'English would not touch hearts in anti-elite era'

OVER THE YEARS, stand-up comedian Zakir Khan has broken ceilings and defied norms.

- HEENA KHANDELWAL

OVER THE YEARS, stand-up comedian Zakir Khan has broken ceilings and defied norms.

But when he recently headlined a full-length show at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden — the first time the venue hosted a Hindi stand-up — it became a moment everyone back home came together to celebrate.

Speaking at the Express Adda in Mumbai on Thursday, Khan reflected on how stand-up comedy in India naturally leaned heavily on English initially. “The art form comes from abroad, so everybody was performing in English,” he said, “But when I saw it, I personally felt it was a foreign language and wouldn’t touch people’s hearts. So I held my ground.”

Born and raised in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, into a middle-class Rajasthani Muslim family, Khan said he consciously tried to take “the language I am comfortable in to the maximum number of people.”

The initial years, he admitted, were tough. “I personally feel this is an anti-elite era,” he said, explaining how he eventually found an audience that resonated with his voice and language.