Arslan Naseer of Comics by Arslan — CBA fame is a name that is quite recognizable in the YouTube circles as well as Facebook fraternity as the content creator has made viewers laugh with his impeccable comic timings, signature humour and commentary over pop culture for years. He garnered fame in the masses long ago but his most recent hits were the comedic sketches of Meray Paas Tum Ho and Yeh Dil Mera, which became talk of the town. Now Arslan has finally stepped into mainstream entertainment industry with acting debut in Ramazan drama serial Chupke Chupke.
In an exclusive conversation with Hassan Choudary of Something Haute, Arslan talks about his journey as a content creator, his foray into TV, a big debut project with an ensemble cast and much more. Here are excerpts from the interview:
“10 or 11 years back all we were watching was television and new channels where there was a bombardment of bad news and the same news were circulating on social media. I realized at that time that mobile viewing experience is very private and individual so why not create something fun and lighthearted that can become a part of our news feeds. I had a skill to draw comics so I made something and asked a friend if it made him laugh; he said Yes and then I just uploaded it,” he shared.
“I studied in Ireland for 7 to 8 years, lived in England as well, worked there but then I moved to Pakistan. I was working here when I started CBA. People were attracted to my content perhaps because it was something unique; there was no digital comics culture in Pakistan and no one was making content catering to local humour,” he added.
“I call my content spoof, not reviews because I give it a humourous touch. The way we adapted the western concept of roasting here was very odd. I wanted to make people realize that having fun and making fun at the expense of someone is different. There is a line between spoof and insult; I try not to cross it so that those who are the subject of my videos can also laugh at it. Another aspect was the use of vulgar language and profanities that is pretty much part of roasts. But I wanted to make sure to use decent language in my spoofs,” he emphasized.
His fascination with drama industry started when he saw MPTH, Ehd-e-Wafa and Yeh Dil Mera back to back and enjoyed the experience.
“I got offers from Bollywood and even Dubai but I was never interested in leaving Pakistan. Last year, I got a call from MD Productions and when I got to know that the script is by Suno Chanda’s writer, I was half sold because it is the first Pakistani drama I watched and thoroughly enjoyed. Then, I got to know Danish Nawaz is directing it and the story as well was interesting. I went into it thinking that the shooting will wrap in 45 days and then 10 days into the shoot, everything came to a standstill due to the pandemic,” Arslan said.
Watch the full interview here to find out about his spiritual side, his views on influence of media on youth and a lot more:
