Naveed’s Comedy Club: Where deadlines meet punchlines

When Naveed Mahbub - a well-known name in the realm of stand-up comedy in Dhaka - posted a video inviting young entrepreneurs and freelancers to use his comedy club's outdoor café space as a co-working space, it caught the attention of many.

Naveed is well-known among Dhaka audiences not just as a funny man, but also someone who is very active in patronising young comedians and trying to promote the culture of comedy shows in Bangladesh. 

But what is less well known is Naveed is an engineer by training, who once held illustrious positions such as the CEO and country head of both IBM and Nokia Siemens Network. Interacting with young techies and entrepreneurs is something he has done a lot in his life.  

"If anybody asks for assistance based on my training and experience, I am always happy to help," said Naveed during a recent conversation with The Business Standard. 

"It is not limited to this space. It can, and does, happen under different circumstances. But I have noticed it has happened a little bit more over here," he said. 

Naveed's Comedy Club has been around since the start of his career as a comedian a decade back, but had been "nomadic" for the past several years, which was further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Once the lockdowns were lifted, it functioned under the model of a 'comedy room,' meaning they would have regular shows, but it would be at different venues. 

They moved to their present venue, under the name NCC in Gulshan 2, in November of last year. The present setting is divided into three parts: a glass-enclosed indoor space – which is the comedy club itself – followed by a patio and a backyard.

"Initially the outdoor spaces were in dilapidated condition. As people prefer to practise social distancing now, and with the weather being nice outside, we decided to clean it up. We set out some lighting and old furniture, and we got free Wi-Fi from an ISP. 

Naveed Mahbub. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

Not a whole lot of expenses went behind it, but the end result resembled a café," said Naveed. 

A free outdoor cafe space, ideas and laughter every day 

Visitors can stay at the NCC without any obligation to order food or beverages. The place has a full-fledged menu but the café operates through a cloud kitchen. The cloud kitchen functions independently.

"I really don't suffer a loss if people are not ordering anything. If I had the space laying empty, I incur very little costs. Now when I have people coming in and hanging out, it really does not make a difference to me - expense wise," said Naveed.  

A lot of people have been coming in since Naveed's announcement. 

"The magnitude of the outcome is not something that I had expected. The space has almost become like a start-up hub of sorts." 

Both people from start-ups and people working in established companies have been coming in. They, however, are not just sitting alone and working as one does in a regular café. People are interacting and sharing ideas with each other, he said. 

Naveed believed the end result from this endeavour would help him find a bigger audience in comedy. Sometimes they come in to enjoy the various events when they feel the need to 'decompress' from work, but people are mostly drawn to the spectacle of a show. 

"We organise shows every day as of now. It's not just stand-up comedy, but we also host open mics, karaoke, poetry recitals and musical events. Our visitors can see what is going on inside through the glass, and they are drawn to it. That is what I had intended to accomplish from the start," said Naveed.

Philosophy of comedy, political correctness and inspiration  

George Carlin is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comics of all time. Naveed also greatly admires him. Carlin, however, is known for his dark sense of humour. And throughout his prolific career, no topic – from religion to politics – was off-limits for the late comic. 

In the age of political correctness, one can't help but wonder how Carlin's material would be perceived today. Have people become too sensitive in the contemporary comedy scene and lost their ability to take a joke?   

Photo: Noor-A-Alam

"Stand-up comedy is not about telling jokes. It is about telling the truth. I think all comedians are 'straight-forward' and 'in-your-face' when it comes to comedy. It's really a question of degree whether some are more straightforward than the other," said Naveed. 

Comedy is also quite subjective. Some people would rather see or hear something politically correct. Whereas others want the brutal truth. 

"I try to be politically correct. It's not that I have to be, I try to be. But I have so many topics I can talk about where I can really make people think. I don't feel like I have to be politically incorrect to do that," he added.   

However, many distinguished comedians argue that political correctness could very well lead to "the death of comedy as we know it." 

"I don't think any single phenomenon is going to kill comedy. Take climate change for example. If this is not addressed soon, it will be the death of us all. One can address this issue through comedy. You can point your finger at the ones who are to blame

Sure, you just might ruffle a lot of feathers. But you don't have to be politically incorrect to do so," said Naveed.  

In the wake of the Dave Chapelle controversies, a popular approach for comedy shows is to not allow cell phones, cameras or any kind of recording devices at events. A similar rule has also been a part of Naveed's Comedy Club for quite some time. Is a similar phenomenon affecting the Dhaka comedy scene?

"You want to provide a safe space for comedians to have the freedom to say what he or she wants to. However, especially in a place like Bangladesh, you would want to be careful about what you say. You don't know who is in the audience," said Naveed. 

"You also don't know what a particular comedian is going to say. The shows are very unpredictable in nature," he added.   

What was Naveed's answer to the Covid-19 problem? 

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced public events to move to various virtual platforms everywhere. But stand-up comedy as an art form needs the presence of an audience to function. 

"Stand-up comedy must have an audience. You need that energy, feedback, spontaneity and interaction with the audience. You need all of these to make a good show or even have a show in the first place." 

Naveed, however, did do a couple of virtual shows. 

"It is quite difficult in fact because you don't see your audience. Even when you can see your audience, you can see they are distracted and doing something else," said Naveed. 

He added, "Virtual shows are just circumstances of our time. It has happened and it is still happening. But I have not met any comedian who actually enjoys that. I haven't ever met an audience member that said, 'oh my God! That was such a great show!'