Stand-up comedian Mubeen Saudagar has been making people love for years now, his fans in and beyond the country look forward to his performances. Also a mimicry artist, he recently made his debut in Bollywood with Salman Khan’s Radhe. Many often praise his unique name and surname, and Mubeen begins by sharing the kind of reactions, comments he has got so far.
“People actually think I changed my surname to Saudagar after watching the Hindi film starring Dilip Kumar saab and Raajkumar saab, but that isn’t correct. Actually, I did a stand act on Raajkumar in Comedy Circus and people thought since it was successful I changed my surname to Saudagar. That isn’t correct. Saudagar is my family name. My father named me Mubeen which means giving sunlight. I don’t know whether I am able to brighten people’s lives but my efforts are driven towards making them happy for sure,” he shares.
While Mubeen did a number of shows such as Comedy Champions, Pehchan Kaun, comedy dangal and entertainment ki raat , Comedy Circus, Comedy Classes and Comedy Nights Bachao, his journey wasn’t smooth.
“In the beginning there were a lot of struggles. I used to write a lot for TV and when I used to give narrations, people used to tell me that I should take the stage and perform. I did stage shows but TV was never in my mind but then slowly I started getting opportunities. When I worked with Kapil (Sharma; actor and comedian) bhai, my talent became known in the world,” he says, adding that the shows he likes the most are Comedy Classes, Comedy Nights Bachao and Comedy Circus.
Talking about the present scenario of comedy, he adds, “I think comedy has really changed a lot. Earlier it was like the joke would be within four lines and then came the punchline, but now there’s variety. It’s about desi comedies these days and now every line should have a punchline and should make the audience laugh.”
People say comedy is something which comes from within and you can’t learn it. “Personally for me it’s different. My wife and people around me tell me that I am a very serious person and there’s no comedy inside me. But whenever I am facing the camera or I am on stage it comes from within and I am quite natural at that. I don’t know how that happens, but this is true,” he explains, who adds that his recent experience with the Zee Comedy Show was quite good.
Since his debut film did well, we ask him about his plans of taking up more acting offers. “I would love to act as well as do love performances. There is no particular genre or role or platform that I want to focus on, I want variety and my focus is on quality,” says Mubeen, who sees himself happily well settled with his wife and kids five years down the line.
The pandemic has affected the entertainment industry. It has changed the way we live and work. “The pandemic has definitely made us learn so many things and got us thinking about ourselves. Personally, I have thought a lot about what and how I should do things. It was during this time that I could go back to reading books, spend time with my family and utilise it in developing my skills,” he ends.
