Mr Absar and friends: Faces of raw Bangladeshi digital comedy

Observational comedy, as we know it, has been an integral part of Western entertainment for as long as we millennials can remember. But in Bangladesh, that crude sense of humour has only just begun to go mainstream. 

So, how do we scratch that itch for localised observational humour? We turn to Rakin Absar.

Yet another content creator like many on YouTube and social media, Rakin stands out by bringing raw humour to the table. 

He runs his comedy portal now, 'Mr Absar,' with friends — Dads in the Park's Tajwar Ul Islam, Fahim Islam Shetab and Thiri Than. Everyone also plays a technical role in running the show.

"I began my content creation journey in 2011. It all started unintentionally back then, but Mr Absar was planned. Mr Absar had to go with my personality. I always wanted to attract people like me, who get my ideology," Rakin said.  

A recent Reel on Mr Absar was titled 'My friends at my funeral.'  Normally, we'd expect an eulogy for the dead. But the fact that society eulogises the dead by saying things they don't really mean is the subject matter of the content. His lamenting friends are startled by the good things being said. At one point, Rakin – who plays dead – gets up and curses for all those lies. 

Of course, this seems offensive but the very essence of comedy is to call out double standards in society.

'Mr Absar' began after Rakin graduated in 2016 when he was also working as a programme producer on Dekho TV with Thiri. Before that, he was a part of another comic group, the Bhai Brothers, but he later left it. 

"I ran Mr Absar alongside my job. People didn't believe this content would fly, labelling them meta and that they only serve a niche. But being stubborn, I went out and did it anyway," recalled Rakin.

"Till this day, we don't care about views, we're happy to just do our thing."  

Photo: Noor-A-Alam

But as Mr Absar was taking off, Rakin realised his nine-to-five job wouldn't make him in a month what he could make through comedy content creation in a day. So, he quit Dekho TV, where he worked as a programme producer, in favour of full-time content creation. 

Initially, it was just his OnePlus 6, a tripod and his take on society. Tajwar joined a little later, just as the cameraman. With time, he began acting in the skits too.

"Tajwar always understood me. He understood smooth transitioning, comedic timing, etc," Rakin said about Tajwar appreciatively. 

Thiri, a trained cinematographer, was the third member of the slowly growing team. They shoot and record with the latest technology. But their shots seem choppy at times — a little amateurish. 

This handheld camera technique is borrowed from Western comedy again, where the shots look shaky, bringing a not-so-serious air to the scenes. "During shoots and in the post-production phase, we try to keep that amateurish shakiness so that it is more inviting to people as funny content, not something posh. This is very intentional. That's the comedy here, you know," Rakin said.

Fahim Shetab, a long-time friend of Rakin's and the Director of Commercial and Business Development at fashion brand Gorur Ghash, joined Mr Absar as the latest member when the workload became too big for Rakin to handle alone.

"He's [Fahim] an amazing manager. These people understand me, and my vision. I don't have to over-explain myself to them. We choose people on the team who we don't have to interview; people who just blend in," Rakin said about team formation and their friendship.

Under the Mr Absar banner, no Gulshan-Banani auntie, no English Medium students who can't speak Bangla properly, no scammer, no overly attached Dhanmondi lake couple, is spared from commentary. 

When brands approach them, their only condition is they are allowed to retain 90% of their signature style in paid content. Otherwise, it is easy to lose sight of what certain people or entities start as and become something completely different when the money pours in. 

"Money and brands come and go but for the sake of commercialisation, we won't lose our essence," he said assertively. 

What's more interesting is how Rakin portrays the melodrama signature to his many characters, especially that of Rekina — Rakin's purple-wigged, overly self-righteous, Aunt Karen equivalent. She was last seen in August, doing her "Toxic Girlfriend" things in a video. 

"I was missing Rekina myself. I knew I had to revive her," he added. "Basically, every character is a part of me – it's just me in all of them, in a different version," he said. 

They always turn to real life for their content. All these caricatures they make are actually borrowed from their surroundings. Surely, a lot of people behave absurdly and when such a thing catches their radar, it instantly becomes content – Bangladeshi English Medium students being unable to speak or write Bangla, for example.

"Rakin has a vision and we have to understand that. He's a little strict about these but he has a vision to realise. So, we go with him," said Thiri.

But Rakin's creative flair doesn't allow him to do the marketing as well. That's what Shetab is there for. "For big brands, I had to be the mouthpiece at first. Later, I began to manage the crew full-time. Now I look after the business end of things," he explained. However, also being a witty presence in the gang, he does a bit of content policing as well.

Lastly, even though Tajwar is the only musician among them, he doesn't handle any music. He's there solely for comedy. And we get to explore Tajwar's funny side.