Vidur Kapur is not the average comicfor several reasons.
The two most prominent reasons are that he's Indian-Americanand openly gay. However, he is also the only openly gay performer who has been in India and Middle Eastnot simply as a comic, but speaking out on many issues, including the criminalization of homosexuality.
Kapur will be part of Pauly Shore's new Showtime special, Pauly-tics, which will air Oct. 26.
Windy City Times: OK, so how does someone go from graduating from...
Vidur Kapur: [Laughs] ...the London School of Economics to becoming a stand-up comedian. Well, someone has to be a little insane to make that transition. So, it's insanity and a lack of rationality. You go from working for companies like Booz Hamilton and Deloitte, making a good salarybut there was this bug inside me saying, "There has to be more to life."
It was driving me nuts trying to find out what more there was. I couldn't put my finger on it: What's going to satisfy me? Then, I stumbled on Margaret Cho; she kind of inspired meit was "I'm the One That I Want." I said to myself, "I can do that."
I was already dabbling in writing comedy monologues and doing preliminary stuff on stage. I was horrifically stage-frightened at that pointI forgot my lines at one point on stage in New York, and the crowd cheered me back on. But it was this road to self-discovery that led me to try stand-up comedy, and I really enjoyed it. Then, I thought I'd be a star in a year. [Laughs]
WCT: You're not the first out Indian-American comic I've talked with, though.
Vidur Kapur: Oh, yeah? Who's the other one? [Both laugh.]
WCT: Sapna Kumar. She was one of our 30 Under 30 honorees a while back.
Vidur Kapur: I know of her, but I haven't met her. I would love to meet her.
WCT: When it comes to comedy, is anything off limits?
Vidur Kapur: Mmmm ... I don't think so. You can talk about anything. Isn't that what freedom of speech is about?
WCT: True, but is it ever too soon to talk about something?
Vidur Kapur: It is, but I think if you can come up with the right [approach]. After 9/11, a friend of mine joked about about being Muslim. She said her name [and added], "At least that's what it says on my pilot's license." And the people were uncomfortable and broke out laughing. I thought the timing was perfect for her to do that joke; it's what everyone was thinking subconsciously and she broke the ice.
Issues about sexuality are still issues all over the world. I think it's OK to talk about things people are uncomfortable about.
WCT: I recently interviewed Carlos Mencia and asked him about what was called "The Tracy Morgan apology tour." [Kapur laughs.] He said that Tracy should've apologized if he offended anyone but should not have apologized for the joke itself. What's your take? How do you feel about what Tracy did? Did you think it was over the top?
Vidur Kapur: I do think it was over the top, but I agree [with Mencia]: Apologize if it offends someone, but don't apologize for your point of view, however warped it may be. You have to be authentic in comedy; otherwise, it's not comedy and you're not going to be believable.
[Morgan's] not the only one. Look at Eddie Murphy's Rawthere were so many really offensive jokes against gay people in that one.
WCT: But we've come a bit far since Raw [which was in the '80s]. If Eddie had tried to do that now, he may have gone on his own apology tour. Back then, he didn't have to.
Vidur Kapur: Right. So I think if you're being authentic, you should apologize if it's hateful speech. I think it's good if Tracy Morgan comes out and says it's a character and he apologizes for offending anyonebut you have to be true to who you are. I think Sam Kinison was very homophobic, but I thought he was really funny.
WCT: How are you viewed in India? Do you have any sense of that?
Vidur Kapur: I'm viewed as controversial, for sure.
WCT: We just ran a piece on Bollywood exploring gay themes.
Vidur Kapur: I was on a TV show where they explored very explicit gay themes. On a reality game show, they asked me questionsand I didn't know what questions they were going to askthat were stereotypically sexual about gay people. I answered with a straight face and won $25,000. My mom was sitting on a couch in front of me and couldn't believe her eyes.
But, yes, I'm controversialbecause of who I am and the fact that I'm open about it. And it's in a pretty conservative, homophobic society. It's becoming more progressive but, overall, it's conservative; it's two steps forward and two steps back.
WCT: Let's talk a little bit about Pauly-tics. What will the program feature?
Vidur Kapur: Well, Pauly-tics is Pauly Shore's Showtime special, filmed June 30. It was tons of fun.
It's basically a politically themed show where Pauly invited three stand-ups to do their sets with some political material. So it was Godfrey, a hysterically funny African-American comic; Rachel Feinstein, a Jewish comic who was a finalist on Last Comic Standing; and moi. So we have a gay Indian, a Nigerian-descended African-American, a Jewish girl and Pauly Shoreso diverse. NBC would be happy. [Laughs]
WCT: Wrapping up, could you conclude with a joke?
Vidur Kapur: Oh, concluding with a joke. Let's see: I've been in very precarious situations all over the world. I've performed in Bahrain, which is on the border of Saudi Arabia, and I did this four-city tour of India. This one woman asked me, "Do you have a boyfriend?" I said, "Yes, I do." Then she askedwith a straight face"Is he also a gay?" So I said, "No. He's your husband."
Pauly-tics will air Friday, Oct. 26, at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime. For more on Kapur, visit www.vidurkapur.com .