Zakir Khan on Farzi Mushaira: I love comedy and shayari so decided to mix both the universes

Zakir Khan completes a decade in the field of comedy and as we are only two months away from 2023, he stands at over 4.6 million followers on Instagram. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, he talked about season 2 of Farzi Mushaira, the importance of improvisation in comedy, his first ever performance before a live audience, and much more.

Where did this idea come from, blending Shayari and comedy?

Comedy means Shayari, so we decided to merge the two. These are the two things that I’m very passionate about, I love comedy and I also love Shayari so I thought how about mixing the two universes. We had great fun, and because we got so much love for season one, we were able to do season two.

Richa Chadha is also having fun this season. How did she come on board?

We called her up, we have had some conversations before. I met her for the first time in 2016 when she came for an interview on Son of Abish. I was standing backstage at that time, she met me and I had a great time meeting her. When we were doing Farzi Mushaira, we called her up and she was kind enough to say yes to us.

Was it you who suggested the moniker?

When we were writing, we thought it should be a Mushaira and yet, not feel like a Mushaira. We all will talk seriously but the Shayari will be Farzi.

How important is improvisation in the field of comedy and what was your experience of performing in front of a live audience for the first time?

We do improvise. Doing anything for the first time does take time. Take the art of pottery, no matter how hands on you are, you cannot master it the first time or even the second time. Similarly, I couldn’t crack the nuances of performing in front of a live audience for the first few occasions. It was only after a few performances that I understood the rhythm. It took me some time to understand the audiences’ thinking and taste. I’ve had some bad experiences but I don’t like feeling too soon when I try something for the first time. I’m ready to learn.

From your first performance till now, how much do you feel the landscape of comedy has changed or evolved for you?

It has evolved and changed a lot for me, I’m on the good side of it. I consider myself very lucky that the change and evolution has worked in my favour. It has evolved a lot from having 2-3 people to 2-3 thousand people regularly at a show. It has just been the love and blessings of the people I think.

Given how sensitive social media has become, how careful you are when you write or perform a new comedic piece?

I don’t have that kind of a bent. I stay with a lot of respect. I come from a joint family where we have been taught to respect people. So to lash out at people and criticizing them has not been my temperament. I think it’s a creative constraint I’m going through. I don’t have that kind of conversations that can offend people, so I have that filter within me. Secondly, we are discovering the mathematics and logics, some conversations were okay earlier. Most of the comedians only say what they have heard before. We have rejected a lot of jokes as our sensitivity is getting developed. As a society, sensitivity is a very evolving process. Comedians are evolving simultaneously with the society, I think it’s in process.

You have 4.6 million followers on Instagram. How often do you go through the comments on your Insta page?

I didn’t read any comment when I had 46 followers, nor I do that now when I have 4.6 million of them. I’m very thankful to all the people who comment but I don’t see that as fan engagement. People say I should interact and comment to increase the engagement. What is fan engagement? They are just humans, how will you increase your engagement with them. I’ve posted a picture, that’s my engagement. I also interact with people on my show or on the roads. I’ve recently started blocking a lot of people, I don’t get negative comments but I block them due to their constant spamming.

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