like loud snores, burps, and sex noises. He co-hosted the TV show 'Morgonsoffan' with Petra Mede in 2008, and served as a summer host on Swedish Radio’s 'Sommar i P1' in both 2008 and 2015. He replaced Calle Hellevang-Larsen as a sidekick on the Norwegian talk show I kveld med YLVIS in 2012.

Batra is also an author, having published four books on humor and one cookbook. He has released several books based on collected signs, including 'Den som inte tar bort luddet ska dö' (2008) and 'Det här var ju tråkigt' (2010), touring with the latter as a stand-up monologue. In 2018, he began hosting the SVT series 'Världens sämsta indier', exploring his Indian heritage. He voiced Hejduk in the animated film 'Megamind' in 2010 and appeared in the TV series 'Släng dig i brunnen' from 1990 to 1999 and again in 2017. Since 2017, he has been a jury member on 'Talang' on TV4, and hosted the SVT Christmas program in 2023. Anna Kinberg Batra, a Swedish politician, is David Batra’s wife, and together they have a daughter named Elvira Batra. In 2020, he released a stand-up special 'David Batra: Elefanten i rummet' on Netflix, which he describes as his most personal and funniest show to date, aiming to address topics everyone thinks about but is hesitant to discuss.