The Chaudhrys of comedy: Murtaza, Mustafa on acing mimicry, offending public figures

The comedy duo recently made an appearance on ‘Time Out With Ahsan Khan’

Comedy duo Mustafa and Murtaza Chaudhary have cemented their place in the comedy scene through super hits like the Banana News Network (BNN), The 4 Man Show and now Media Azaad Hay. The brothers recently made an appearance on Time Out With Ahsan Khan, shedding light on their experience of working in comedy and the celebrities they have rubbed the wrong way throughout their careers. 

On their unique sense of humour, Mustafa explained that their style of comedy was one that they grew up surrounded by. “All of our friends and the people we had around in our neighbourhood had the same kind of sense of humour as us. It really wasn’t anything new, we all had a similar style.”

Murtaza further elaborated, adding that the duo does best when they are winging it. “Whenever we’ve tried to bring in more finesse and act, we don’t do well. It’s important for us to be organic and effortless.” 

He explained that both he and Mustafa, as well as their writer Faysal Chaudhry, are often on the same page when it comes to ideas about who to mimic next. “[Ideas] come naturally to us while we watch television. We’ll be watching something and we’ll text each other within ten minutes about it asking, ‘Did you just watch so and so’, and the other person will respond saying, ‘Yes, I was just watching that’. We’re in sync that way.” 

Mustafa shared his thoughts on the comedy scene in India, explaining that he did not feel it was on par with Pakistani stand-up. “We’re a lot better when it comes to stand-up as compared to India. India doesn’t have any humour. They memorize their scripts. Pakistanis are better than that.”

Murtaza added, “India has this culture of adding dirty and inappropriate content into everything. It seems that if you want to do stand-up you have to crack dirty jokes.” His brother chimed in on the topic later, “Usually this kind of inappropriate content doesn’t sound as offensive in English. Urdu is a more adbi [respectful] language.” 

On who he enjoys mimicking the most, Mustafa named Maulana Fazlur Rehman, followed by an outrageous imitation of the politician. “I’ve met several people I’ve made fun of on my show. I did theatre once, and a few of our mutual friends invited Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He said, ‘I’ll come to watch the show, but I’ll sit in a place where I am not visible.’ We told him we’d manage but he was busy and couldn’t make it,” he shared. 

According to Murtaza, politicians are not quick to take offence when it comes to imitations. However, he did not extend the same judgement to actors. He revealed, “When it comes to mimicry, the people who take the most offence are actors. They are also the ones who dislike us the most. Politicians don’t get as offended. They’re more clever.”

On the topic of breaking into comedy, Murtaza said that the newer generation has it easier. “It’s a lot easier now to break into this field. Now, you’re not dependent on TV channels. If you’ve made something good, you have social media like TikTok. It’s easier to be popular.”

During a segment of the show in which the guests are asked for clarifications on statements they’ve made in the past, Mustafa was quizzed about tweets he’d made aimed at late poet Jaun Elia. “People criticise Iqbal as well. Everyone has created their own heroes, and people who have something negative to say about them are villanized,” he retorted. 

Mustafa also commented on firebrand screenwriter Kahlil-ur-Rehman Qamar, known for his anti-feminist tirades. He shared, “I met Khalil Sahab and asked him why he said what he did on Marvi Sarmad’s show. I told him that he shouldn’t have done that. The answer he gave was very different from what he said on TV and it made sense. I told him he should have said that on TV, instead he got hyperactive and lost his case. I told him there’s a way to talk.”

Mustafa added later, “Khalil Sahab’s issue is that everyone listens to what he says and no one counters him. He’s used to that. That can work in a close group, but it doesn’t always play out like that.” 

When asked why Murtaza, who makes it a point to poke fun at people on Twitter, had so far remained silent on the topic of Aurat March, he responded, “I am a supporter of Aurat March. I want freedom for women. They have the right to express their opinions. Women are not free in our society. They should have the freedom to make their own decisions. We’ve confined them to the home.”  

After the duo was quizzed regarding which actor they feel has a very short temper, Murtaza responded with Bushra Ansari’s name. Mustafa clarified further, saying, “Bushra Ansari doesn’t get angry. The only time she lost her temper was because of us. [Murtaza] referred to Anwar Maqsood as a ‘larka [boy]’, so she naturally got quite angry.” 

When asked about future plans, Murtaza responded with exasperation. The comedian shared, “They won’t let us do anything. They’ve banned our show on TV. Our jokes are always based on facts. We don’t go around making jokes out of nothing.”