YouTubers with an apt of tasteful comedy are a rare breed!
It is easy to resort to typical, cheap jokes to make your audiences laugh but it is an art to create creative content on the video platform that stands out and becomes a classy brand of humor over time.
One such initiative that has gained traction with its achingly funny critique on life, sports, politics, advertisements, and entertainment is CBA-Arslan Naseer, a YouTuber and comic artist who is no less than a star in his own realm.
A cursory glimpse at his Facebook and YouTube proves that he is not like other content creators on social media who are running their respective accounts for the sake of views. He doesn’t entice you with clickbait video titles or with everyday Vlogs to give a peep into his life, doesn’t indulge in YouTube wars, stays away from controversies, and refrains from roasting and pranking people around to grab eyeballs.
CBA is indeed distinctive with its mature satire on all things Pakistanis consider worthy and not-so-worthy. Jokes and punchlines in his parodies and spoof videos are never repetitive. There is not a single of his reviews that you will not be compelled to share with the rest and he observes the most hysterical things in a drama, movie, ad, or a track that no one else does!
From Coke Studio, Meray Pass Tum Ho, Ye Dil Mera to even Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham; no one is safe from the sassy and savage, Arslan. The best part is that even celebrities laud him for his penchant for cynicism. Nevertheless, we were surprised when news broke that he has signed Danish Nawaz’s Hum TV comedy play ‘Chupkay Chukay’.
. . . . . #CBA #hrithikroshan #shahrukhkhan #amitabh #k3g #karanjohar #bollywood
Who knew that Naseer who is passionate about finding all things hilarious in show town will be soon seen on screens himself?
But why? What made him venture into acting especially when he has been so popular for his satirical takes on celebrities and their work? Isn’t he worried that someday his work too might be made into spoof videos?
We enjoyed a detailed conversation with Arslan and asked all the burning questions in our minds! We don’t know when Chupkay Chupkay will finally be out but a chat with him has made us excited for it even more.
After years of being a comic pro at YouTube, what made you venture into acting?
I have been working in the corporate sector for many years and just when I decided to take a leap of faith and focus on being a full-time digital content creator, I got the offer. It wasn’t the first one, as I did get quite a few acting offers in the past as well but I would rate MD productions right at the top. When I got to know that the script is by Saima Akram (from Suno Chanda Fame) and is going to be directed by Danish Nawaz (my all-time favorite) I was half convinced right away but when I went through the script I loved it and the role that was being offered.
Moreover, the co-stars involved in the project included ace actors from the industry. What more can one ask for an acting debut?
It’s always a good learning experience to try out new things and I am open to more options now. I was not too sure about acting in the start but then I simply loved it after a couple of days of the shoot. I am not too worried about the result, to be honest, all I want is to enjoy the work I am involved in and acting is definitely it.
Tell us how you landed your role in Danish Nawaz’s Chupkay Chupkay?
I have no clue, to be honest, maybe the character that they had in their mind fitted me well. I got approached by MD productions. To tell you the truth I was a bit surprised but I am glad we have production houses and directors in the country who are on the lookout for searching for new talent.
Danish has been super kind and patient while dealing with me as I believe working with newcomers might be troublesome. It’s not just me but a very talented actress, Aymen Saleem is also making her acting debut in the play. She plays the role of my love interest in the serial. The joy that Danish brings at the set makes our job much easier.
So what is your character all about in the comedy-drama?
It’s a tale of two families who are not only neighbors but are also related. Both the grannies have a never-ending beef but their grandchildren think otherwise. It is a love-hate relationship of one big family that is filled with occasional jealousy, friendship, romance, and lots of laughter. I will be playing the eldest son in one of the two families. My character is funny, at times quite serious too, dumb (when it comes to his love interest) and considerate as well. Pretty much everything that I am in real life!
Osman Khalid Butt too started it all with hilarious spoofs on YouTube. How has working with him been so far on set?
It has been a great experience so far and I am learning a lot from him. He remains a major influence in the first place as it was he who emphasized that one should always step out of their comfort zone to evolve. The fact that he got his initial fame from social media as well gives me that level of comfort while interacting with him. He is super talented and guides me well before each scene. I would be glad if I achieve even half of what he has in such a short period.
A fun fact, he once tweeted in appreciation of my scriptwriting skills and also expressed the desire of working on something together. So here we are today, working on this one together. Maybe the guy has some mystic powers, he gets what he desires.
You have been doing a hilarious review of TVCs, songs, and now dramas for a long time. Are you worried your character in Chupkay Chupkay and the project overall might get ridiculed as well?
I am not actually because if you go through my work, I try my best to keep that element of respect while creating my spoof videos. I know there is a growing trend of “roasting” in recent times in which we have somehow made it normal to ridicule an individual that too without their consent.
My work is at times confused with “roasting videos” which I am making sure is not to be the case anymore. My way of doing comedy focuses more on “narrating a new story” which results in taking a funny spin on any existing content. That’s why I avoid comedy content for my spoofs, it’s usually serious and good content that I turn into comedy and that is where the creativity lies.
One feedback that I received on my recent Ye Dil Mera spoof was ‘that the story that he has narrated is true and not so true at the same time’. I have also purposefully toned down my punch lines in the past few years so that it doesn’t sound disrespectful to anyone. That being said, if someone wants to ridicule my character they have all the right to do so. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity, especially if it’s done on a drama character. The drama is a comedy, had it been a serious one, I would have made a spoof video on it myself.
@humtvpakistanofficial
Your recent reviews of Ye Dil Mera were hilarious. Do you think you have become dangerous for directors, writers, and stars overtime by posting witty yet sarcastic content?
I don’t think there is an element of danger involved in it. I liked the serial, I was following it for many months. I loved the direction, the story, and how Sajal, Ahad, Adnan Siddiqui, and the rest of the cast acted. I even announced it in the videos that I am a fan of the serial. This is the reason I have started calling these videos “spoofs” now so that people do not confuse them as “reviews”. It’s just an alternate story that I narrate in these videos which is not even true most of the time.
I always encourage my fans to watch the actual videos first to understand the humor part of my videos. From what I know, I am promoting the content, I get countless messages from the youth saying that we only started watching the serial because of my spoof videos. And this has been the case so far with every drama serial I made a spoof on.
link in bio . . . . . #spoof #cba #sajalaly #ahadrazamir #yedilmera #yehdilmera
Even Farhat Ishtiaq shared your take on Ye Dil Mera. Was it a loving tribute to the drama or you wanted to critique it?
See this is exactly the point that I was making earlier, Farhat Ishtiaq loved it, Sajjal loved it and posted it on her official Instagram account. Ahad contacted me as well to appreciate the work. There hasn’t been a single CBA Spoof video after which the actual people involved in the project didn’t contact me or appreciated me.
Most of these have done it publicly on their official social media assets. It’s because the videos are not a critique, they are an alternate story narrated in CBA style. I just try to take a fun spin on serious content by writing a new script. People who have been involved in the creation process of the content can appreciate my effort more as they know I have given a new perspective to their script.
link in bio 
. . . . . #CBA #yedilmera #Humtv #spoof
Your journey with CBA started almost eight years back. After making comics, what prompted you to release your first video on YouTube?
It all started as a hobby. I used to doodle around a lot, so thought of posting my content online as well. To be honest, I always preferred videos as a medium to communicate like most of my content is satire based and over the time I realized that our audience is not really into reading anymore. With sarcasm/satire, at times many get confused. When it’s communicated in a video format people do relate to it better and kind of understand the underlined humor.
I did take some time to make the transition into videos as I had to try out a few things before finalizing a unique style.
Please share with your fans that one Hum TV comedy-drama you genuinely love and won’t dare make a spoof of!
In the recent past, it has to be Ye Dil Mera and I did make a spoof of it. In my opinion, the story was unique, and it did not involve the usual family politics. The reason for making Ye Dil Mera’s spoof was that I wanted the youth to know about such stories being aired on TV.
In this age of Netflix and other OTT platforms, the younger audience is pretty well versed with quality content. I think the drama challenged the norms. To me, the way Ye Dil Mera was performed and directed lead it to be amongst the best serials that came out in the recent past. Alongside that, I am liking Kashaf and Sabaat that are on air these days and I liked Ehd-e-Wafa as well. I also made a spoof video on it.
On my YouTube channel
Which is your favorite parody review that you consider “This one was the best”?
To be honest, by the time I upload a video, I start hating it because that is the thing with editing. You go through a video so many times that it starts to sound lame by the end of it. The beauty of creating content for social media is that I do the script myself, I am involved in the shoot of the videos and then I edit them too, myself. With so much effort gone into each video, I consider all my videos pretty much the same and they are all quite dear to me.
How does it feel to be able to spread smiles and make millions laugh?
That is perhaps the best feeling and the only driving force all these years. I have been producing digital content when there was no money involved and when there was not enough recognition either. The brands were not interested, YouTube was banned in the country, and there was no monetization involved. So it was only the fans, their love that they share in the comments that kept me going and has been a major motivational factor.
As we all know that social media can be very toxic, most of the public figures are now coming out and reacting to all the hate as well. But speaking of us digital content creators, we are dealing with this since the very beginning. It’s a tough path, to be honest, starting from practically zero followers, without getting any monetary benefit and then dealing with the hate as well. But then, as they say, all is well that ends well. It has been the joy of spreading smiles that kept me and all my fellow creators going.
Ever thought of hosting your comedy show?
I received quite a few offers from a few channels regarding my comedy show but I don’t think I would be too comfortable doing that. At the moment I am more comfortable doing that on digital media where I have the freedom of producing content how I like and most importantly whenever I like to. I would rather prefer acting as a career as its fun. You get to play different roles and characters and you also get to work with so many talented people.
How is real-life Arslan? Is he as savage and vivacious as he is in his videos?
I wouldn’t call myself savage but yes, that is definitely not something I am in real life. At times I have to wait for hours, if not days, to come into that state of mind before deciding to record a video. I am quite the opposite in real life and some might rate me as quite boring in real.
What is next for Arslan?
I am not much of a planner, but since I have taken this leap of faith in leaving my full-time job and exploring the world of digital and electronic media, I would like to produce as much content as I can. Digital will remain an important part of my life for my creative freedom but I would also want to take up more of acting projects as it’s not only a great learning experience but also gives a chance to work with likeminded people.
from HUM TV – Watch Dramas Online https://ift.tt/30XW1tl
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