Rising YouTube star Asif Bin Azad shares with Neebiir Kamaal the many challenges that he has had to overcome to expand the freedom of creative expression through his shows
Every society has certain customs, however, not every custom serves the best interests of a society. That is why whenever an individual or groups of individuals have tried to question the way things are done, or behaved in any other way than how society expects them to; there have been harsh criticisms and frowns. Yet reformers, whether famous or infamous, known or unnoticed have tried to bring change in whatever scope that was available to them.
Some young Bangladeshi YouTubers, while creating entertainment for their audiences, are also challenging them to perceive things outside of societal expectations and barriers. It takes courage to be such a YouTuber, but for Asif Bin Azad, courage, confidence or sense of humour have barely ever fallen short in supply.
A well-known face from Bangladeshi YouTube channel BhaiBrothers LTD., Asif Bin Azad believes in giving out definite messages to his audience through his skits. ‘We always try to keep our content relatable for the audience. That’s the first priority. But we also prioritise giving out a message through our skits, and the best way to do that is through humour so that it is well received by the audience,’ Asif says.
Asif, however, is also expanding the scope of what might be relative to a changing Bangladeshi audience. There are certain topics that are considered taboos in Bangladesh, especially in a family living room. But not talking about such topics does not mean that they are not happening, rather they are happening more as such issues remain unaddressed. Such an issue is pornography. Not talking about the widely spreading addiction of pornography among the youths does not make the problem go away.
Asif, along with the BhaiBrothers team had done a sketch that implied the increasing inclination among the youth towards pornography. Now such an issue is definitely difficult to address, but Asif believes that sugarcoated with humour, inherent messages in videos can be hammered home. In fact, in one of the videos from his YouTube talk show The Interview with ChotoAzad (he is also known as Choto Azad), he got a certain female celebrity to admit that she watches porn. Moments like these would remind you of a round of ‘Never have I ever’, a game that world renowned talk show host Ellen DeGeneres plays with her celebrity guests, where the guests reveal certain unknown aspects of their personalities.
Speaking of Ellen DeGeneres, she is a role model for Asif. ‘I’m a huge fan of Ellen DeGeneres. I want to do something like her in this country, which has never happened before. I have learnt a lot of humanity from Ellen. It’s not like I’m copying her content. It could be said that I have copied the essence of her show,’ he adds.
‘A goal of the Interview with Choto Azad is to present celebrities as what they are really like in real life. In most traditional interviews on TV channels celebrities are bound within a formal conversation, where they have to pretend to be their perceived images, rather than who they really are. So someone has to come out of the closet, someone has to take the first step to discuss such issues,’ Asif adds.
One can see a disclaimer with a dose of humour before every episode of the Choto Azad interviews: ‘The Interview with Choto Azad is a family show, all the members can watch it together in different rooms.’
‘In the beginning, I was not so sure if the Bangladeshi audience would have been able to digest my content or not. It was a do or die situation for me. Thankfully, my sponsor BongoBD appreciated the concept of the show. If the audience would not have been so accepting, I would have had to tone down certain things while keeping the essence of the show unchanged. However, we create content depending on the feedback of what viewers want to see. Hopefully, I will have even more sponsors for the next season of The Interview with Choto Azad,’ Asif says.
But perhaps certain BhaiBrothers videos, when seen with family members in the family room can help many unlearn the shame of talking about sex education, an area of the school curriculum in Bangladesh that remains ignored despite dire consequences.
‘The Interview with Choto Azad is currently the most viewed online show in Bangladesh, which has helped BhaiBrothers to become the fastest growing YouTube channel from Bangladesh,’ Asif claims.
Asif, however, like many other rising YouTube stars from Bangladesh, has had to deal with criticism and hatred on social media. ‘Hatred never bothers me. Everyone in the entertainment business has to have a thick skin. Moreover, I take my criticism and work with them. Also, in Bangladesh some people always try to bring others down. But one must not allow that to happen, that’s the challenge. And I’m levelheaded and open about my own limitations. Personally I do not like my acting. I think I overact at times. That is why I do not want to be known as an actor, but an entertainer, content creator and YouTuber,’ he adds.
The subjects of BhaiBrothers shows are rich in diversity. From exposing how easily people let go of decency and pocket a smartphone that has been purposefully left unattended in a shopping mall, to addressing serious issues like increasing suicidal tendencies among the youth – their videos cover a wide range of topics. They have also covered social issues like bullying and the apparent conflict/grouping between students of Bangla and English medium schools.
Asif’s introduction to the craft of making videos happened when he was only a fifth grader, and his late uncle, filmmaker Shahidul Islam Khokon was his teacher. ‘I used to travel with my uncle to different rural areas to see his film shoots. The very first time that I was absolutely won over by the idea of creativity was when one day my khalu (uncle) had to shoot a rainy scene, but there was no rain. He used five kilogrammes of rice and dropped them from on top of a window, while taking the shot from a distance. He made it look like it was raining with grains of rice! I was thoroughly impressed, and that was the day when I had decided to choose a vocation that would have use for such creativity,’ Asif reminisces.
‘The support of my family has been a big boost in my progress. My mother eagerly waits for my videos. She is always the first one to see my videos,’ he adds. Asif is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in business from North South University. He believes that youngsters can take up YouTubing as a fulltime job as they pay at least as much as entry level corporate jobs.