Kondabolu: “Whatever country our nation is bombing, I’m told to go back there.”
He’s not your average standup comedian. For one thing, Hari (pronounced Hurry) Kondabolu earned a master’s degree in human rights at the London School of Economics. The comedian, who stops at the Comedy Club on State on April 19-21, is just finishing up a guest-hosting stint at WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City. He has been interviewing prominent guests, including Sean Penn, M.I.A. and Andie MacDowell, about topics as varied as CIA killing teams and HIV-AIDS. “I really enjoy doing it. It keeps me intellectually engaged,” Kondabolu says.“It feels like I get to really challenge myself in a way I haven’t in a while.”
Born in Queens, New York, to progressive Indian immigrant parents, Kondabolu was inspired by his mother, who provides the comedian with a few great bits. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a bachelor’s degree in government and a minor in Asian studies before getting his master’s in 2007. He was a writer and segment presenter on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and co-hosts the Kondabolu Brothers Podcast with his brother Ashok (aka Dapwell of rap outfit Das Racist). His first documentary, The Problem with Apu, argues that Apu, the proprietor of Qwik-E-Mart on The Simpsons, represents a form of modern-day minstrelsy. The episode on April 8 included a dismissive reference to Kondabolu’s criticism, prompting further controversy.
Kondabolu also brings his experiences as an immigrants’ rights organizer to his stage act, riffing on hot-button issues, including race and colonialism. In this tumultuous climate, with the country more divided than ever, he seeks genuine human connection. “They [audience members] want to feel like the person on stage is relatable. It’s someone they could imagine talking to and hanging out with. My best shows are the shows where it feels like I just performed for 300 friends I haven’t met yet.”
That’s one reason why Kondabolu enjoys performing in Madison, describing gigs here in the state capital as a “dream situation.” He remembers the Dane County Farmers’ Market where he tried “so many different kinds of cheeses, in so many different forms.” And he loved the audience at the Majestic Theater, where he played in 2016. “Madison was fun, man. The shows were amazing,” says Kondabolu. “I felt really welcome — it was a really great audience.”
When it comes to issues of race, Kondabolu breaks through barriers by using this personal approach. On his album Mainstream American Comic he recalls a heckler at a show in Denmark yelling “Go back to America!” Says Kondabolu: “I’ve been told to go back to so many different countries, but never America...whatever country our nation is bombing, I’m told to go back there at the worst time to go back.”
Kondabolu was the first standup comedian to be invited to New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute as the artist in residence in 2014. “[Stand-up] kind of gets shoved to the side. I feel like when you get those kinds of titles, it legitimizes the art form,” says Kondabolu.
In the end, Kondabolu just wants the audience to laugh: “I’ve had people say to me ‘I disagree with a lot of what you said, but you’re funny.’ The only way for that to happen is for them to actually like me as a person.”
