ARTS INTERVIEW: SAMSON KOLETKAR
Indian Jew Comedian Tickles Funny Bone at Funatical Comedy Tour
Glendale, California - An entertainer considered to be the “world’s only Jewish Indian comedian” joined a diverse lineup of stand-up comics who highlighted the four-day Funatical: We Come in Peace Comedy Tour presented throughout Southern California, including a stop here at the Beyond the Stars Palace in Glendale on December 10th.
The tour featured comics with roots from Iran, Jordan, and Armenia, among others. Samson Koletkar represented the South Asian contingency during the second day of the comedy tour, which ran from December 9th through December 12th in Los Angeles, Irvine, and West Hollywood, as well as here in Glendale.
Hailed as the only Jewish comedian of Indian descent, Mr. Koletkar is a veteran entertainer who has performed throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in India. In being a featured comedian on the Funatical comedy tour, Mr. Koletkar believes his brand of comedy was a valuable addition to the lineup.
“At my own show, I do a bunch of longer sets. This show--the way they have designed this--is bringing in all these comedians from different backgrounds and putting them together on the stage. The root of the show is the Islam-phobia that’s in America and bringing these people with different backgrounds to shed that idea.”
Speaking of Mr. Koletkar’s brand of comedy, the “world’s only Jewish Indian comedian” is known for presenting thought-provoking satire, amusing remarks, and sharp-witted observations about the most pressing issues confronting modern society. Such a style of comedy, which is as cerebral as it is funny, is often found in a pair of shows Mr. Koletkar regularly produces in Comedy Off Broadway Oakland--a three-times-a-week show in the San Francisco Bay area--and the nationally touring Mahatma Moses Tour.
It is the brand of comedy the producers of Funatical believed to be ideal for its lineup of comedians who highlighted and headlined the four-day tour. When Mr. Koletkar performed and tickled the collective funny bones of the intimate audience here at Glendale’s Beyond the Stars Palace, he was joined by Max Amini, Ara Basil, Omar Regan, and Noel Elgrably.
Such was the spirit of the Funatical tour, which carried a subtitle of “Taking Comedy to the Extreme.” With each of the comedians heavily playing upon cultural and religious stereotypes specific to his or her respective ethnic backgrounds, the Funatical tour seemed to be a perfect breeding ground to leave political correctness at the door and just have a few good laughs.
By making people laugh out loud with joke after joke about the most common political, cultural, and social stereotypes, Mr. Koletkar seems to have found a niche in playing into his unique identity as an Indian Jew.
“In many ways, I think it’s a marketing gimmick. It’s kind of like, ‘Oh, look at that--an Indian and a Jewish guy. We never heard of that!’ And yes, that has given me a unique background. But when you think about it, we are all human beings. I look at myself as a human being,” Mr. Koletkar told Buzzine.
The unique background, Mr. Koletkar believes, also helps the standup comedian provide unique insight in each of his sets.
“I approach my content and my material as: there are some narrow-minded social prejudices that are a problem, and I would like to address and open people’s minds,” Mr. Koletkar said. “Let’s put aside our differences; let’s not be so narrow-minded and small-thinking. We are all equal. Yes, we may be religious, but we are still together and all can coexist.”
If Mr. Koletkar has anything to do with it, perhaps we may all be able to coexist under the guise of laughter.
