Sami Doha: Engineer by day, entertainer by night

At the 'The Roast of Salman Muqtadir,' Sami Doha was lively, effortlessly funny and spontaneous on stage – the markings of a good comedian.  

I probably lucked out with my first live comedy show. Perhaps it's their unimpressive Facebook video clips behind my distaste for Bangladeshi comedians. But Doha's immaculate performance may have converted me, at least now I am willing to attend more live comedy shows.  

Doha's comedy career took off in 2019 and three years later, he began acting. He has been part of stage plays such as the popular 'Begum's Blunder,' 'Monkey Trial' and 'Urnajal.' He also starred in the web series 'Odrissho.'

Slowly but surely, the dexterity of the man unfolded as we spoke. 

"You know, none of it [a versatile career] would have happened if someone hadn't wrecked my car on a night in 2011," Doha said. A wrecked car is an unusual reason to start a globetrotting engineering career or be an actor-comedian, so I pried. 

"I was going through a rough patch. We were just married and expecting our child, and I lost a hefty sum in the 2010 Stock Market Crash. I was wondering how I would survive when a guy crashed his car into mine and refused to reimburse me. 

On that night, I decided to leave the country and try my luck elsewhere." 

Doha first got a job in Bahrain's telecommunications industry. 

Ibtesam Doha (stage name Sami Doha) is a telecommunications engineer and consultant with 18 years of experience. He has held engineering leadership positions across six countries including Indonesia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Bangladesh. Doha has played a key role in multiple projects related to 4G/5G/IoT launch and network transformation projects. 

His expertise in the industry meant he worked with major corporations such as Orange Group, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Turkcell, Huawei, Nokia-Siemens, Motorola and others as well as R&D collaborations with industry giants such as Facebook, Starlink, SAP and IBM.

Doha's overseas career took him to Northern Iraq (Kurdistan autonomous region) at the height of the ISIS insurrection in 2014. Doha was in the next town from the infamous Battle of Mosul.

Doha could only describe the experience as, "an unspeakable horror."

So, what brings him to comedy? "I do comedy because I can't afford therapy," Doha laughed. He used to enjoy comedy shows, but just as an audience. But in 2019, he decided to try his luck with the open mic at Naveed's Comedy Club, and somehow, the audience loved it. 

"I am afraid the old fears in comedy have been replaced with new ones. Whatever you want to joke about, someone will get offended. I don't think we can be bold even now."

Sami Doha

"I love challenges. I am an adventurous guy," he said, "so whenever I feel down, I try new things. Before comedy, I was into fitness. I learnt Muay Thai, went deep sea diving and went hiking. Now, I try to find peace on stage." 

How are comedians enjoying their newfound freedom? "I am afraid the old fears have been replaced with new ones. Whatever you want to joke about, someone will get offended," he replied.  

Doha looked serious. "At times like this, when people are extra-sensitive, safe jokes are back. I don't think we can be bold even now. You can get cancelled anytime. I don't think the comedians will ever be able to be free," he added. 

Would such restraints and limitations make comedy boring? "There are many good comedians around, and we joke about a lot of hardcore stuff. But then again, we have to rely on our niche audience, as there's a chance that some jokes may run us into trouble," he answered. 

Jim Carrey is Doha's idol. Like him, Doha has diverse experiences in his bag, which he brings out on stage. In his opinion, comedians need to be versatile, observant and well-read. 

"I need to figure out a person sitting in the audience to make a joke about him," he said, "I have to be sharp!" 

Doha suffers from alopecia which caused his hair and eyebrows to fall off. "I used to look different before I was diagnosed with alopecia. Feeling shy, I started to wear caps while performing on stage," he said. 

Doha struggled to connect to the audience then. 

"One of my friends said, 'If you cannot accept who you are, how would the audience accept you?' From that day on, I began to embrace my baldness and it really brings out the authenticity. Stand-up comedy is a brutally honest thing, just like theatre performances. You have to be that character." 

Doha thinks art needs to be marketed effectively to create a better space for the artists. This is why he has embraced his uniqueness and ventured into new fields. He was the emcee of the first-ever celebrity roast show in Bangladesh, he was also the Ring Announcer in the first-ever celebrity MMA tournament.

"I have learnt something from my long professional career. In a country where no one wears a shoe, most marketers would think - Oh, no one wears shoes here. There's no market. But, some will think - Oh, no one wears shoes here! The whole market is open! 

I always try to be the second type of guy. In our country, the entertainment industry offers a lot of potential and I hope to cut out my niche position here."