Where does Faiza Saleem draw the line with jokes?

During an interview on the podcast Excuse Me with Ahmad Ali Butt, comedian Faiza Saleem shed light on the boundaries she follows in her professional life in order to make her content enjoyable on a mass scale. "I try to be mindful online because I know elders and children are watching me. So, I am a little bit careful with the content I put out - as much as I can be, since the content needs to be funny as well," she said.

"You know how these things tend to be filtered? About ten more of those filters are imposed on women," Faiza revealed. "Religion, politics, sex, innuendos, foul language, remove all these things from the equation. We need to stay away from many of the taboo topics. So, that's something you need to think about a lot when posting online because people of all kinds, all ages, are watching you."

However, the experience seems to differ when it comes to a live performance, where Faiza is allowed some leeway. "For improv or stand-up, I'm not that careful since it's a closed environment. And there's also the fact that most people who come to my shows know what they are paying for and what they're going to be getting.

"Even then, I have noticed that there are certain people who make faces and leave halfway through," she countered, adding that this prompted an announcement in the beginning of the shows that if someone wanted to scowl, they were welcomed to take their leave right away instead of disrupting the show later on. "They shouldn't just have all the fun then be offended in the end and call me out on social media."

In 2016, Faiza founded The Khawatoons, Pakistan's first all-women comedy troupe, which has been going strong for over eight years now.

"We make sure to announce that the show is catered to an audience of a certain age group. Children are not allowed on the shows, so of course parents shouldn't be bringing them along. Still, some do bring their kids even though we strictly tell them not to," Faiza told Ahmad.

Despite the fact that she has the freedom to push her comic boundaries during improv, restrictions are ever-present, though Faiza deems them necessary in certain settings. "We also have to assess the kind of audiences that we're receiving. Corporate shows are very proper; we follow certain guidelines there, which is important. That's the benefit of improv comedy. You have the opportunity to gauge your audience's likes and dislikes and move forward accordingly," she said.

"There is a flow and a structure to improv, how we'll go about the day and such, but nothing is scripted," she said. "There's training for that, rehearsals on how to improvise, but nothing is written beforehand. There's only a basic outline."

Making her own rules

Faiza, who worked on the sitcom Hum Sab Ajeeb Se Hain, confessed that she is sceptical about signing on TV shows frequently. "If you do one thing well, you will likely be type-casted in the future. You'll get similar offers, which isn't something that I prefer doing. I am very picky about television," she shared.

"This is especially the case when you become used to social media. Then it becomes difficult for you to abide by someone else's directions and work for longer hours than you usually do," she added. "Whereas when you go viral on social media, it offers a kind of instant gratification that is difficult to find elsewhere."