The stand-up comedy or one-woman show “Malika-e-Tabassum”, starring Bushra Ansari and directed by Dawar Mehmood, is all set to premiere in Karachi’s Arts Council of Pakistan theatres. The show is scheduled from June 25 through July 10 and is organized by Active Media and Kopy Kats.
The president of the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi, Ahmed Shah, held a press conference regarding Malika-e-Tabassum on the evening of May 30, Tuesday in which several notable figures of the Pakistani media industry like Bushra Ansari, Sajid Hasan, Dawar Mehmood, Syed Nini, and Saad Khan were present.
During the event, Ahmed Shah expressed that Dawar Mahmood had persistently urged Bushra Ansari to perform in a show for several years. However, Bushra’s commitments extended beyond acting, as she is involved in singing and also pursuing a novel. Ahmed Shah emphasized that only a handful of individuals in our nation possess the ability to shoulder the responsibility of captivating and delighting the audience for an entire hour on stage.
Continuing his address he said, “Dawar’s work with us is very good. We have done one-man shows of many young and old male artists. It was a big challenge for a female artist. Bushra Ansari’s family is equally talented like that of Anwar Maqsood. We also did Ahmed Basheer’s family session (Ahmed Basheer ki baithak) in Lahore which was attended by several prominent members of the family and was a hit. I am sure that this show will also be good. Failure is not written in Bushra’s dictionary.”
Talking about the show, Bushra Ansari said, “I am not allowing them to call this show a ‘stand-up’ because I see stand-up shows. It’s a familiar genre abroad. Many Indian and even Pakistani youngsters are doing it. The one-man show was what Umer Shareef used to do which was spontaneous yet enjoyable. However, the comedy they (foreigners) do is uninhibited. Sometimes I feel that Western audiences are quite innocent; they laugh a lot at the smallest of jokes. I’d say we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them because we are a pain-oriented society and do not easily laugh at anything. They have vast choices, we don’t.”
She further adds, “My relationship with you (media) is quite primitive. I’ve been doing this since my childhood. All alone on stage by myself… will be a new venture for me. You’ll see me as you’ve seen me thus far.”
When asked about the script for the show, Dawar Mahmood explained that for stand-up gigs, the material is typically generated by the artist.
Syed Nini and Saad Khan also spoke. Syed Ni Ni said, “When it comes to media and entertainment, our top choice has always been Bushra Ansari. She is one of the finest artists in our industry. We have high hopes of success for this show.”
Active Media CEO Saad Khan said, “We’ve high hopes the audience will enjoy Bushra Ansari’s content and performance. Talented artists like Bushra Ansari are hard to find in our country.”
The tickets for the show Maika-e-Tabbassum can be bought from Ticket Wala, the Instagram and Facebook pages of Kopy Kats Production, the Arts Council of Pakistan, and the Box office. The duration is from June 25 to July 10.
