Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu | |
|---|---|
| Born | Queens, NY |
| Occupation | Comedian |
Hari Kondabolu (born 1982 in Queens, New York) is an American stand-up comic.
Education
Kondabolu attended Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, NY and graduated in 2000. He then attended both Bowdoin College and Wesleyan University, graduating from the former with a B.A. in Comparative Politics in 2004.[1] The Bowdoin Orient reported on February 23, 2007:
- "While spending his junior year at Wesleyan University developed Kondabolu as a 'scholar and an artist' because of the campus's politics and a thriving art scene, Bowdoin provided Kondabolu with the audience to hear that art. Kondabolu left for Wesleyan as a sophomore, but word of mouth made his audience even larger when he returned to Bowdoin as a senior."[2]
Kondabolu also earned a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2008.
Career
Kondabolu has since made several television appearances as a stand-up comic. He made his first notable television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2007, when he also began to appear on a variety of national comedy festivals, including the 2007 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.[3] Additionally, he has made several appearances on Comedy Central. Among these, he was featured in the July 18th, 2008 episode of Live at Gotham and later on the January 15th, 2010, July 20th, 2012, and August 17th, 2012 episodes of John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show. Most prominently, his own episode of Comedy Central Presents aired in 2011. He also appeared on Russell Howard's Good News in 2011 and has acted in various comedic short films online. In 2012 he has a sketch as part of BBC Three's Live at The Electric hosted by Russell Kane. [[1]]
He has also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival[4] and was a featured comedian for the US State Department-sponsored "Make Chai Not War" comedy showcase in India in 2012. His humor often centers on social issues such as poverty, racism, and a rejection of Indian stereotypes seen in media.
His short film MANOJ, which mocks comedians who broadly exploit their ethnic backgrounds for their material, has played in comedy and film festivals around the world, including the Just for Laughs Festivals in Montreal and Chicago.
He is the older brother of Ashok Kondabolu, of the rap group "Das Racist".[4] They do a monthly, mostly improvised talk show together in New York City called "The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers" Project. Past guests have included Ajay Naidu, Aasif Mandvi, W. Kamau Bell, Leo Allen, Victor Vasquez (Kool AD of Das Racist), Charles Mudede and Blue Scholars.
He is currently on the writing staff for the FX comedy series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, produced by Chris Rock.
References
- ^ Hari Kondabolu. SFstandup.com, 15 October 2008. By Nato Green. Retrieved 27 Dec. 2011.
- ^ Hari Kondabolu '04 - Live. The Bowdoin Orient. By Kelsey Abbruzzese. 23 Feb. 2007. Retrieved 27 Dec. 2011.
- ^ Scanlon, T. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to a Human Rights Master's Degree", Seattle Times, July 24, 2007
- ^ a b Hari Kondabolu (October 17, 2011). "Das Racist Cover Story: These Colors Don't Run". Spin. Retrieved 2011-10-17.