Stand-up comedian Zakir Khan AKA Sakht Launda, was in Bhubaneswar last month, performing his latest act Kaksha Gyarvi. And because he is touring the country for performances, it took us a while to get in touch with the comedian, who shot to fame when he was adjudged India's Best Stand-Up at a comedy contest organised by Comedy Central India.
When we ask the Indore-born comedian what Kaksha Gyarvi is all about, Khan says, "It's like asking a magician about his tricks," and laughs heartily. But he does tell us that the act is pure nostalgia. "It is to be felt and not judged," he says. Khan also recently donned the hat of an actor when he acted in the web series Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare, which is being aired on Amazon Prime. "It was a completely different experience for me and I realised that it's a tough job, yaar," he mulls as he recollects playing the character of Ronny, who is not big on ambition and keeps using the famous entitled dialogue "Do you know who my uncle is?" to get his way. Khan also contributed to this eight-part series in terms of writing.
Now, if you've seen Khan perform, you know that he is best known for his desi flavour. We ask him how he gets that desi tadka in his act and he states, quite simply, that, "I talk about what I have seen and it all boils down to that. I cannot talk or joke about something I have not experienced," says the 31-year-old. He also believes that the only way to connect with the audience is with imaandari (honesty). When we read out a review he received, where his act was described as a conversation that one has with friends among which Khan is '...one extremely amusing person who’s hauling out hilarious stories one by one', he smiles and says yes, he is truly that bizarre friend whose stories you tune into, no matter what. "And how can one pretend in front of friends?" he asks us with a knowing smile.
"I don't know how to be popular. I don't know how to be a celebrity. All I know is how to work hard," says Khan, who comes from a humble background and has seen his father struggle. And we believe that it is this that makes him and his jokes so endearing to the audience, his salt-of-the-Earth quality is what attracts. And surely, his jokes are known to carry the same relatability with them. When we ask him about Bhubaneswar, he says that it is a sweet city and that, "I will be back very soon."
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