Zakirism

 

“Mein shunya pe sawaar hun
Be adab sa mein khumar hun
Ab mushkilo se kya darun
Mein khud keher harazar hun
Mein shunya pe sawaar hun”
- Zakir Khan

In a time where comedy has been taken up by some as a means to insult others, here is a person who insults himself. A particular section of society loves to see someone else being roasted and the man being roasted is said not to mind that. But that isn’t how comedy should be. Zakir Khan, a person with his outstanding abilities of storytelling and connecting with people, has started a new cult called Zakirism.

Born in Indore and struggling through various jobs, Zakir Khan is like a boy next door. Or maybe us. He got on to the spotlight after winning ‘India’s Best Stand Up’ by Comedy Central in 2012 and then was known across the nation by NDTV Prime’s ‘The Rising Stars of Comedy’ show. He created a different niche for himself and was very successful in that.

He speaks of things a man can relate to. From the way of talking to his GF to being a ‘Sakth Launda’ he has made everyone laugh. His shows like Haq se Single has received a lot of appreciation. Extracts of his sets are used as a method of the cult. For example- one-sided love is also a relationship, for a man puts a lot of effort, irrespective of the participation of the other one. Another example is his way of saying that a man cries, only if asked in the right manner, for he is also affected by the patriarchy.

Zakir also comes from a family of artists and is an amazing poet as well. He has even performed at Jash-e-Rekhta, one of India’s biggest festivals for poets.

The appropriate speaking or narrating skills that he possesses is mind-blowing to me. Those skills of producing great content and narration took him to work with Amazon Prime for a show called Chacha Vidhayak hai Hamare which he not only wrote but also played the protagonist. He has also made a podcast called Ummeed on Gaana.

From the ease of building a connection to relating to his explanations and then being inspired by his poems, Zakir Khan has no competition. Even though he doesn’t make a lot of content, he stays on top of his fans and Zakirism trends the entire year, for his content can be watched again and again.