San Francisco Comedy Blog

by Chad Lehrman

Continuing to make a name for himself as the “Indian Comedian,” Tapan Trivedi recently toured with the Gurus of Comedy and appeared at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival.

What does your family back home in India think about you being a comedian?

My family back home has no idea what being an actual comedian is all about. There are times that my mother tells people I entertain for a living and the people think I am a vaudevillian or a magician.

Was stand-up comedy popular in India when you were growing up?

Not at all. I never saw a standup comic till I came to the U.S. I heard tapes of comedians who were essentially brilliant impressionists but no observational humor at all.

What led to you joining the Gurus of Comedy Tour, and how has it boosted your career?

I joined the Gurus of Comedy tour to develop my Indian act. I had just a few jokes about being an Indian and all those were geared towards non Indian audiences. Making Indian people laugh is extremely hard but rewarding as they give me a lot of money to do private events.

As for the boost in the career- I have a whole new 35 minutes that I developed on the tour. I have TV time now AND I created Pundits with Punchlines which gets me in front of many bookers.

How has your business degree helped you in comedy?

Standup is the lowest common denominator of equality. The business degree helped in cultivating relations and the business side but not so much in the comedy. You either are funny or not.

With all the controversy surrounding the Michael Richards incident, what are your feelings about censorship? Are you still doing your “sand nigger” bit?

First of all Rick Overton said it best when he said “Michael Richards is not a racist but a ragist.” He has had outbursts against women, gays and now blacks. The only difference being the latest one was caught on tape. I don’t agree with the censorship of the N or F or C or D or A or any other words and gladly continue doing my Sand N word bit all around the country. I will stop when they pay me enough NOT to do it.

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