Hari Kondabolu Says His Mom Is Hilarious — And Not Because Of Her Accent
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
And the young man we're about to meet does stand-up comedy pretty well. He had the No. 1 comedy album on iTunes this summer. It's Hari Kondabolu. He grew up in Queens, New York. His parents are from India. But don't expect to hear jokes about accents or curry. He talks about his immigrant mom as just a mom.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HARI KONDABOLU: I called my mom, and I said hey, Mom, sorry I didn't call earlier this week. And she said it's OK. It was a relief.
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: And then on the Fourth of July, I said, Happy Independence Day, Mom. And she said thanks, Son, but I lost my independence 35 years ago (laughter).
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: Comedy was always something I did. I've done comedy since I was 17 years old at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing. Like...
GREENE: Oh - you were doing, like, for your high school class you were...
KONDABOLU: Yeah.
GREENE: ...Up there doing?
KONDABOLU: I mean, I had a teacher - my favorite teacher, Chris Hackney, he used to have little breaks in class where I was able to do stand-up.
GREENE: What? You had a better high school experience than I did...
KONDABOLU: Oh, he was amazing.
GREENE: Teachers weren't giving me (unintelligible) - what? - stand-up time at the end of class. What did he teach?
KONDABOLU: He was global studies. So, I mean, it would have to be...
GREENE: Oh, of course (laughter).
KONDABOLU: It would have to be connected to the lessons, you know I mean?
GREENE: So the class would end, and he would be like, we have been talking about NATO...
KONDABOLU: Oh, was - it was in the middle.
GREENE: And - oh the middle. The comedy routine would come in the middle.
KONDABOLU: Yeah. We would have these press conferences where people would present articles and things that happened that week. And then each group would have to do little commercials and skits. And after a while, it was, like, kind of obvious that I was the one who was going to be doing them every single week.
That was a huge confidence boost and feel that rush, you know, was incredibly.
GREENE: That's awesome. Shout out to Mr. Hackney for having the coolest global studies class in any high school in America.
KONDABOLU: Yes.
GREENE: Now, before turning to comedy full time, Hari Kondabolu got a graduate degree in human rights from the London School of Economics. He spent time as an immigrant rights organizer in Seattle, and race and identity remain part of his comedy. This is his message for people who say all lives matter.
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KONDABOLU: All lives matter - do you realize how ridiculous you sound? That's like if it's your birthday, and everybody's wishing you a happy birthday then all of a sudden, one person's like, you know, I also have a birthday. Shut [expletive] up, Melissa.
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: It's not about your birthday, Melissa.
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: It's always your birthday, Melissa.
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: Talking about race, there are definitely some white people that don't like that - that certainly don't. And it's not even always the content. It's just saying white people.
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KONDABOLU: 'Cause I'm sure there's somebody in here that's like, oh, he's saying white people - is he talking about me? He's saying white people, so he must be talking about me. If you think I'm talking about you, then yeah, I'm definitely talking about you - absolutely, absolutely.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
KONDABOLU: You know, a lot of white people are not used to being called white. They get to be people - the human beings, their first name. So I know that must be frustrating if you're not used to it. And I've read articles about white fragility, so (laughter) I get...
GREENE: White fragility - you got - talk a little bit about that.
KONDABOLU: White fragility is the idea of when you question white people about race or privilege or things like that, they fold because they're fragile because they're not used to those discussions. The rest of us - we've had to get used to being the other. We've had to get used to constantly answering those questions. So when you put that discussion out there, white people getting upset, getting emotional, turning away...
GREENE: So does that drive you a lot in your comedy? I mean, do you want to make white people think about their place, challenge them, expose their fragility?
KONDABOLU: No. I mean, I don't go on stage to make people uncomfortable or to offend anyone. I go out there to speak my truth. You know, let me fix that. No, I think I do go out, actually, to - with the risk of offending people. I'm OK with offense, to be honest with you. I think offense happens when it - something questions your beliefs and your sensibilities and you don't know how to handle that. I think that can be a good thing. It forces an issue. I think causing people pain, however, can be different. I think that's a little more complicated.
GREENE: I think about when you've brought up impersonations you do of your parents. And you say that you're asked why no accent.
KONDABOLU: Right (laughter). I don't know if I can say that on air, the punch line.
GREENE: (Laughter) Sure you can. I mean, we can bleep anything.
KONDABOLU: Oh, sure. You know, people ask me (laughter) why I don't do accents of my parents. Let me try that again. People ask me why I don't do impressions of my parents. And the answer to that question is, [expletive] you. That's why I don't do (laughter) impressions of my parents. I mean...
GREENE: I like that you retook the joke. I mean, you really do - you want to delivery to be just right.
KONDABOLU: Oh, yeah. And also - I mean, that joke, too, is a weird one. That joke is almost all based on delivery. If I'm too angry, that doesn't work.
GREENE: (Laughter).
KONDABOLU: If - I'm already cursing in it. So the curse has to be well placed.
GREENE: Right.
What do you think it says about the people who ask you about the accent and why you're not using them?
KONDABOLU: I think some people are used to accents because that's how they see immigrants. Immigrants are funny voices. Immigrants are foreign, strange experiences. And I think there are tons of examples where people have spoken about their parents and all they are is an accent.
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KONDABOLU: My parents are getting older. Right? When you have older parents, you have to have difficult conversations with them - what they want for their final wishes, right? Cremation, funeral - these are difficult conversations that I've been having recently. And because I am who I am, I decided it was time to tell my parents what I wanted for my final wishes. Right?
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: So I told them. I said, if I'm ever murdered, it's very important that the killer doesn't get the death penalty because I don't believe in state violence. So don't push for the death penalty. I don't want my death to lead to another death. Regardless of what this person did to me or to my body, I don't want the killer to get the death penalty.
And I remember what my mother said to me. She said, why do you always have to ruin dinner?
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: It's not about dinner, Mom. It's about my final wishes, and they should be respected.
(LAUGHTER)
KONDABOLU: You're not that famous, Hari. Nobody's going to kill you, OK?
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
KONDABOLU: You don't know that. Dad tells people I'm Aziz Ansari. You don't even know.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
KONDABOLU: One thing I love about Margaret Cho is Margaret talks about her mom and uses the accent but also shares her mom's stories and experiences. Like...
GREENE: And she's the comedian who really inspired you to get into comedy, we should say.
KONDABOLU: Oh, my God - absolutely. I think Margaret Cho is still groundbreaking. She was out there talking about being an Asian-American, her life in San Francisco - I mean, the complexities of her identity. And people laughed, and it was valid. The idea that your point of view, as someone who isn't black, white or Latino is valid was shocking to me. Like, the idea that we could be valid - I mean, that's - I didn't - that was so inspiring, seeing Margaret be able to speak her truth and be audacious. And at that point, I was like, this is something I could do.
GREENE: And Hari is doing it. He's on tour right now with his latest album, "Mainstream American Comic."
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