Photograph by Rashebehari Das
Stand-up comedy is a slow but steadily rising trend in the field of comedy. While in other parts of the world, this sphere of humour is well known, it can be considered relatively new in the comedy platform of Bangladesh.
Photograph by Rohit Parab
Every celebrity has some characteristics which show through from childhood.We asked Max what made him stand out as a child.
Max considers himself to be an extremely introverted child, like someone who’d be really happy if anyone paid them any attention at all. “I used to sing at the school functions, it wasn’t the greatest. I wasn’t very confident; in fact, the only reason I would take part in them was to bunk classes!”
No success story is smooth. Max tells us, what his ride was like…
“My dad would throw away packs of cards and I would buy them back again from the two Riyadh stores, in Saudi Arabia, where I grew up.” He recalls that the first ever show that he did in school at the age of thirteen, was funded by his father on the condition that he’d never do another magic show again! “I lied because I absolutely love magic and the reason back then, for me, was that it got me attention.”
His parents are proud of him now, but it took them eleven years to realise this. It never came easy, he feels, belonging to a typical Bangladeshi family, where there are only three professions to choose from- a doctor, lawyer or an engineer, he continued. “Most kids have it lucky they have three choices. I had only one- doctor.”
What about before your performances in India and after, we probed.
Before India, things were difficult, Max relays. “I would play videogames till ungodly hours in the morning, I wasn’t doing any shows, and I was so depressed I would find reasons to not hang out with my best friends.” he admitted sheepishly. “Let’s put it this way, going to India felt like going to rehab and back.”
India was surprisingly easy, he exclaimed! “There was this one bar I performed in, where I was told to open for a bad audience, only because I was an underestimated foreigner. Now that’s the worst position to have because the one who opens sets a benchmark for the other comedians. A benchmark I did set, but none of the others could live up to it,” he chuckles.
Max’s experience on the silver screen with Sourav Ganguly, on his quiz show, Dadagiri…
“I felt amazing that I was able to fool Sourav Ganguly on air,” says Max slyly. As a person I thought he was super cool. And there’s one person I’d like to give a shout-out to, and it’d be wrong if I didn’t- it’s somebody called Shawon Majumder.” Shawon, he explained was the one who showed the director from Mirakkel and Dadagiri, Max’s show reels and he was so impressed that he invited Max to come and participate.
What about fan hate?
“I’ve had bad shows. I can’t kill it at every show. One criticism I have received is that, all of my jokes have long set ups. I like long set ups because that’s my style. But then again I feel that the style of comedy is subjective. Every comic has their own style. No one can have the last word on what’s funny.”
On the hindsight, there are some entertainment industry practices that Max feels, are demoralising.
“Comics are underpaid, whereas mostly, the budgets to sign these performers on are huge.” he exclaims. So where does all the money go? “I speak for all the performers out there who are exploited because they are new out there. Please recognise the fact that you are hiring a specialised service.”
What’s the way forward?
In Bangladesh, there are not enough people out there who know about standup, says Max. “I don’t want to be a performer who needs to leave the country to be able to perform. I’d rather be here than travel to India. But what’s really sad is that we have so many great artists, but unless there is a ‘bideshi thappa’ or stamp on them, our country fails to recognise their talent, unless, of course, you are very influential.” “When I was in India every single person there knew I was Bangladeshi. I felt proud. I think it’s time my country felt proud that they have us too.”
Started from the bottom and now you’re here. Do you let success get to your head?
“I started performing on the streets. Over there, motivations were entirely different. If I don’t make people laugh today I don’t get paid. Nor can I pay my rent or eat. It’s nice to receive the attention that I get, since I grew up as a kid who pined for attention, but at the same time, I don’t know what to do with it,” Max nods shyly.
“There was a time when being famous was super cool but one of the things that a performer should never do is let success get to their head,” he says. No performer has started famous. “I was homeless- eating out of trashcans, sleeping on buses with homeless people before I started making money. I never want to forget my roots.”
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