Fame is the driving factor for most people who have become successful in life. Nasif Akhtar, a young lad from a village near Malda in West Bengal, a small town about 300 km from Kolkata, is a great example of precisely that sort of ambition. An up-and-coming stand-up comedian in the scene, Nasif is now set to perform at Kolkata’s most hip performance venue, TopCat, at Off Beat CCU, on 23rd June. A graduate of St Xavier’s with a Masters in filmmaking, Nasif did not realise that stand-up comedy could be a career until 2016.
“I am and always was sarcastic whenever I hung out with friends. I had no count of how many times I offended people due to this. I was only kidding but they didn’t get it, perhaps because of my bad delivery. In December 2016, when I tried standup comedy for the first time, I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” explains Nasif. While enjoying the spotlight, He claims to do observational comedy where he tends to study the audience before deciding on the jokes he wants to crack. His favourite theme is the racial and religious divide in society. and his audience enjoys it.
“Sometimes, it’s very hard to make a crowd chuckle and at other times, I see an audience having the best time only because of me. I love working the crowd more than anything, and I do that a lot!” he enthuses. Nasif has done over 700 shows all over the country as well as in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh. Leading up to his Kolkata gig, he promises, “If it’s funny and interesting, you will love it, and you will have a great time. Trust me, I don’t want to hurt anyone...”
After this show, Nasif will head to the UK for the first time to make an appearance at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “I am very proud to be getting a chance to perform there. I am excited and nervous,” he shares.
On June 23, at TopCat.