A short film written by comic Hari Kondabolu will be playing with a group of other shorts at the SFIAAFF film festival this weekend (Friday night and Sunday night), and readers in the Bay area might want to check it out. As you may remember, Sepia Mutiny posted on Hari’s aggressive brand of comedy earlier, in this post (also see Smithsonian Diamonds Exhibit — with a rather shocking epithet for the Queen of England).
Here is the short blurb on Manoj: 
MANOJ is a short documentary about the life and remarkable success of Indian-born standup comedian, Manoj Krishnamurthy. Manoj’s use of South Asian stereotypes has led to a growing fan base across the United States and has placed him on the edge of greater stardom. However, this begs the following questions: What happens in America when you’ll do whatever it takes for a laugh? What if you don’t care?
The idea of the film is interesting — what if a performer actively and intentionally set out to exploit comic Indian stereotypes for all they’re worth? It reminds me, a bit, of Dave Chappelle’s own dilemma about whether his brand of comedy was subverting old racial humor, or in some sense perpetuating it. It’s also an issue that is in the air when discussing Kal Penn or Russell Peters.
No clips from the film are available online yet, but Hari was nice enough to email me a couple of snips of dialogue to give us a sense of what he’s after in Manoj:
INT. COMEDY UNDERGROUND STAGE- NIGHT
MANOJ KRISHNAMURTHY, an Indian comedian in his mid-30s is performing on stage at the Comedy Underground in Seattle. He is wearing a blue Kurta shirt, and has a beard.
MANOJ: Hello, my name is Manoj, I just flew in from India and boy, are my 8 arms tired!
Manoj waves hands as if he is flying.
Audience laughs.
MANOJ: Thank you. Thank you.
And then from later in the film:
MANOJ: I had a tough time meeting women in India. They just didn’t understand, you know, what I was about and I think part of it was my approach, you know. I used to go up to the ladies and I used to be like, “yeah, so… YOUR FATHER OWES MY FATHER LAND! NOW YOU MUST MARRY ME!â€
Audience laughs.
MANOJ: And that wouldn’t work. Uh, you know, I’m a man of a different era, I guess.
It’s realistic that an audience would find these types of jokes quite funny; it’s even fairly realistic to presume that an Indian-American comedian could actually become a star working self-deprecating Indian material. Audiences would likely eat it up, thinking, “it’s ok to laugh at that, because he’s Indian.”
But how would such a performer live with himself? And what does it tell us about the acceptability of racism as a norm?
it’s hard to tell how ironic he’s being on print. is there a clip of him or something?
The “funny because it’s true†thing works. However the material quoted seems tired and old. But as kam say’s maybe a clip would help. Mind you the queen not that good.
Kam, with the quotes here, I think he’s aiming to be entirely ironic — as in, these are jokes he personally finds cliched and in some way self-exploiting. But his character Manoj is using them all the same, to benefit his career.
BTW, there are lots of clips of him – both on his website http://www.harithecomic.com and on youtube, just not from this movie.
From what I can tell, the self-ironic thing is also worked into his regular routine, though perhaps not nearly as obviously. Overall, I’d say he has good material, but his delivery falls short – compared to comics like Russ Peters.
BTW, kudos to him (if he’s reading this) for pointing out how, with all the Indians working for Microsoft, and all those ‘Indian name list’ files floating around on the internet, MS-Word still does not recognize even simple Indian names in their conventional spellings as being legit, greenlining or redlining them depending on whether it thinks a spelling or grammatical error has been made, while most ‘American’ names don’t get flagged.
Last week, a UN panel (somewhat wrongly) denounced the recent razing of some public housing development in New Orleans. One member of this panel is Indian. Inevitably, a number of responses to this story in the blog version of the local paper were racist. The worst offender, “Why doesn’t India fix its own problem with the caste system before telling other nations what to do?”
Screw this noise. Just get over us, and enough with the arms, gods, practises and derogatory references to other ethnic nuances already. Let’s stop selling ourselves out for a buck while we’re at it. Culturally different is funny no longer. I demand a better breed of humor.
@ Amardeep
but isn’t that with any form of art? Even writing – you’re exploiting your experiences and the lives of those around you to create your stories. Maybe I need to watch him to see how far he pushes the line.
I don’t think those snips of dialogue are representative of how great MANOJ is. I’ve seen it and it’s hilarious in a smart way.
It’s all well and good if Hari is in on the joke but personally I don’t find difference-based humor all that funny when it comes to our kind. I now avoid those “desi comedy nights” because I’ve yet to see one that didn’t revolve around arranged marriage, cows, math nerds or outsourcing.
he’s in on the joke. manoj’s character is juxtaposed with another character who’s trying not to make those jokes and having a tough time with the crowd because of that. and in almost indian fashion its a double role.
There is a stark difference between comics of Middle Eastern origin playing to American audience and comics of Indian origin, I must say the latter makes me cringe each time I see a performance.
Hari is definitely in on the joke.
This could be awesome. I know a lot of people here (and me) are bored of desi standups whose material consists of ‘Indians say the darndest things’ in a funny accent. About time someone ripped it out of them. Amardeep, you mentioned Kal Penn and Russell Peters. I’d exempt Kal Penn from that, he’s not writing his own material. Acting as a stereotyped FOB is a different syndrome. But Peters is without doubt guilty.
not to be a pedantic ass or language police, but i have been increasing noticing the misuse of phrase “begs the question”[which, is a term from logic,roughly meaning “affirming the consequent”]; it should rather be “raise the question”. does it not also bother the english professor (only three quarters joking, by the way)? now back to topic…
12 · Bong Breaker said
I’m in this category as well. I don’t see it as an absolutely negative thing, but it’s become boring and trite, especially when it makes up the majority of a comic’s repertoire. Humor that targets the quaint quirks of Desi culture very often takes on a self-deprecating tone (especially among mainstream, mostly non-Desi audiences, where the dynamic is necessarily different), and to hear that again and again can be a bit painful.
blah typo; should have been “increasingly noticing”
My Indian friends tell me I do a mean U.P. walla impersonation.
“Madam you’re accent is bilkool correct! 100 percent – wonly!”
Begs the question has always been used incorrectly. I read somewhere that it had to do with a poor translation of the original latin term into english. So this could possibly beg the question, are you a troll?
I hate the term myself because it doesn’t mean anything. And raising, even razing is better than begging.
It would bother the philosophy professor, not the english prof. The term “begs the question” has taken on a colloquial usage and Amardeep used it in that sense, which is now considered correct.
It reminds me, a bit, of Dave Chappelle’s own dilemma about whether his brand of comedy was subverting old racial humor, or in some sense perpetuating it
This is one of the reasons he left the show. In particular the pixie skit.
The videos on his website are infinitely better than what Amardeep describes in his post. I think he’s already been featured in this blog, by Anna if memory serves me. There’s such a raw anger barely clothed in humour, especially about the Kohinoor diamond! You chaps really need to check it out. Oooh! It’s really satisfying to see an 2nd gen Indian get hot and bothered about what actual Indians get hot and bothered about.
I really enjoyed it and I hope he hasn’t pandered to mainstream tastes with “Manoj”.
Guys, to be clear, I didn’t use the expression “begs the question” — that passage is a quotation from the blurb on the SFIAAFF website.
i knew that already; that is precisely why i asked that (friendly, and in partial jest i thought) question, and kept quiet after the responses it evoked (did not want to derail the conversation).
Sure, Beg‘s the question, but was Bhutto the answer?
The most cutting edge humor that gets people to examine stereotypes will always be lost on some. Brain dead anti-semites didn’t get Borat and thought he was “for real” and a fellow traveller. Then there’s the Simpsons which I enjoy and know to be well intentioned but has armed the hoi poloi with racist jabs against Indians. But I will say some of the most egregious anti-Indian stereotypes are trafficked by Indian progressives. I prefer Peter Sellers in brown face being chased by Sophia Loren & landing Hollywood starlets to being typecast as wife beater/fascist in “South Asian Film Festival” fare
imo it is not really fair to compare hari with russell peters.
… would you all please stop propping up russell peters? he is a circus clown, not a comic.
Russell Peters is hardly a comic, he’s just a mimic mocking different racial stereotypes. He’s probably best off joining Sanjaya on the Bat Mitzvah circuit: Peters can provide the voice, and Sanjaya the hair.
I’m back! This time I actually read the post rather than skimming it 😛 and took a look at the clips.
I do agree that he definitely has some raw anger underlying all his jokes – the only time he seemed to be pushing it for his own benefit was the Ganesha/Republican party joke on Jimmy Kimmel live. Then again, its kind of like…is he trying to be funny or is he testing out how “stupid” the crowd is (the joke did come after he talked about a “stupid” women who asked if she would be sold by her Indian boyfriend when they went to India). So…maybe his movie will be a joke on all of us?
I actually really want to see this documentary now.
26 · Rahul said
To be fair, the mocking of racial stereotypes is not the only thing he does in his routines. He’s quite capable of intelligent, Seinfeldian humor, as he demonstrates occasionally, but that’s apparently not what his audience is looking for.
I like Hari Kondabolu and also Paul Verghese. Recently went to a Sugar Sammy performance that was very good, though he draws not-entirely-unfair comparisons to Peters.
I don’t know, I went to one of his shows last year and was tremendously let down: it was a sorry mix of mimicked accents and recycled jokes. I was impressed with his ability to banter with the audience though.
I like Hari Kondabolu’s and Paul Verghese’s material much better.
I used to see Hari Kondabolu all the time when he lived in Seattle and he was amazing. I’ve seen “Manoj” twice at one of his shows (I think his last one there) and at a film festival and it is really well done! It totally messes with people and brings up a lot of issues about the expectations of minority comics while still being extremely funny. Those jokes are supposed to be corny and a bit offensive because Manoj, not Hari, does them. It’ll make sense when you see it. Also, I was actually at the diamonds exhibit show and it was incredible. A mix of standup and sketch and absurdism. I wish he would post that whole show (and Manoj) so people could really see what he was capable of.
Rahul: Russell Peters is not as bad as people say he is. The accents stuff is hacky (and desis eat it up) but have you seen some of the Def Jam stuff? It’s a little better.
29 · Rahul said
Kondabolu spent a year as an exchange student at my school, and so over the course of that year I saw quite a few iterations of his material. His stage presence was great – never jarring or grating like many recent stand-up comics, but affable and comfortable. His vibe on the Jimmy Kimmel piece is very different from what I’ve seen earlier. Besides his ‘South Asian’ jokes, he focused on his inability to get with women (NOT always as a consequence of being a brown male, but his own dorkiness) and my own personal favorite joke was about his very WASP peers at his posh New-England colleges. Wealthy suburban kids pouring alcohol on the ground, saying, ‘This one’s for my homies.’ I like his stuff, he came across as a good guy, was thought to be funny, despite being in what can only described as a hyper-PC environment.
I understand using humor as a tool to make a point but Kondabolu is not funny. He’s an activist with a sledge hammer. I was reading his blog and it is pretty clear that this guy is wound up tight and easy to offend.
This is a problematic attitude, in my opinion.
Would you rather suggest that a non-desi play a desi wife beater? Or that issues like domestic violence amongst the desi diaspora not be dealt with in the media or cinematic world at all?
Thanks, Abs. I’ll check it out.
Is there any other thing that’s ever dealt with in the media or disapora cinematic world? I mean, I think all the guy is saying that if he sees another hackneyed finger-wagging stereotyping worthy piece of social realism movie he might feel like puking, and you know what? I feel the same. Same old depiction, demonisation, give it a rest for five freakin’ minutes.
Manoj is an amazing film, one of the best South Asian films that they are playing at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Why, oh why, is that do people think?
Argh, I won’t be in the Bay when this is playing. Anyone else know when/where the next showing is going to be? I checked his site but couldn’t find anything.
Louie Cypher: Are we reading the same blog? I love his writing! It’s not nearly as aggressive as his standup and he gets to elaborate on ideas.
I don’t know if you all know Blue Scholars but they’re a big deal in Seattle and I think they’re somehow affiliated with Hari’s film. Anyway, check out this tour of Queens he did with them: http://harithecomic.blogspot.com/2007/08/tour-of-queens-with-blue-scholars.html
If this isn’t funny to you, then we have completely different senses of humour!
30 · Abs said
I watched this stuff today. You’re right, it is better than his usual routine, and there actually was a certain level of political awareness in it, but to be honest, I still didn’t find it incredibly funny…
Just thought I should chime in a bit on what it’s like being a desi standup in the U.S. First off, I’ve seen the clips of Hari’s act and the movie is making fun of comics who exploit their own for comedic gain. There IS a way to talk about being Indian and the experience without teasing it. I always run any Indian material I have under the filter of “Could a white person be able to write this joke?” If he could then I ditch it. That’s why jokes making fun of accents and blatant stereotypes tend to offend. Also don’t be confused between a comic doing an accent in their act and doing a joke about making fun of the accent. If I’m talking about my parents and conversations I’ve had with them I put on the accent but I do my best to make it as authentic as possible. I’m in Dallas and I mostly perform for white/black/hispanic audiences and they never laugh at the accent, they laugh at what’s said. I feel insincere not doing the accent when talking about them just like I feel insincere talking like a redneck when talking about visiting a small town in Texas or just like I feel insincere not sounding like a 4 year old if I’m doing a joke about me being a kid. Also know that audience plays a big part in material. I’ve performed at many of these “desi comedy” nights and I’ve read blogs from people who have attended who are upset that the material is all about being South Asian. The only reason that is, is because the ENTIRE audience is South Asian. I have material that I can easily do for any audience but there is a hunger for South Asian material in front of South Asian audiences. I’m proud of the material I do for these crowds too but I also make sure it’s specific to them and not just for the sake of writing a brown joke, it’s from my experience. If I do my regular club set, talking about being Christian? (Then none of the non-Christian Indians in the crowd will understand) If I talk about my dating life and relationships (alot of the older uncles/aunties in the crowd won’t understand) So I’ve had to write material for these desi crowds that can hit all age ranges/religions/regions. It’s super hard. I’d love to be able to do one act for all types of crowds but it doesn’t work. You play to the majority of the audience. I hope this sheds a little light on what it’s like. Feel free to watch my clips to see what I mean on YouTube or on my MySpace profile (www.myspace.com/paul_and_oates)
Paul