Written by: Farheen Abdullah
Posted on: September 01, 2015 | 
The performances kept the audience at the edge of their seats
“Aap ne mayyat aunty ko dekha hai?” – Mohammad Altamash
Breaking the stereotypical feeling of forced happiness now associated with the phrase laughing out loud, LOL Waalay are a group of comedians who are diverse in the kind of jokes and the personality each member brings, and have entertained various audiences all over Pakistan with their spontaneous, and at times audacious humour.
If the reputation of the group was not enough to attract the general public to quickly grab their passes to an exclusive show for just a hundred people, OBEEZ sponsored the event by distributing free burgers to the first fifty people arriving at the venue. What could be better than a lively audience with satisfied stomachs?
While more and more individuals continued to pour in, occupying every inch of the room, Syed Muhammad Kumail opened the show and did hosting duties for the evening. Kumail began the show by introducing the aspiring comedian, Hassnain Shah, who indulged the audience in a hilarious Pakistan vs. USA debate and the differences that are inherent between the two nations. Next up was Muhammad Altamash, who engaged in a humorous discussion on his weak Urdu and the struggles of growing up in a desi family.
Hassnain and Altamash were followed by Omer Ahmed, who began his act with an amusing take on the different types of greetings that exist in Karachi, ranging from Gulshan’s ‘Jaani kaisa hai?’ (How are you, dear?) to Lyari’s ‘Agaya tu?’ (You’re finally here?). Omer then moved on to a part that he called Advice Corner, where he opened up and discussed his love life problems and provided solutions to youngsters facing the same obstacles. It is safe to say that Omer was the funniest Chartered Accountant that anyone in the crowd would have come across, and the short video he requested to make at the end of his act left the entire crowd elatedly cheering for him.
However, this was not the end of the stories about love, as Faraz Ahmed went on to share incidents of his humorous attempts at attracting girls and the subsequent rejections he faced. Another theme that recurred throughout the show was that of the burger awaam (a common term used to address the elite class) in Pakistan, probably because of the presence of actual OBEEZ burgers in the room. Pausing in between jokes to filter out some content that was deemed unsuitable for the gathering, Faraz ended his act by comparing characters from Game of Thrones, the famous TV series, to real-life personalities in Pakistan, based on the recently launched Urdu version of the show.
Finally, the members of LOL Waalay decided to take the stage on their own, and the room boomed with laughter and hoots as Syed Osama Sami joked about the two main things lacking in his life – females, followed by a good height. “Main apne girhebaan main jhankta hun toh mujhe farash nazr ata hai”, (“When I peek under my own shirt, all I see is the floor”), he stated casually, amidst roars of laughter.
Soon afterwards, Kashif Shehzad mesmerized everyone with his fluent Urdu and his black kurta. Taking the discussion of failed love stories up a notch, Kashif narrated incidents of his discouraging friend Babban Mian and took the audience back to a time when tuition centers were the only source of entertainment for boys who were ambitious about all the wrong things.
Finally, leaving the corner where he had stood the entire evening, Kumail appeared in a black sherwani to perform the closing act, often humorously picking on the people who had either arrived late to the show or were leaving ahead of time. Sharing stories from the time when LOL Waalay used to perform for tiny groups of 5-6 people, to the full house shows that take place regularly now, the host bid farewell to the crowd with a promise of arranging another comedy night in the coming month.
While the absence of Akbar, a crucial part of LOL Waalay, was often highlighted upon, every person in the room left the venue with a big smile and a positive attitude – clear indications of the success of the show and the triumph of the talented team who made it possible.
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