‘Stand-up comedy, best form of freedom of expression’

“I was quite funny as a kid and having gone to a boys’ school, it was important to be funny. But the real trigger came when my roommate forced me into taking part in a stand-up comedy show when we were in college. But I was asked to step down from the podium within two minutes — maybe I wasn’t good. This failure was a driving force and in the next eight years from then, the graph drastically changed,” begins Zakir Khan, who emerged on the scene after winning Comedy Central’s India’s Best Stand-up Comedian title in 2012 and has not looked back ever since. 

Originally from Indore, Khan, apart from having shared the stage with other stand-up comedians like Vir Das and Papa CJ, has done several shows all over India. He will be performing for the first time in the city at Phoenix MarketCity on March 19 at 7 pm. The USP of Khan’s brand of comedy is that it’s very fundamental and rustic. 

“I create my content from daily happenings — things I observe and situations I find myself in. Honestly, I find myself in a lot of weird situations. For instance, once I was taking a flight, and exactly before the authority at the entrance could check my boarding pass, the strong winds blew it away and we have four people chasing it on the runway,” he recalls with a laugh. With the current climate of intolerance, is it difficult to be a stand-up comedian? 

“Every time someone feels comedians are crossing the line, they must look at the society, for art is a reflection of society. Whenever the society and those in power cross the line, so will art. And I don’t understand why only artists and women are asked to maintain limits.  

What about politicians and corrupt millionaires? Comedy is an emotion and not a recipe that has a fixed formula. People like it and enjoy it in different ways — some people like racial jokes and some like sexual humour — so it’s an individual choice. If you don’t like it, look away! Having said that, stand-up comedy is the best form of freedom of expression. 

More often than not, we get away with most things we say,” he adds. Speaking of different kinds of humour, there could be times when the crowd doesn’t strike a chord with the joke and eventually end up in a disastrous show. 

“We have it all the time. But the thing with stand-up is, your entire upbringing and personality is judged when you make one off statement. The trick is to move on. The same applies to your successful shows. You’re only good or bad as your last joke,” he says.