Exclusive! Zakir Khan: I am not relevant

Zakir Khan. Pic- Instagram

Stand-up comedian and actor Zakir Khan is back with season 2 of his show 'Farzi Mushaira' on Amazon miniTV. The show involves a group of people moderated by Zakir engaging in shayari but with a comic twist. When they started out with 'Farzi Mushaira', Zakir revealed they were looking to create something that "people can binge watch".

Season 2 which is currently streaming on Amazon miniTV sees new guests like Tanmay Bhat, Vijay Varma, Richa Chadha, and Kritika Kamra along with recurring guests Nishant Tanwar, Kumar Varun, Gopal Dutt, and Hussain Dalal. "During season 1, we were just discovering as there was no reference point to a show with this theme. It's a collaborative type of show. As a stand-up comedian, you do your own thing, you are alone all the time, so we also had to figure out that meter. These are all people who are great at their work. They are good, very talented people. So just to manage them in itself is a task. In the first season, we understood what to do and what not to do. In the second season, we were better prepared, we knew exactly what to do, we knew how to edit, and we increased the number of cameras. When it came to learning, season 1 was good, season 2 is gold," said Khan talking to mid-day.com.

Even though Zakir has a poetic background, infusing comedy with shayari does not come easy, says the comedian. "Writing is the trick. It is difficult but fun to do. There are around 20 people in the writing room when we work on 'Farzi Mushaira'. It goes on for 3-5 days and it looks like a mela. People are lying on the floor with 5-6 laptops lying around and eating food. By the time we finish shooting, we only talk in rhymes," he shared.

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Zakir also shared that he would like to have actor Varun Dhawan on the show and also have an NSD special show with actors like Kumud Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi joining him.

Zakir Khan is seen constantly bringing different content for his audience but every piece of content is very personal to the comic, whether it is his stand-up specials or his webs series 'Chacha Vidhayak Hai Humare'. Ask him how he stays relevant in this fast-paced world where the audience is spoilt for choice when it comes to content. "I am not relevant. I don't stay relevant also. Basically, I don't run in that rut at all. I have never done that. You will not see me following any trend. Last 10 years I have been doing comedy, 7 years of popularity; I have never done that. I cannot do that and I cannot keep up with the trends and I have accepted that myself. You will never see me do that. Trying to be relevant is not my game," he said.

The comic who has 2 stand-up specials to his credit and currently touring with his third revealed that he does not write his material. "I do not write. I do not even write on the stage. I don't write my shows. There is no script, but I have a rough idea. Also, I have a very good memory. That is not something I tell a lot of people. But I remember a lot of things. I remember, so I don't write. I don't have to refer to a note, because I remember," he added.