Published on 12:00 AM, February 18, 2017

Raba Khan

If you are an avid Facebook user who likes satirical humor and vines, chances are that you've come across Raba Khan at least once or twice in your Facebook timeline in the last 2-3 months. Comedy and satire is what Raba Khan is all about.

Who is Raba Khan?

Still a teenager currently studying O levels, Raba Khan burst into the internet comedic scene of Bangladesh with a Youtube channel named “The Jhakanaka Project” back in 2014, where she and her brother Fahad Reaz Khan posted videos portraying mainstream situations/conversations of typical Bangladeshis in a more comedic and satirical manner. Since then, their channel have had over 1.3 million views. At such a young age, she is already the host of two regular shows in Radio Foorti.

How did it all start out and why the name “Jhakanaka”?

A natural entertainer, Raba Khan used to joke around on a website called ask.fm where anonymous people could ask questions and she would answer them in a comedic way. That's when people liked her sense of humor and she realized she was “kinda” funny. So she wanted to open a YouTube channel where she would use this comedy in virtual form, and hence came The Jhakanaka Project. The name was founded on the fact that a lot of Raba's friends called her Jhakanaka- “because I was always a little extra.”- She says.

What motivates Raba Khan?

There are very few people who can take humor sportingly.  Comedians sometimes do not get the recognition they deserve. People here prefer getting entertained from the couches of their home via TV or internet. Even so, the type of humor presented isn't for all demographics and the jokes are usually washed out and overused. “Bad content. We live in somewhat of a content drought where whenever there is locally made content, it's seldom good. And it really motivates me to try and raise the bar.”, says Raba.

What are Raba's future goals?

Right now, she and her brother Fahad are  currently focusing on multi-platform content aiming to expand their project to variety of people and not just sticking to one demographic. Recently they have started out The Jhakanaka Clothing where they put satirical designs on t-shirts and sell them online through their Facebook page. Raba says they were overwhelmed by the response that they have received from their fans. In the future, they hope to widen their product range and not sell out in hours. She is currently working on a lot of video contents which will be coming out very soon. Apart from comedy, Raba is adept at singing. She occasionally makes karaoke videos on Facebook .