Discover how far the raw field of standup comedy has progressed in Bangladesh from the Pioneer himself, also the Former CEO of IBM, Naveed Mahbub.
Q: We would like to go through the whole journey of your life. Please start from the very beginning like where you were born and brought up. And also tell us about your academic background.
Naveed Mahbub: I was born and brought up in Dhaka. Well, for the first few years, I spent my days in Pakistan as back then Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. I started my school in East Pakistan. During the war, we escaped the country. It was a dreadful experience. We had to go through the desert in Afghanistan. After the liberation we came back and got admitted in Udayan School. After that, I switched to Saint Joseph. Next, I moved to UK with my parents for two years. I continued my studies over there. After returning, I started going to Saint Joseph again. Next, I got into Govt. Laboratory High School in class 9 and completed my SSC from over there. I stood 13th in the combined merit list of Dhaka board. Then I went to Dhaka College and completed my HSC from over there. I then stood 5th in the combined merit list.
For graduation, I got admitted in BUET. I stood second in the admission test and got admitted in the Dept. of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE). I completed my graduation as first class 16th. Right away I went off to USA to complete my master’s degree from University of Michigan in electrical engineering. And then I worked for a good number of years at different companies as an engineer. I worked at Takata — a Japanese company. Then at a California based startup. I also worked at Ford motor company. Then I worked at a mobile phone company. At one point I quit my job and started working as a full time stand-up comedian. In 2007, I became the best male comedian at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. Then I came back to Dhaka and joined North South University. I was a faculty member at the Dept. of Electrical & Electronic Engineering.. I was still doing comedy. I was also working as a part time teacher at the American International School in Dhaka. Then I got an offer to become the Chief Executive Officer of Nokia Siemens network in Bangladesh. After that I became the CEO of IBM in Bangladesh. But ultimately I quit my job once again to become a full time comedian. Meanwhile, I started Naveed’s Comedy Club and had my own TV show — The Naveed Mahbub Show. I have also got my own radio show now. Meantime I got married and had two kids. So that’s my journey in a nutshell.
Q: You have a very bright academic life in school, college and university. We can hardly imagine you planning to become a full-time comedian. Is there any comedian who motivated you? How did you come with the idea of becoming a comedian? Did you think of it during your school and college life? What were your dreams back then?
NM: When I was in school, college or university, I never dreamt of this. Even when I was working as an engineer, I never thought this would happen. I think, in 2003 or 2004, my wife and I went to a comedy store in La Jolla, California. After the show I was talking to the comedian and asked him how he started. And I got interested hearing his story. Seeing my enthusiasm, he told me to meet a lady called Sandy who owns a comedy store. I went there and spoke to her. She said that she never saw a Bangladeshi guy go to her and take interest in standup comedy and ask for advice. After that, I worked under her supervision and that’s how it all started and I started to find a lot of interest in this. Winning the comedy festival at Las Vegas boosted my confidence greatly.
In 2005, I went for the Hajj. After coming from the Hajj, I had the revelation that life is short and one day I am going to die. But where is my Sadaqah Jariyah? What am I going to leave behind? I have a good job and I have made some money. But I needed to do something that would reach people. They would remember me. Not only for the fact that they were entertained by me, but also because they learnt something good from me. That maybe I had made some positive changes in their lives. So I said, “OK, I am gonna leave my job and do comedy fulltime.” At first, I quit my job and I started doing job back again. Then I quit again. Sometimes I feel like starting yet again because you need to pay the bills. But at the end of the day, this is the most full-filing thing I have ever done.
Q: In our country, there are so many social taboos. You were doing very well in your corporate life. Your family members and peers were very comfortable with what you were doing. But when you took the decision of becoming a comedian, what was their response? We mean, what was the support or obstacle in this path?
NM: Well, the opinion of family matters the most in any case. My wife Zaara was very supportive from the very beginning. She is supportive to this day. I don’t think any spouse in her right mind would allow her husband to quit his high-paying corporate job to become a full-time standup comedian artist. But my wife is the kind of person who believes in what I believe in. And not only that, she supports me till the last minute. Even after all these years, she is very supportive of my choice of career. She has been a very big help.
Fortunately, my parents, as well as Zaara’s parents, are very liberal. They always believe in the fact that you are the best judge of what you want to do. And as long as your intuition or niyah is good and if you are making a decent earning to support your family, then there’s no wrong in doing it. My family members are actually very proud of it. My kids are proud of saying that their dad is a comedian. They fill up their father’s occupation in their forms as comedians. So from that perspective, they are very supportive. In general, I have not found anyone ridicule the fact that I am a comedian. As a matter of fact, the society has been very supportive and even fascinated with such an interesting thing. And they have been motivated to think outside the box.
Q: When you started your career as a comedian, what was the situation like? What is the current situation now? When you started, there were hardly any comedian doing standup comedy over here in Bangladesh. But now the situation is changing. How will you compare that?
NM: Well, we have had comedy all along in almost everyday life. But standup comedy is different from your regular comedy of telling jokes. This was nonexistent as you said. But it’s been six years since we started Naveed’s Comedy Club in 2010. It has been a great platform in this sector. People have come and seen what standup is all about. And that has encouraged a lot of people. I think we have come a very long way in six years. Now there are many programs and events organized where the audience wants the main act to be a standup comedy. And not only to perform comedy, but also if you want a host, if you want a spokesperson, if you want a motivator, if you want a teacher, if you want a trainer, people would prefer a standup comedian. Because when you are making people laugh, you have a more successful result in delivering a particular message to the audience.
Q: So from your perspective, apart from making other people laugh, what are the other roles a comedian can play that would impact the society?
NM: Well, the impact is huge. Comedy is more like a truck. It’s a delivery mechanism. And the advantage of humor is that, if it really comes in good taste, if it’s not offensive, if it’s clean, if it’s pure and honest, then what happens is that, you have a receptive audience. And if you have a receptive audience, you can always embed truth through your humor. And that was the topic of my TedX talk that it’s simply a delivery mechanism. And if I want to give a message to the society on a particular area and if I deliver it through humor, there is a higher probability that it would be accepted. And so from that perspective, humor carries a lot of weight in delivering the truth. And I can name a hundred topic – social issues, family issues, job issues and a lot more; and if you talk about them through humor, there is a better chance of them getting accepted.
Q: When a standup comedian talks about something, it’s a bit sarcastic. But when you need to talk about something serious, like the recent issues with politics, society or country how do the people accept it? I mean, the people in other countries are very open towards it. But in Bangladesh, whenever you talk about an issue through humor, so many people might get offended. So, how do you tackle it?
NM: Well, people are a bit sensitive about any topic over here. We tend to analyze a little bit more than the people do in the west. So you may take a sensitive issue and may actually deliver the message correctly but some people may misinterpret it. They would say why are you “making a joke” out of a sad issue like this. I would say to them that, it’s not a joke. I am trying to be sarcastic and through cynicism, I am trying to point out the thing that’s wrong with it. I am actually making fun of the perpetrators, not the victim. That’s one thing. The second issue is that there are some things that you just can’t get into because again people misinterpret in many ways. These are very sensitive. So, what do you do? Do you not say anything? Or you do it gradually? I think the second one is proper. About the sensitive issues, I think, the way is to gradually try to edge into it. You can’t take a big step at first. And I believe that people will gradually become more accepting. It won’t happen overnight. Even in the west – with so much freedom of speech and so much liberalism, if you make fun of somebody on his or her face, of course, he will laugh along with everybody, but there are some people who might get offended, maybe, during his private moments.
Q: These days there a lot of standup comedian coming in this sector. What is their condition? Are they interested in taking it as a profession? Or just a hobby? Are they practicing perfectly enough?
NM: Well, a lot of people are coming. They have huge potential and some are doing very well. Some of them are even doing it full-time. One advantage the comedians these days are getting is that there are not many standup comedians in the country now. But there is a fair amount of demand. They are in a good shape as far as the market is concerned. It’s only a question of time that there will be more competition but the demand will remain almost the same.
When there will be an oversupply of comedians, then they will realize that they need to improve in order to survive. That really where the key is. The comedians should know for a fact that they need to be a step ahead. Every time he gets a chance to go up on stage, he needs to go up on stage – no matter how unattractive the gig is. Because, whenever the comedian goes up on stage, that’s the only chance he gets to practice. It’s not like singing, which you get to practice at home. The only way you could test your material, or your comedy, or just the practice of speaking in front of people is being in the front of people. That’s where the comedians need to work on. The comedians are already very picky. But in the west, people will pay money to get on the stage.
Q: You had a very successful academic and corporate life. Do you think this worked as an advantage? Like, people would think, OK, he is a successful guy, let’s listen to what he says. In addition, I would also like to ask that, a guy who is starting from the scratch, whose age is not more than 20 or 22, will he have the same advantages?
NM: I think there is really no starting point. Because standup comedy is really about your own persona, your point of view, your life experiences. So, a 20-year-old kid might have a lot of interesting stories to tell. He might be very mature from his point of view. Then he will definitely attract his audience. I don’t think there is anything to do with my background. I am somewhat late in the game. But I can say that standup comedy is about telling the truth. That means it is based on your life experiences. At my age, when I started, I had so many things to talk about. I had a whole range of life experiences. So when I got onto the stage, I had more things to talk about than a 22-year-old. So, it’s all about how long you have been around on this planet. That’s the only advantage I got. It has nothing to do with my background. A 20-year-old can have tons of interesting experience within the next 20 years that nobody has thought about. He just needs to get out there and tell those stories in a funny way. He is going to capture the audience. In a nutshell, there is nothing to do with my background.
Yes, it might be a novelty, that nobody have seen a CEO do standup comedy. But that novelty is only for a minute. After that, they need to hear something interesting. Which has nothing to do with the novelty.
Q: Alhamdulillah, you have been a very successful comedian and have achieved a lot. What are your future plans?
NM: Well, I would like to be a very well-known comedian all throughout the world. “Not only because he is funny, but he has got something different to tell us. By listening to him, I have become a better person” — that’s the type of comedian I want to be. One day people across the world will know that Naveed Mahmood is funny. But through him I have learned the truth. I want to become a social comedian through which people would know me as the differentiator. That’s the place where I would like to be.
Q: What is your advice to the young ones who are new in this sector? What should they do if they would like to take it as a full time job?
NM: Well, if you want to do that, it’s fantastic. But it’s not easy at all. It’s not easy in any part of the world. In this sector, very few reach the point where they can take it full-time and still make a lot of money. But over here, the market is much smaller. It’s a market that is still in the process of accepting it as an art form where you need to pay for it. They are a service provider. So, from that perspective, it’s harder over here. At the same time, one must not be discouraged by it. Even that itself could be an advantage. But right now, the market does not accept the fact that I need to pay this guy because of his comedies. By the time they realize it, this comedian has become much more mature. But the way to get there is that, right away, if he says I’m 22 years old, I have just graduated and I want to go full-time, then I appreciate it. If you think that you will leave a decent paying job and work a whole month at gigs, and make a lot of money from two of those gigs, which would sum up to that corporate job, then it’s ok. Also, some people may have to work and keep it on aside and work on it as a hobby.
One day, when this hobby is strong enough and if one thinks, “I will leave my corporate job”, it is still a lot of work. It’s a gradual process. Nothing is easy. But the fun is in working hard. The things in standup comedy are really hard. I can’t deliver the same in all the shows. You need to deliver something new every time.
Q: As the last question, please share an interesting event of your comedian carrier with us.
NM: I remember one particular incident. Once I was doing standup comedy in Michigan. After the show, an American guy walks at me and tells that he is from the US army. He just came back from Iraq. Through my comedy, he learnt about what he knew about the Muslims in Iraq wasn’t completely true. So that was when I realized the part of humor. That you can enlighten people. It’s a really powerful tool that you can use to spread the truth.
