How Saad Haroon went from standup comedian to radio star

“Karachi is so nice when there is no one else around!” laughs Saad Haroon about waking up at 5.30am to head to the studio.

We speak after his very first show on City FM89, the early morning slot which, for close to a decade, belonged to Khalid Malik. “I only ever wake up this early for flights,” he relates. “Nothing is open at that time in the morning. It’s just the radio station and the airport.”

It’s only noon and he already looks tired. But it’s also been six and a half hours since his day had begun. The stand-up comedian, former television host and writer had been based out of New York for the past several years. Considering that he’s doing this show, would it be safe to assume that he’s moved back to Karachi?

“I am based here now,” he confirms. “But I plan to travel back and forth. Being on the road is almost second nature to me.” He’s optimistic he can juggle both of his lives — in New York and Karachi — perfectly.

Changing your base is a big adjustment. How did he agree to do the show? “It all stems from this feeling I had last year,” he says. “I was saying no to a lot of things. I don’t know why. Then I decided I was going to say yes to everything that comes my way and see where that led me.” When he got the phone call, they started out by saying they wanted him to do a project… and then added that he’d have to do it five days a week. “I thought to myself: ‘That kind of sounds like a [full-time] job’,” he laughs. “But something in my head said: ‘I am ready for an adventure’.”

This is also a show that is a whopping three-hours long. To constantly entertain audiences for that long, that too without a script, doesn’t sound easy. “[For stand up shows] the writing, producing and rehearsing takes time,” says Saad, “But when you’re actually on stage, you’re only performing for an hour.”

How is he managing the adjustment? “You’ve really got to be present,” he says. “I don’t know how else to put it. You’ve got to be in that moment. And be willing to emotionally commit to those three hours. And legitimately be interested in what people are sending in.”

“Sometimes I feel like an auctioneer,” laughs Saad, “Like, you need to talk 100 words per minute. At other times, I feel you can be more poetic about it. You get to be both these voices in a radio show. I’m not saying it’ll come easy, I’ve got to put my work into it.”

Khalid usually had so much energy at that hour that his show was like caffeine for your ears. “You need that kind of energy and people are looking for that optimism,” says Saad. He mentions that what Khalid brought to the show was his honesty, his emotion and vulnerability.

“If you look at where the RJ sits it’s like a cockpit. You take off at 7am and you can’t crash for the next three hours.”

Did the former breakfast show host have any words of advice? “It was the little things that Khalid said, the stuff that no one can [formally] teach me,” responds Saad, “He really cares about the people that were listening in. He tried to play as many requests as possible. If someone called in, he’d get their phone number just in case the line cut off and he’d call them back.”

So he won their hearts and minds. “And he did it day by day,” finishes Saad.

Sohail Hashmi had his guests, Khalid had his pranks. What do you plan you plan to do? “I think we’re in the process of finding [the show’s] voice,” responds Saad, “We don’t want to lock anything down. The idea is to make it as dynamic as possible. We Facebook Live-d the show for three hours. We were visual the entire time.”

Will that be every show? “It will be the first week,” he responds. “I don’t know if everyone wants to come in every day at at 7am and you know that everyone’s going to be looking at you.”

Take a look at any photo in a radio studio and the one thing that stands out is the sheer amount of equipment in place. Have you been able to figure all of those knobs in front of you? “I’m slowly learning,” laughs Saad. “To some they [the producers] are like ‘Just don’t touch that!’ If you look at where the RJ sits, it’s like a cockpit. You take off at 7am and you can’t crash for the next three hours.”

Describing all that’s in front of him he says, “You have [separate windows for] your text messages, music, live player, music line-up etc. and you’re trying to juggle between all of these things and your social media on your phone. Everyone tells me I’ll just get used to it.”

Did he have any test runs before going live? “There’s no such thing!” he says, “We did a few recordings but they’re nothing like the actual show. So much happens when you go live — text messages, chats, phone calls come in. The show also evolves very quickly as you go along. I don’t think TV could evolve like that or even standup shows. Improv shows can, perhaps, but there is more structure there.”

Unbeknownst to the listeners of the station, Saad did prepare by sitting in on some of the last shows Khalid did. “I just wanted to observe,” he says. “Just see how it all happens.”

One thing Saad was very particular about was the first track that was going to be played on his show. “It had to be King of Self (by Sajid and Zeeshan),” says Saad. “They epitomized, for me, a good Pakistani band that was really pushing to make good music. It could be a hit anywhere in the world. There is social commentary in this and it’s a great driving song. I know they don’t do it anymore, but whatever music they put out there, I was a big fan.”

Now that the first show is over, how does he feel? “I had fun. I’m going to take long afternoon naps if I’m going to do this everyday.”

Originally published in Dawn, ICON, February 19th, 2017