Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist Does your knowledge about the Ramayana come entirely from comics your mom brought you from Jackson Heights? Or are you a comic book fan interested in engaging with one of the bestselling comics in both Asia and the world? Party down with the Workshop’s tribute to Amar Chitra Katha, the beloved Indian comic that’s sold more than 90 million copies, often featuring lovelorn maidens, fearless saints, and mythical kings romping around a half-toned South Asian fantasia, tinted yellow, blue and green.

I’ve read the Ramayana and enjoyed the comic versions too. I’ll also admit that much of my knowledge of the Bible comes from the colorful, engaging Amar Chitra Katha comics. For more details on the event, visit aaww.org.

In her one-woman show Unladylike: The Pitfalls of Propriety, comedian Radhika Vaz tackles subjects like “proper” female behavior, modern relationships, and the ubiquity of bikini waxes. Having recently returned from touring India, Vaz will be performing Unladylike at the The Producers Club in New York City on Friday, December 9 (more details below). I recently had the chance to ask her a few questions about the show.

What inspired you to write Unladylike?

I had been doing improv for a really long time and then I started writing monologues. I always wanted to do a one-hour show on my own for a few reasons. I was auditioning for parts and wasn’t getting anything. You know, I am practically 40. I am Indian with an Indian accent, I’m not even an Indian with an American accent, so I wasn’t fitting into any of the roles. Writing the show was what really pushed me out there.

Stories about your husband and family often appear in your work. Have any of your relatives ever told you that something was off-limits?

No, they haven’t. I definitely do believe that I have to at least show them the piece before I post it to my blog. Most of my pieces start out on the blog, I usually post it before it is performed.

I remember I posted something once and my husband was like, “You really should have shown me this before you posted.” If it is something related something like alcohol abuse or anything embarrassing, I show it to them. When writing about my friends I change names a lot.

Do you consider Unladylike to be a feminist show?

I hope it is. I am certainly not the first person to talk about these things, but I definitely hope that people look at it that way. To elaborate a little bit, I definitely think that I speak a lot about the wide disparity in the way that men and women are viewed.

You took Unladylike to India this fall. What was that like? Did you have to change the show in any way?

No, I performed the same material I had performed in New York a year ago. A lot of people have asked me if I changed anything before performing in India. I was raised in India, in Bombay, and I moved here when I was 28. A lot of my college friends came to the Bombay show and one of the girls came up to me afterwards and said, “the things that you talked about, they still happen here today.” And that was both funny and a little bit discouraging.

Did anything surprise you about performing the show in India?

I think that with any show of this nature, I was just very relieved I pulled the crowd that I did. Comedy is still very new in India and most of the comedians are men. I wasn’t sure how it would work.

Lastly, you write a lot about female grooming and your routine on bikini waxes in particular seems to have struck a chord with a lot of people. Why do you think that is? And on a scale of 1 to 10, how evil are bikini waxes?

They are at 10, pretty much. They represent everything that’s wrong with the culture. I mean, that’s the last f—ing place, you know? That’s probably why everybody responds to the piece. Look, I get them from time to time, and I have friends who get them all of the time. But it’s in that weird category like plastic surgery, that everyone has to fit in the same box.

Tickets to see Unladylike can be purchased online at www.unladylike.eventbrite.com. Sepia Mutiny readers can enter the discount code MOUSETRAP to receive a $5 discount off of the online price. You can also follow her on Twitter @radvaz, become a fan of her official Facebook page, or check out her official website radvaz.com.

Photo credit: Katarina Kojic Photography and Design.

In the beginning of his stand-up career, Nanjiani said the biggest challenge of being a Pakistani American comedian was telling the jokes he wanted to tell about movies, video games and TV shows, and not the jokes he was expected to tell about 7-11 or 9/11. After Nanjiani and his interviewer made reference to what was a new crop of post-9/11 comedians who were South Asian American and Middle Eastern American, the interviewer noted that unlike many of them he has an accent and “does not speak as someone born and raised here.”

Nanjiani, who grew up in Pakistan until age 18 when he moved to Iowa for college, said that he was sad about his Pakistani accent getting weaker over time, and that he doesn’t read comments on YouTube anymore because he came across ones saying he was putting on a fake accent. That kind of comment seems puzzling to me because it’s not an exaggerated-sounding accent or used by him in a gimmicky way. Elsewhere I noticed that he has made some professional choices regarding his accent. He says, “at some point I made the decision that I wouldn’t do a part where I had to put on a thicker accent. It just gets hard for me to distinguish whether something is funny because it’s funny or because it’s a stereotype.” (The Grinnell Magazine)

Asked about who he is on Twitter, Nanjiani suggests that he’s a hybrid promoter-joker on it, earning the right to “show you two minutes of commercials” after sharing tweets like this one about Nancy Grace’s appearance on Dancing With The Stars, one he admitted was a mean joke. Listen to the rest of his interview.

Related: Does Pindar Singh Just Look Illegal?

Photo: Flickr image from aTROSSity 22

I virtually sat down with Hari to ask him a few questions about his forthcoming special, what makes him funny and his tension filled relationship with his brother. (Check out Phillygrrl’s previous interview with Hari here). Read below.

Taz: Are you nervous about what is going to happen on February 11th, 2011 at 11pm?

Hari: HA! You’re making this sound like a catastrophic event that will take place 4 times that night in the various mainland U.S. timezones. Honestly, I think it’ll be fine. I filmed the thing months ago and it’s been edited down to 22 minutes and there’s nothing else I can really do besides hope the edit looks good and captures the spirit the jokes were written in and how they were performed live that night. I’m anticipating that some people will like it, some people won’t and that I’ll definitely be seeing some mean spirited messages on a variety of social media and probably in the comments section of this very blog post. Am I right, brothers and sisters?

T: What is the absolutely funniest thing to you right now? Something that made you laugh so hard you had milk come out of your nose type funny?

H: I’m embarrassed to admit this, but the last thing that made me laugh out loud was how a friend on twitter described the Black Eyed Peas as “Will.i.am, Fergie…Michaelangelo and Raphael.” It was a well-placed Ninja Turtles reference. Seriously, I am ashamed.

T: Do you feel like you need to censor yourself and your comedic material the more famous you become? Because, I don’t know if you realize that, but getting your own Comedy Central special makes you preeeeetty famous.> H: I want to make honest, thoughtful art that can make people laugh. I mean, there can be a different set of rules and expectations for television and film, but if I can’t stay fearless and discuss the things I care about in front of real audiences, then there’s no point in me continuing to perform.

T: Can we expect a MANOJ part 2 to come down the line?

H: No, I don’t really see that happening. I think MANOJ was a one-time project that tried to make a clear point. If I keep bringing him back, then people will just laugh at that dude’s existence (and voice) and not what I was trying to do with him. The only time I seriously thought about bringing him back was when someone asked me for his contact information so they could book him to perform at a university in Alaska. I imagined an opportunity to grow the beard back, bring Zia Mohajerjasbi (who filmed and directed Manoj) to Alaska with me and film the performance and the interactions with people before and after. Somewhere during the show, I’d shave off my beard and reveal what was actually happening. This was actually the original idea for MANOJ before it became a film project. Unfortunately, I stupidly told the bookers that Manoj and I were the same person and I wasted this opportunity. I will regret this forever.

T: What do you think of your brother Dapwell’s hip hop crew, Das Racist? From the looks of the promo… it seems a bit…tense? Brothers being brothers?

H: I’m proud of what they’re doing, especially the interviews and media criticism. I love my brother’s description of John Boehner as “the utmost in white demonry” in this New York Time’s interview. It’s something he would say at home and its now in the NY Times. Wow.

Several people have asked me about the tension in the video, which I find very strange. I mean, this is clearly NOT REAL. This is a video sketch made for promotional purposes. I loosely scripted it and then DR improvised the spaces perfectly. Have people not noticed the many cuts and camera angles?

T: How do you find funny things to be funny about? How do you get inspired to create your material?

H: I never know how to answer the question about how I find my material because it’s like asking anyone “how do you think the thoughts you think?” I take in stimulus (reading, watching, listening to things, mostly) and respond to it from a point of view shaped on a lifetime of experiences. You know…the usual. I will say that being around people who I vibe with can definitely help with the process and I’ve noticed that the audiences in Seattle and the Bay Area seem to bring the best out of me. I generally leave there with a few new ideas for pieces because I have an audience I trust and that seems to trust me back and let’s me be free enough to write on stage. When live comedy is at its best, it feels like the performer is having a conversation with a large group of people. A conversation where people are not allowed to talk back and people are supposed to laugh and clap at you. Pretty strange, when you think about it. An egomaniac’s dream.

T: What can we expect next out of you?

H: I’ll keep writing and performing standup for sure. I’m working on some video projects with WorldCompass so you’ll get more online content from that project. Also, my brother Ashok and I are continuing our Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project live show and are planning a podcast. Stay tuned.

Comedy Central Presents: Hari Kondabolu will be showing on a cable television near you this Friday, February 11th at 11pm. To see what Hari is up to next, be sure to check out his Pixie-inspired re-vamped website at www.harikondabolu.com and on twitter @harithecomic.

New York comedian Hari Kondabolu is known for a lot of things. There is of course his standup comedy, which landed him on Jimmy Kimmel Live and on the HBO Comedy Festival. He’s also the prolific creator of hilarious comedic sketches, which he often posts on YouTube, including the award-winning short film, MANOJ (which Amardeep blogged about in the past). But what I found striking about Kondabolu’s particular brand of comedy is his determination to both entertain and enlighten through his work – as opposed to simply mining his South Asian background for laughs. Says Kondabolu, “When you’re doing something that is clearly ignorant and at the expense of others in your community, that’s a different kind of thing… There is enough racism in comedy directed towards us [as a South Asian community], why are we adding to it?” Below is an excerpt of the interview I did with Kondabolu for MTV Iggy in anticipation of his appearance alongside DJ Rekha, Fair and Kind, The Kominas and other artists at UNIFICATION 2010. (You can find the rest here.) I hope you mutineers will enjoy his incisive answers as much as I did.

When did you start doing standup comedy? Was it something you always knew you wanted to pursue as a profession?

No, I definitely didn’t see this as a job I could have in the world. I remember first telling my parents I wanted to be a comedian when I was like 7 or 8 years old and my mother flipped. “Absolutely not! Don’t ever say that!” It was like I had used a curse word or said “God doesn’t exist” in front of them (I have done both these things in front of them since then.) Even if I day-dreamed about being a comedian as a kid, how could I ever see it as a full-time job knowing my parents busted their butt to feed and educate their kids! I’m still amazed at how I stumbled into this career and what has resulted.

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I first did stand-up as a teenager at a Comedy Night (the creatively titled “Comedy Night”) at Townsend Harris High School in 2000 and then continued to perform while attending Bowdoin College and Wesleyan University. I moved to Seattle in 2005 to work as an immigrant rights organizer and kept standup as a hobby at night. Next thing I know, I get discovered by the HBO Comedy Festival, perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live and open for Zach Galifianakis in early 2007. I wasn’t pursuing a career in comedy, and now all of a sudden, I had one. However, while all this is happening, I also get accepted to the London School of Economics for a Human Rights Masters program and I had to make a choice. “Comedy or Human Rights? Which financially unstable career path should I embark upon?” So, I decided to take a year off and get my master’s in London.

After returning to the U.S., I knew there was still a window open for me to realistically pursue a career in entertainment, so I decided to go for it. If I hadn’t been discovered and given an opportunity to showcase nationally when I did, I don’t think I would be doing this full-time right now. Let me also say that since deciding to do this full-time, my parents have been extremely supportive. I know for a fact that my Dad is proud of me since he Googles me every day! Which reminds me: “Hey Dad!!”

Do you ever regret taking a break in 2007 when your comedy career was going so well to pursue education?

I don’t regret going back to school for a second! It was an absolute privilege to study at LSE with very impressive people from around the world who continue to inspire me. I have friends now who work at the UN, Amnesty International, The World Bank, UNICEF… it’s incredible. Plus, I had a whole year to read and write and think deeply about topics I was passionate about. If anything, this has only informed and strengthened my writing as a comedian.

I’ve met many comedians who don’t really have something to fall back on when the iron isn’t hot, and I’m fortunate enough to have a master’s degree from a great international university. How could that be a bad thing?

Strangely enough, I think the year away from comedy (I barely performed in London) helped me realize how much I loved comedy and cemented my feeling that now was the time to pursue this career.

Why did you think it was important to be involved in UNIFICATION 2010?

I did UNIFICATION last year and I loved it. I believe in the “South Asian” political identity and this event symbolically unites Pakistani and Indian independence days. Regardless of where our families are from and what our religions are, the children of South Asian immigrants have a lot more in common than our parents always led us to believe. I’m not saying we shouldn’t celebrate the diversity of South Asian experiences and that the term is simple and clear (and I do realize South Asian events can become very Indian-centric), but there is a lot we all do share and I like the fact this generation is trying define themselves and own their identity.

Again, UNIFICATION was fantastic last year and I think it’ll deliver again. The creators of the event, Pushkar Sharma and Sathya Sridharan (aka BROWNSTAR) did a great job diversifying the kinds of art represented and sharing a great range of experiences from the South Asian Diaspora in front of a very cool Desi audience. I was most impressed by the number of older generation immigrants who were there and loved what we were doing. We talk about our frustrations with “Uncles” and “Aunties,” but when folks from that generation come through, it means A LOT. Additionally, money from the event will be going to the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT). SIDENOTE: I was SAALT’s first intern in 2004 when they were based in NYC. They passed up a fresh-faced, mutton-chopped, 22 year old Hari for a full-time job. (No regrets! I still love them!)

As for my act this year, I’m planning a bit of a surprise.

On your Facebook page, you quote Buster Keaton. “Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot.” What does it take to be funny? What are the elements?

I don’t think good standup can be easily defined. It’s very subjective. I admire comedy that is honest and kicks upwards instead of beating down on people that are vulnerable. Comedy can reveal things we don’t necessarily see in our day to day – it can attack structures, history, unquestioned beliefs — and that’s interesting to me. I know some people look down on standup because they’ve had bad experiences with it. Bad standup is ridiculously painful. Plus, as cathartic as laughter is, it can also be extremely painful. To be told things that are racist/sexist/homophobic (etc) – and to perhaps even witness people laughing at that–is hard to take. However, standup has also allowed me and some of my favorite comics a way to hit back. We can confront what angers us and force the issue.

I mean, I’m not perfect. I constantly make mistakes on stage and say things I regret, but that’s part of the process of developing ideas. I feel artists have a responsibility to be thoughtful when presenting work, but I’m sympathetic to even comedians whose material I hate because I know how hard it is to speak in front of a live audience. I’ve been doing this 10 years and I still feel vulnerable up there. What I love about this form is that you can make a mistake and come back the next time and get better. You’re constantly developing. Your art grows as you grow and the results can be immediate.

See Issue 1 to Ack! right here. The comic strip is only two weeks in, so who really knows where the story can go from here. At this rate, just about anywhere. Who woulda thunk of Jersey-fiying the Mahabharata? What was Sandeep thinking?

I first learned about Hinduism through comic books…So, like a good, inclusive Hindu, I allowed these stories to merge with the other epics I followed on Saturday mornings and then recreated during the week. > Rama and He-man would partner to retake the Castle Greyskull. Hanuman would respond to the Thundercat signal, and Optimus Prime would rescue Sita from Ravana’s castle just before Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing blew it to smithereens. And the princesses! The princesses were hot as shit.[ack]

Interesting. I was more of a Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Rainbow Brite type of a cartoon watcher. That fusion would have looked far more different had it been my kind of fusion. And of course, my religion doesn’t really mesh well with cartoons. Keep an eye on Ack! – with Sandeep at the helm, Ack! has the potential to be pretty awesome, almost as awesome as Savita Bhabi. What do you think? Is this new comic strip a hit or miss?

You can find more of Wilbur on Facebook or Twitter. But the real question seems to be – is he real or is he fake? Whaddya folks think? Too good to be true?

Not really new news, but new to me news – In January, comedian Aziz Ansari premiered his Comedy Central stand up special: “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening.” We’ve talked about Aziz plenty of times on Sepia Mutiny in the past as the latest up and coming funny man. He can also be seen on Parks on Recreation on NBC Thursday nights, otherwise known as ‘every show has a Desi sidekick’ night. The clips from his Comedy Central special are up [NSFW] and I wanted to share. (h/t Channel APA)

Russel Peters is the only other Desi person I know to have had a Comedy Central special, though I could be wrong on this one. What I do find interesting though, is how different Peters and Ansari’s comedy styles are from one another. I could be snarky and say style differences reflect a Canada vs. U.S.A. thing, but that could just be the residual Olympic effect speaking. In reality, it seems that Peters relies on his Desi background for his jokes, and Ansari has moved away from that, using Desi references more as seasoning than crutch. But maybe, that really is reflective of a Canada vs. U.S.A. thing.

More from an ‘Intimate Moment for a Sensual Evening’ after the jump.

This is the point where I encourage you to go online and buy Aziz Ansari’s DVD where you can watch the whole show. But, if you are proficient in google, I’m sure you can find a way to watch the whole thing online. I would never encourage you to do that though. Never.

The story goes like this – Kumail was scheduled to do a comedy set at the Slipper Room a couple weeks ago, when John Mayer (the musician) showed up unannounced to the show and jumped on the mic for an unscheduled five minute comedy performance… that turned into an awkward twenty minutes. Mayer’s comedy bit on the mic ate into Kumail’s scheduled performance time. Allright, fine. A famous musical douchebag takes the mic, and feels entitled to hog a comedy stage. To be expected, I guess. But then, he turned into a racist douchebag.

To hear Nanjiani tell the story, he was somewhat rattled after having had his set time cut by John Mayer, but things got awkward after Mayer referred to the Pakistan-born Kumail as “Kabul.” Whoops! Making matters even worse, Mayer apparently then began heckling Nanjiani onstage, telling him that “he looked like a brown guy but sounded like a white guy.” Double whoops! [vulture]

Check out an interview with Kumail below. They refer to John Mayer as the accidental racist at the 4:25 point.

Comedians say racist remarks all the time doing stand up. But I think what sets this apart is that, well frankly, Mayer isn’t a comedian and he hijacked a comedy set with pompous entitlement. Secondly, he interupted Kumail’s set to heckle him with racist comments.

In the words of Angry Asian Man, “Thinking you can be an actual standup comic is one thing, but interrupting another comic’s set, then making jokes about the Brown man? That’s racist! Stick to the music, Mayer (if you must).”

As a SDMF (Single Desi Muslim Female) in my twenties, I’ve had my fair share of Brown Girls-type talk, usually over brunch and usually about boys. Many boys. Over the years, I’ve dated a Desi Hindu and a Black Muslim and I’ve always wondered with whom my parents would cringe less with — would their racial prejudice or Muslim orthodoxy take precedence? I’ve always thought they would be more accepting of a Muslim man, no matter what race, but my friends always begged to differ that racism prevailed over all. Of course, I would like to think that my parents would accept anyone that I would love, but we all know the desi Bradley effect there.

Truth is no boy over the years has met the bar to be introduced to my parents so I have no way to test this effect yet. But I am curious, if Obama is elected President, and my parents vote for him, will it be more acceptable for me to bring home a black man? If elected, will Obama essentially increase the desi dating pool of what boys us SDMFs can bring home? Single brown girls, what are your experiences with the Desi Dating Bradley Effect?

Way to go, Devis, on hitting the nail on the head on this one. I am Brown Girls comic latest biggest fan. Other Brown Girls Comics: Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3.