Zakir Khan: A funny but insightful ‘Everyman’ who could easily have been your neighbour

It is not difficult to understand why Zakir Khan, a stand-up artist from a small-town, middle-class background, is so popular. Khan’s brand of comedy stems from who he is: a young man who learnt the sitar, chose not to take up music as a full-time career, fought hardships as he searched for his dream job, failed in romantic relationships and eventually became a Hindi stand-up star. He is that typical ‘Everyman’ who could easily have been your neighbour. The owner of a distinct style of delivery and simultaneously capable of writing well-knit stand-up scripts, Khan has gone past his previous best in Tathastu, his latest stand-up special on Amazon Prime. His trademark qualities seen in his shows, on YouTube and his other Amazon Prime stand-up specials, Haq Se Single and Kaksha Gyaravi, show up again. Khan addresses a Mumbai audience, those present including familiar faces such as singer-music composer Vishal Dadlani, fellow comic Tanmay Bhatt and actor-singer Meiyang Chang. They can be seen having a good time, which is not surprising. Slightly clumsy, somewhat uncomfortable while using English, Khan’s down-to-earth personality traits make him a much-loved performer. His USPs reappear in Tathastu as he undertakes a personal journey in which he describes his life before and after fame. Khan’s disarming frankness casts a spell when he talks about his inability to have regular meals while sharing a dirty room with a friend - before everything changed. Destiny’s generosity frequently exceeded his expectations, one of those occasions being that day when he became a comedy show writer. The job paid him a monthly salary which nearly equalled his expectations of earning in six months. The salary was accompanied by a perk: a 2 BHK flat in Mumbai. He also got a personal servant along with the flat, which was way beyond his hope of getting a shared room for living and working in Mumbai. Khan shared an unusual relationship with Abbaji, his grandpa Ustad Moinuddin Khan, a renowned sarangi player. He had started playing the sitar reasonably well by the time he was 11, but he chose to leave music to chase his dream of becoming a radio jockey. His decision hurt Abbaji, a maestro who wanted him to have a career in music. Abbaji wasn’t easy to like. He did not appreciate what his grandson did and barely understood what he did anyway. The cranky man’s appetite for distortion surfaced after he asked for money from Khan to buy a new suit for himself. He then manufactured a story about how rudely Khan, his ‘arrogant’ grandson, gave him the money he had not asked for and shared it with his father. Khan’s father was furious because he had advised him not to give money to grandpa, an instruction he had disobeyed. The suit story is one of the many he shares with a hint of a smile on his face – until he arrives at that turning point when his grandpa dies. The tragedy shakes him up, and he realises the importance of valuing his elders, who make us who we are. Khan makes this confession without attempting to conceal his inner feelings, which tugs at the heartstrings of those present. Some in the audience have visibly moist eyes. An elder’s death is a relatable reality, and so is the realisation that one might have neglected and underrated that person’s significance in one’s life. Hindi stand-ups are becoming increasingly popular, and Tathastu is an addition to the list of performances by the best. The Khan special is a reminder that observation and description of day-to-day experiences with well-written scripts give rise to a lot of first-rate content in Hindi and, for that matter, in any language. Amit Tandon makes an impact when he talks about his life in a relatively well-to-do set-up with his parents, wife and two children. Amritsar’s Kapil Sharma’s Netflix special I’m Not Done Yet is another instance of a personal stand-up performance in which he does not too try hard to make his viewers laugh. Harsh Gujral is a Kanpur boy, while Gaurav Gupta offers refreshingly light-hearted takes on life in the Bania community. The list of accomplished Hindi stand-up performers with distinct personalities, different cultural roots and good writing abilities is increasing by the day. Such is life in modern times that their presence is a blessing. The author, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.