Kondabolu was born October 21, 1982, in the Flushing neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens, to Uma and Ravi Kondabolu,[2] who had immigrated from the city of Tenali in the Coastal Andhra region of South India.[4][5] His mother was previously a physician in India, and both parents became the heads of New York area medical labs. Ravi Kondabolu had immigrated to the United States in 1978.[6]
Kondabolu continued performing standup when he attended Bowdoin College; he called his years at Bowdoin "incredibly formative"[10] and continues to spend part of every year in Maine.[11] He studied at Wesleyan University during his third year, focusing on identity and race, globalization, and "the impact of popular culture on society."[12]
Although his stand-up comedy career was gaining traction in 2007, he was accepted to the Masters in Human Rights program at the London School of Economics in 2007, and thus took a hiatus year from stand-up to earn his MSc.[13][14][15]
Stand-up comedy
While in Seattle, Kondabolu began participating in its alternative comedy scene.[4][16] His act included "a bit where I used to read the U.S. citizenship application onstage."[17] In 2006, Kondabolu performed at the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in Seattle, which he credits as his "big break," as a booker for HBO's Comedy Festival saw his name on the Bumbershoot website.[18] Later, Kondabolu also filmed "Hari Kondabolu: Warn Your Relatives" in Seattle.[19][20][21]
His second comedy album, Mainstream American Comic, was released on July 22, 2016, on Kill Rock Stars.[33][34] It debuted at #1 on the iTunes US comedy charts[35] and at #2 on the Billboard comedy charts.[36]
In 2018, he spoke about his experience of teaching a workshop at the Columbia River Correctional Institute Comedy School in North Portland as a guest on Live Wire! Radio.[38]
Themes
Kondabolu's humor often centers on social issues such as poverty, racism, and a rejection of Indian stereotypes seen in media. He has spoken about the challenges of dealing with white fragility when addressing race in his comedy.[39] He has also addressed a variety of other social subjects, such as the LGBT community.
Podcast host
Kondabolu and his younger brother Ashok performed in a monthly, mostly improvised talk show together in New York City called Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project. Past guests have included Ajay Naidu, Aasif Mandvi, Bell, Leo Allen, Victor Vazquez (Kool AD of Das Racist), Charles Mudede and Blue Scholars. In January 2013, they started Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast.[40] After a hiatus from 2015 onwards, the podcast debuted again as the Kondabolu Brothers Podcast in 2018 on the Earwolf label.[41][42]
Kondabolu wrote and starred in Zia Mohajerjasbi's 2007 short film Manoj,[46] which has played in comedy and film festivals around the world, including the Just for Laughs Festivals in Montreal and Chicago, and which mocks comedians who broadly exploit their ethnic backgrounds for their material.[47] In Manoj, Kondabolu portrays both Manoj, a fictional Indian immigrant comic who plays to white audiences by repeating their stereotypes of South Asians, and an Indian-American who is critical of Manoj's approach.
Kondabolu portrayed "Crossword Businessman" in the 2009 film All About Steve,[48] a movie he mocks in Mainstream American Comic.[49] He also played a supporting role in the 2016 film Five Nights in Maine,[50] although none of his scenes were included in the final 75-minute cut of the film.[51][52] Also in 2016, he appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in the Comedy Centralweb seriesWhite Flight.[53]
Kondabolu is the lead, creator, and executive director of The Problem with Apu, a documentary about the character Apu from The Simpsons that premiered in November 2017 on TruTV.[54][55] The film contextualizes Apu within minstrelsy and other tropes in American pop culture history that have historically stereotyped minorities.[56][57]
Along with Megan Stalter, Kondabolu is a co-host of Season 1 of Netflix's Snack vs. Chef, a reality cooking competition series.
Personal life
Kondabolu lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son, born in 2020.[58]
^Bertrand, Donald (October 5, 1998). "Metro People in Profile: Ravi Kumar Kondabolu, Chief Technologist, New York Flushing Hospital". New York Daily News. p. 4 – via Proquest. Then came word in 1992 that the Indian government planned to use the Wyra acreage for other purposes. "My brother and I rushed back to India and offered our own money to start the college," he said. In 1994, Kondabolu Venkaiaah Choudary Memorial began in rented quarters with only 28 students. ... Ravi, who lives in Jamaica Estates, said he works long hours as chief technologist in the cardiology department of New York Flushing Hospital in an effort to send at least $15,000 annually back to India to support the college.
^"Degrees Awarded in Autumn 2008"(PDF). LSE Digest. The London School of Economics and Political Science: 76. August 1, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2016. MSc in Human Rights: ... Merit ... Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu