Imagine being on stage in front of a crowd, with one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars watching, and suddenly, you forget your joke.
That’s exactly what happened to Naseem Vicky, one of Pakistan’s most beloved comedians, during a performance for Comedy Nights Bachao.
Talking about the experience on Gup Shab, Naseem shared the unforgettable moment from his career that left him speechless.
A fan from the audience asked, “Have you ever forgotten your joke during a performance?”
Naseem Vicky replied, “Yes, it actually happened once when I went to perform for Comedy Nights Bachao. There were celebrities sitting in front of me, including Mika and Salman Khan. My joke was that I was going to roast them. I had planned to tell Salman Khan, ‘Make me your son,’ and he would reply, ‘How can I have such an old son?’ I had this punchline ready. But, my mother had just passed away, and I was grieving. That was the first time in my life that I went up on stage and couldn’t remember my script. I was blank. I kept trying to recall it, but couldn’t. Then, suddenly, there was a blast on set, and the transformer blew up. Allah helped me, and after a little while, I regained my composure. It was a very tough episode for me because my mind was focused on my mother.”
Co-host Rabbania Shirjeel asked, “What do you think, if we compare Pakistan to India, where do comedians and theater artists have more opportunities?”
“They have more opportunities there in India, here, our comedians work very hard. We don’t get written material, we don’t get ready-made content. What they do is they perform, they do comedy. Here, we focus only on punchlines. If we were given proper comedy situations, we would do amazing work. We have fantastic comedians here like Iftikhar Thakur, Qaisar Piya, Nasir Chinati, Agha Majid, and many others who have not been used properly. There are so many people who are just not getting an opportunity, and they could do wonders in films and television if they were given the right roles. The only issue is that the majority of them don’t know English, and that’s why they are one step behind. But if they get proper opportunities, the film industry in our country could be amazing, and sitcoms could become really successful,” the Heer Da Hero actor replied.
When asked about bringing elements from the Indian industry to Pakistan or taking elements from Pakistan to India to change the industry, Naseem Vicky shared his insights:
“What happens is, if you don’t have a good script, you can bring all the best cameras, locations, costumes, and everything else, but it won’t work. If the script is good, then you can make a short clip with simple resources, and it will be great. The script is the key. I would also advise Vasay Bhai to write films like the Punjabi films in India and then make them. Don’t worry about money. Just focus on the quality of the work. The rest will follow.”