JFL Toronto Review: Hari Kondabolu
Filed under: Reviews, Festivals
First of all, I want to continue my trend of pointing out under-appreciated Canadian treasures. Nour Hadidi absolutely crushed it as Hari's opener. She was so good that Hari was able to get laughs off of callbacks to her jokes. I've never seen that before. Frankly, it's my favorite opener/headliner combo of this year's Just for Laughs Toronto so far.
To be honest, I was worried about Hari Kondabolu before the show. Without a doubt this has been one of the strangest years covering the festival. It's almost impossible to separate what's going on at the festival with what's happening at the border, from things that are being mentioned or alluded to, to things that seem strangely and deliberately omitted.
I've never really had a problem interviewing comedians (until now) where they can't answer questions on the record for legal reasons. In a time when the general public is bolstering behind Jimmy Kimmel and free speech, we aren't really talking about what performers are already facing at the border.
Declaring yourself as a comedian has become a risky business. Border guards are plugging people's phones into ports to scan them. If they find photos, contacts, or social media posts that they don't "approve of", you can be detained or just not let back into the country. God help you if you're an immigrant. As a result, many comedians are traveling with burner phones. Getting your set filmed has gone from ruining your act to strait up dangerous.
Hari Kondabolu is a VERY political comedian. As an audience member, I didn't want him to pull any punches. As a fan, I wanted him to be safe. I genuinely had no idea what I was about to watch. Hell, it's hard enough to write jokes about the current state of the world that aren't just total bummers.
I am going to go beyond recommending this to just an audience. If you are a comedian, you should go see Hari. This is how you write political material. This is how you make yourself relatable to any audience. This is how you stay relevant while in a climate of censorship. Especially living in a time when just trying to exist is a political statement.
Within the first five minutes, I already knew I didn't have to be worried. I realize that as smart as he is, Hari's true superpower is being relatable. His set was still deeply political without ever actually mentioning politics once. All he had to do was change the lens of perspective. If all political issues are social issues, all social issues are community issues, thus all politics are personal. Instead of looking at things from a larger perspective, he was able to talk about everyday issues affecting his life that couldn't help but point to larger social structural issues.
In a time when you are being threatened with censorship, remember that every action and every dollar you spend is political. Go see Hari Kondabolu.
Tags: Hari Kondabolu, JFL Toronto, Just for Laughs, Nour Hadidi, politics, stand-up comedy
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