Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj brought his relatable jokes and South Asian experiences to the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
More than 2,000 people made up the diverse audience, which included many Indian immigrants, Black San Jose natives and Muslim-Americans celebrating Ramadan.
Minhaj, a Davis native, gained popularity when he joined “The Daily Show” in 2014. Since then, Minhaj has spoken at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2017 and started his own Netflix show “The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” which was canceled in 2020.
Many attendees said they were happy to see a comedian openly share his South Asian experiences, especially in an industry that is largely white dominated.
“During his last live show, ‘Homecoming King,’ he talks a lot about growing up and being the only brown kid in a very white space,” said Priyanka Thatipamala, an audience member. “I mean, since he grew up in Sacramento and my sister and I also grew up in really white spaces. And so all of that was really relatable. He tells a really relevant immigrant story being the child of immigrants.”
“Homecoming King” was Minhaj’s 2017 comedy tour which was released on Netflix on May 23 the same year.
Attendees said there aren’t many South Asian comedians and many cater to white audiences instead of openly embracing their culture.
“What I do appreciate about [Hasan is that] he's still married. He still talks about being Muslim. Not to point fingers, but I think there are a lot of people in this situation that you know . . . they just kind of talk negatively about Islam,” said Mohamed Zeiny, who attended the show with his siblings.
Much of the show felt like a series of inside-jokes Minhaj had with immigrant audience members. Minhaj’s unique delivery was reminiscent of his Patriot Act show and mixed visual elements, lighting changes and a touching vulnerability and hilarious physical comedy.
His strongest, most compelling joke was about him being targeted by a federal government agent known as “Brother Eric,” an experience many Muslim kids find relatable.
Agents like “Brother Eric” pretended to be new Muslim converts and attempted to coerce confessions out of Muslim children.
His storytelling never missed a beat as he walked the audience through a harrowing tale of him almost being arrested, eliciting gasps from the audience.
Minhaj never diminished the severity of the situation while also laughing at the absurdity of his experiences.
Ahmed Zeiny, an SJSU alumnus, said he enjoyed that Minhaj took serious moments that are relatable to many Muslim kids who grew up post-9/11 and made them funny and relatable.
“I was about to talk about ‘Brother Eric’ that is so on the nose and the fact that he's able to make that funny… it's fantastic,” he said.
Zeiny said he was skeptical of white converts who suddenly appeared at mosques after 9/11.
Minhaj talked about the passage of the Patriot Act in 2011, which made it easier to surveil Muslim communities.
He brought up the case of Hamid Hayat, a Lodi teen who was coerced into confessing to terrorist conspiracies and spent 14 years in prison before being released in 2020.
In an act of defiance, Minhaj named his Netflix show after the act that he said targeted him and many other American Muslims for years.
As the comedy show progressed, Minhaj told stories where he gave a “metaphorical middle finger” to governments and individuals who’ve done irrevocable harm to citizens. In a relentless pursuit of truth, justice, and yes, Instagram clout, Minhaj chronicles his battle with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and how his hubris began to affect his growing family.
Minhaj’s show was fast paced, moving from jokes that left you breathless to moments of sincerity that had you almost in tears.
In a December episode of “Patriot Act”, Minhaj said “ [My father] survived for us, but I’m trying to live.”
Minhaj lives up to that quote. His parents had to “keep their heads down” as many immigrants do, but he is not afraid for others to see him as a Muslim, an Indian American and a comedian.
