Amin opens up about his ‘One Night Stand’

If you know anything about the stand-up comedy scene in Dhaka city, you know about Amin Hannan Chowdhury. There are only a few comedians in this game and it was through this very player Bangladesh witnessed its first ever comedy special. Was a long time coming, wasn't it?

Last month on Chorki, Amin Hannan Chowdhury's first comedy special and the first of its kind in the country, 'One Night Stand' was released. Branding anything as "the first ever" does have a bite to it. However, Amin himself does not find the tag too amusing.

"Being the 'first' doesn't really matter to me at all. In fact, I sort of don't like the tag because it doesn't add anything to my comedy. It's just a good marketing gimmick to brand something as 'the first ever.' I was actually against the idea. You could just call it a comedy special. I would rather prefer that," said Amin with humility.

What makes Amin really happy is the fact that releasing his comedy on a large platform like Chorki allowed the mainstream population of the country to have their first taste of a comedy show. Up until now, most of the comedy shows were limited to the quarters of NCC (Naveed's Comedy Club) and a handful of other places. 

Comedy is subjective and when it comes to the average Bangladeshi sense of humour, there's a lot to be desired. That directly feeds into the fan reactions that Amin has received since the release of the special. As always, along with the attention, comes slander and comparison labels. The thing that Bangladeshi comedians have to face the most is that they are "not as funny as Indian comedians." 

"All of the attention eventually comes with a price. With the recent recognition, there has also been a lot of 'hate' going on social media. There were also people commenting that we are not as funny as Indian comedians - which is true and it's okay to say that. However, in the same post, I found Indians engaging positively and asking me when I am coming over to perform in Kolkata. I mean, what is this irony! I am even contemplating doing my next special in Hindi so that people find it funny," said Amin, being his usual comedic self.

In the 35-odd minutes run time of One Night Stand, Amin delivered not only pre-written and tested jokes but also engaged in crowd work. However, viewers have expressed there were certain phases during the show where they didn't…well…laugh as hard.

Regarding that Amin said, " Crowd work is basically meant for the live shows. Even globally, it is a huge challenge to translate the emotions of a joke cracked in front of a live audience to video clips. When I am engaging with the audience, there's a different energy and there's anticipation from the crowd for my punchline. You cannot just replicate that onto video content."

But how does one get better at it? 

"The more stage time I have, the better I get. More shows mean more practice and I also get the chance to test my jokes in different settings and in front of different audiences. There's a saying that as a comedian you always rewrite jokes. More stage time allows me to perfect my jokes over time," replied Amin.

How much of the Virat Kohli joke was scripted?

Ideally, this is not the best question one could ask a comedian, but I had to know! Amin ended his set with a joke regarding his 'prank' on Indian cricketer Virat Kohli during a shoot earlier this year. And the punchlines of the joke were worthy of being a showstopper.

"I did touch his biceps, I did make him pick up the bucket. But of course I did not go up to him and say 'you didn't score runs in the last game!' Of course I did not celebrate our series win in his face! I didn't have the balls to do that! You have to understand that for comedic effect, I have to include some scripted segments," said a jolly Amin, the excitement clearly visible on his face.

I also asked the comedian whether King Kohli followed him back on Instagram. To that he said, "No! I really wish he did. Trust me, I tried. I tagged him here and there on a few posts but it didn't work. Maybe someday it'll happen," giggled Amin.

"He is the nicest person. He is the biggest celebrity I have met. I had one of the best days of my life. We had a fun chat. He hugged me. He also complimented me saying that I am a great actor!"

Well, Virat clearly hadn't streamed One Night Stand because trust me, Amin can't act. And this is not me being mean, Amin agrees too. 

But let's take a moment to truly appreciate what Amin can do as a comedian and more importantly, what he actually has done for the comedy scene through his comedy special.

Amin started a revolution in comedy, drawing attention to stand-up through his special. Streaming and broadcasting platforms now spotlight comedians like Amin, introducing fresh entertainment and talent to audiences.

"What I'm really happy about is that I have sort of done it and showed other comedians that it is possible and that you can do it on a large scale in Bangladesh."