The Story of Zakir Khan aka Ronny Bhaiya
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Zakir Khan is an Indian stand-up comedian, writer, poet, storyteller, and actor known by many names, such as Ronny Bhaiya, Sakht Launda, among his followers. Zakir became a popular face in the comedy circuit after winning Comedy Central's India's Best Stand Up Comedian competition. Zakir has been associated with AIB in the past and has done many housefull stand-ups as well.
Bio and Date of Birth:
Zakir Khan was born on August 20, 1987, in Madhya Pradesh's Indore in a middle-class family. His father, Ustad Ismail Khan, is a music teacher in St. Raphael School in Indore. His mother, Kulsum Khan, is a housewife. Zakir comes from a family with a musical background, and he also played the Sitar in the initial days. Zakir also has two brothers, Zeeshan Khan and Arbaaz Khan.
Early Life Struggles: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Zakir is often seen making fun of his dark complexion, especially in his initial stand-up performances. This has a lot to do with his childhood experiences. Zakir once told in an interview that he was bullied by his classmates for his dark complexion and "unattractive" appearance. He now uses those bitter childhood memories to push himself further on the path of success.
Zakir's grandfather Ustad Moinuddin Khan was a Padma Shri awardee and AIR staff artist (All India Radio). He belonged to the Jaipur Gharana. Zakir started to take sitar lessons from Ustad Moinuddin at the age of seven. That's why Zakir later earned a diploma in Sitar.
Zakir went to St. Paul Higher Secondary School, Indore, and participated in lots of cultural events and theatre acts. He developed a liking for Mirza Ghalib and started writing poems and songs.
Career
Zakir was not very good in studies. He studied radio programming in ARSL, Delhi. After Delhi, Zakir went to Jaipur, struggling to find a stable and satisfactory job. It took luck nearly four years to smile on Zakir since he left his home in Indore. He started doing small shows and finally won Comedy Central's contest 'India's Best Stand-Up Comedian' in 2012. After 2012, he started doing independent stand-up performances for almost 3 years. In 2015, Zakir Khan co-hosted and co-wrote 'On Air with AIB' with Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba. It was all glory and success for Zakir from 2015.
Since 2015, Zakir has done several crowd-pleasing stand-up acts. Some of the most popular stand-ups of Zakir Khan include Kaksha Gyarvi and Haq Se Single. Both these acts were featured on Amazon Prime.
After enjoying major success in stand-up comedy, Zakir also tried his hands in screenwriting and then acting. He wrote and played the protagonist in the Amazon Prime web series Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare. The first season of the comedy-drama received a remarkable response from the audience. Zakir earned huge praise for his acting. The story of the series successfully established a connection with the audience, and it opened yet another door of success for Zakir.
He then co-hosted the 5th Annual Golden Kela Awards. Next, he appeared as one of the judges in Amazon Prime's Comicstaan Season 2.
Zakir also appeared in Amazon Prime's One Mic Stand Season 1 alongside Bhuvan Bam. The writer and actor also generated the podcast series Ummeed on Gaana.
The second season of Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare recently came out on Amazon Prime. It received an equally amazing response.
Zakir also appeared in some poetry-related events, including Jashn-e-Rekhta. He recited some of his poems and shayaris at the event.
Below is one of his most popular poems that establishes a connection with youth living away from their homes for work.
Bus ka intazar karte hue,
metro mein khade khade,
Chalte rikshaw mein baithe hue,
Gehre shunya mein kya dekhte rehte ho?
Gum chehra liye yeh kya sochte rehte ho?
Kya khoya kya paaya ka,
Hisab nahi laga paaye na iss baar bhi.
Ghar nahi ja paaye na iss baar bhi.
Most of the poems written by Zakir are based on heartbreaks, the reality of the world, or Life's struggles. He is also a huge fan of the shayaris by Mirza Ghalib.