Barrister and stand-up comedian, Ishtiaquddin Ahmad Ashik is a spirited performer. Rubab Nayeem Khan gets entertained by his quirky persona
Photograph By Samiul Shuvo
Performing under the name ‘Ahmad Ashik,’ he has been doing stand-up comedy for ten years. When asked about what gets his humour up and running, Ashik says, “I have opened up to a lot of different things; world news has suddenly piqued my interest considering everything that’s going on these days. However, I am finding a way to bridge these two dimensions of me,” adds Ashik. Having said that, he finds it comfortable to delve into self- deprecation, observational humour and physical comedy because that is what he started with as a comedian.
While he’s at it, he mentions that he is currently enjoying not having to script his jokes. “During performances, I just improvise and interact with the audience about my interests along with local and international issues. The thrill of finding humour from nothing is what gets my adrenaline kicking in,” says the enthusiastic comic.
Although people have some idea about comedy, Ashik shares that stand-up comedy as an art form is still unknown to the masses. In light of this, he says that stand-up comedy is yet to become concrete in Dhaka. “Rickshaw fares have fared better than comedy in Dhaka,” chuckles Ashik.
Nevertheless, he takes the challenges in stride and works with it thoroughly. “I have done shows at universities and at our local club and the response has been great so far,” explains Ashik.
For Ashik, stand-up comedy is a therapeutic and thrilling experience. He thrives on spontaneity and improv, when on stage. He further explains that one has to think on their feet. Even when humour runs dry, he manages to make something out of it. “As a comedian, I believe I can sense what can and cannot work. This for me is a perfect system because if my joke fails, my excuse is lack of preparation; but if it works, that makes me a genius,” exclaims Ashik.
While he goes on to explain that this platform is rather new, he feels that it takes guts to perform. He says, “Your purpose will be to make people laugh and also be entertained yourself. If you genuinely feel you have something interesting and funny to share, by all means get up and do it.”
The stand-up comedy scene is still a work in progress; Ashik feels that the platform would certainly flourish if the youth engaged themselves in this art form. “It would be brilliant to have school kids coming to shows. In addition, Dhaka needs more female comedians, which can be done through comedy shows like ‘student night’ or ‘ladies night.’ That way people won’t feel skittish about getting up on stage. These initiatives should be promoted heavily through social media to get the message across that stand-up comedy is indeed something to look forward to,” concludes the comedian.