“I was shifted to a co-ed school from an all-boys school. Only then did I realise that women have a kind of fragrance that only guys from boys-school can recognise,” said Zakir Khan.
The auditorium of Gurjada Kalakshetram echoed with laughter as Zakir remembered all about his life in ‘Kaksha Gyarvi’ (Class Eleven). The hour-long nostalgic trip took the audience back to the days of teenage crushes, high school romances and brawls over girls .
‘Kaksha Gyarvi’ had an underlying theme. It hinted at bullying, male egos and the toxic definition of ‘mard’. Zakir addressed the issues by personifying ‘male ego’ into a character that overpowers his survival instinct of running away from a fight.
Though every punchline was welcomed with laughter and applause, the loudest roar came for the line “Jhoot kehte hai woh log jo bolte hai mard ro nahi sakte, koi dhang se puchne wala chahiye” (It is a lie when people say that men don’t cry; they need someone who consoles them properly).
Kushal Agarwal, a 31-year-old entrepreneur, who has been following Zakir for a long time, said, “What I liked most about today’s act was the focus on the suffocating definition of masculinity. Observational comedy is fine but only a true artiste can weave something so serious into a comedy act.” Dhruvi Narayanan, another appreciative audience member said she could relate to everything Zakir spoke of. “Every school has that popular pretty girl, the bully and the Romeo . The story that he wove with these characters has happened around each of us.”
The stand up comedian is a globe-trotter with 2.8 million subscribers to his YouTube channel. Zakir shot to fame with his sakt launda character who preferred watching clouds from an airplane rather than talking to the pretty girl next to him because “badal important hai” .
Zakir comes from Indore and says he has used his small town roots to his advantage. He has a larger cross section of people who appreciate his comedy.
That evening he held his audience from Visakhapatnam in thrall with his compelling storytelling skills and his charismatic stage presence. This performance of ‘Kaksha Gyarvi’, the comedian said, was its last live performance.
