It has been only recently that I was drawn towards stand-up comics. Well, don’t get me wrong! I do have a sense of humour and who doesn’t like a good hearty laughter! But until a few years ago, I never felt the need to look for laughter and humour, simply because we as a family and I as an individual always found something or the other funny and laughable. Most of the times, we found ourselves laughing at our own selves!Unfortunately, it feels like a century ago when we could laugh at anything or anyone without ‘hurting’ someone’s sentiments. Now, one has to think a little before cracking a harmless joke. As my ‘humourous’ and irreverent self felt so burdened with the modern India’s ‘touch me not’ sentiments, I started looking for humour on social media, OTT and other entertainment platforms.
Among a plethora of national stand-up comics, here was this harmless looking man speaking in flawless Hindi who attracted my attention. For one, his language is vibrant, spontaneous and flawless, of course with a tinge of Madhya Pradesh accent which I so admire!
The thing with Zakir Khan is that he doesn’t tell you only jokes, instead he tells you a story. There is a rhythm to it. So I Google searched him. Well, the rhythm was inevitable as he belongs to a respected family of musicians and he himself has been a musician. Music, if you have ever learnt or learnt to appreciate it, stays in your veins. It flows in your personality. Zakir Khan proves it.
This not very impressive looking gentleman has a certain vulnerability about him which is almost musical. His stories do not always make you laugh. At times, they bring tears in the eyes, Your heart feels brimmed with a certain warmth and kindness. It is as if his slightly husky voice is assuaging the bitterness of life. It feels like a healing whiff of air.
Then surprisingly, Zakir doesn’t use abuses much. Many a times and many comics tend to think that using abuses and shocking irreverent expressions can bring in laughter. Well, it may be true sometimes, but not always. What always works though is the reassuring small giggle in someone’s voice while narrating his own failure. Zakir has that treasure.It is wrong to call him just a stand-up comic. He is a story teller, a ‘Qissago’. You can come across many people like him in Bhopal or Indore or, let’s say in a city in Madhya Pradesh. But the human warmth and reassurance that his style carries in almost all his performances is uncanny. His ‘Qissa’ about Dasvi or about his grandfather or his girlfriend(s), they are not just humorous, they are very humane and at times even sentimental.
Then I came to know that he is a scriptwriter too. Well, why not. A writer like that will definitely bring about some gems. The difficult task now for Zakir is to maintain this humane touch in his humour which most stand-up comics tend to lose. There is a difference between roasting and cracking jokes. I have no problems with roasting, not at all! That’s also enjoyable. But a wit which can make you giggle and sigh at the same time is precious and rare. His ‘Qissagoi’ is almost a kind of literature which stays with you for a long time. And someone is doing such a good job in Hindi and is damn successful too- knowing this in itself fills me with a strange kind of happiness and pride.
Carry on Zakir! Be yourself, be humorous, gentle and witty! A thousand more successes to you!
