Neel Kolhatkar reckons he’s not telling any uncomfortable truths about himself in his show. Truth Be Told. “My comedy is observational,” he says. “My observations of everyday life, of social dynamics, it’s not about any one particular thing. I talk about everything I’m exposed to, what’s relevant to me, the human interactions I experience.” Kolhatkar found he had a bent for comedy when he was in high school. “I did a lot of acting in high school; I entered Class Clowns and did well with it. It’s been good so far.” Being an Australian with an Indian background gives him something a bit different to explore in his routines. “I delve into the personal characteristics of someone with my background, I talk about my experiences. Contextually I have a different perspective on things. It’s a unique cultural experience, being Australian from an Indian background and I see this in a comic light. I look at the majority culture and talk about sort of being on the outside. I take on characters and do accents, do high-energy impersonations and use those to make points, socially and culturally. A lot of people have said to me that my comedy’s quite accurate, that I’ve got a good eye for things. I exaggerate things and paint them in a satirical light to make a point.” How does his family feel about his choice of career? “They were a bit sceptical at first,” he answers. “But now they’re fine with it.”
Kolhatkar also touches on the sex drive of young men in his routines. Well, the world of comedy does need more young men talking about getting laid, after all. “I talk about male insecurity,” he explains. “What is relevant to me, things that make sense to me. Topics get recycled but everyone does them in a unique way. I talk about how men have complexes, how they can define themselves by how much sex they’re getting. Also I joke about how women are more comfortable experimenting with the same sex than men are. 20% of women between 16 and 24 have had a sexual encounter with another woman. Only 4% of males that age have had a sexual encounter with another man. I joke about that; it’s a big thing.”
Kolhatkar must be doing something right cos at only 20 years of age he’s done the rounds of the Australian comedy festival shows and has been to Edinburgh and done shows in New York, Los Angeles and London. Truth Be Told is his second solo show for MICF. He’s got some 500,000 people following him across social media, too. Where does he see himself heading beyond stand-up? “Ideally I’d like to keep doing stand-up, build a worldwide fan base and also branch out into TV. I’d like to break into film, TV and acting. I’d like to pursue an acting career in tandem with a comedy career.” And why not; he’s made a good start already.
BY LIZA DEZFOULI
