Vinay Umapathy: The Interview

Vinay Umapathy is one of Twitter's most promising young comedians.

Comedian Vinay Umapathy’s Twitter account is booming. The Right Kind Of Brownies caught up with the aspiring television writer in Queens, NY for an exclusive interview.

Follow Vinay Umapathy on Twitter.

What’s your earliest memory of comedy?

When I was younger I wasn’t really exposed to much western comedy. We didn’t have cable so besides Saturday morning cartoons on WB Kids and the dubbed shows I’d watch when I visited India during the summers, I didn’t really see much memorable comedy as a youngin’. I do remember my parents watching sitcoms though, and begrudgingly allowing me to watch with them. The George Lopez Show and My Wife And Kids are two comedies that I remember watching early on. But we also watched tons of Bollywood, which I would say was most instrumental to my comedic understanding in my developmental years. Actors like Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal (the Hera Pheri three) were all comedians that I gravitated towards and still deeply respect today. In fact, I’d watch almost exclusively only Bollywood movies growing up. They were especially accessible because our local Patel Brothers grocery sold bootleg DVDS for a few dollars, and my parents knew that there wasn’t any outwardly explicit content on it for them to censor. They were especially accessible because our local Patel Brothers grocery sold bootleg DVDS for a few dollars, and my parents knew that there wasn’t any outwardly explicit content on it for them to censor. We also watched a lot of Whose Line Is It Anyway? That show taught me that it's okay to be annoying.

Eventually, when I entered middle school, my protests were heard and we got satellite TV. With that I spent all my free time watching Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite; Spongebob, Family Matters, Sister Sister, Full House, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, all of which I deeply credit for my love of television. When I was 13 I remember saying my comedic influences were Spongebob, Steve Urkel, and Akshay Kumar- which might have been the reason I didn’t have many friends back then. I also remember my dad and I bonding by watching Big Bang Theory, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, and Two & A Half Men during my preteen years.

While this content was more explicit than anything I’d seen before, I like to think of it as my dad’s own way of accepting that I was growing up and didn’t need to be hidden from reality anymore. I would say that my first experiences to “mainstream” comedy was when I started watching shows like Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Wilfred, and Louie during late middle school/high school. While a lot of these shows don’t necessarily hold up today, at the time I was enamored by them. When I discovered The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and subsequently The Colbert Report, I knew I could wanted to be a comedian. 

Are you the first in your family to pursue comedy?

Yes, I am. My dad is a psychiatrist and my mom a neuroscientist turned high school teacher, so being a comedian was my destiny. Either that or mental ward attendee, but that might still happen.

What do you remember about the first joke you told?

I remember in middle school posting on my Facebook wall about going as Indian Jones for Halloween, which would just be me dressed up as Indiana Jones, then getting really pissed when Raj form Big Bang Theory made the same joke a few months later.

As a stand-up, I remember a joke from my first ever set where I talked about how airplanes were just giant metal sky penises (which they are). I don’t think there was a punchline for it though, so I don’t know if I’d even consider that a joke.

What made you want to perform comedy?

Well first I wanted to be a paleontologist, but I quickly realized that I didn’t want to spend most of my adulthood begging for research grants. Then I became a debate and Model UN kid, and I was actually good at that to the extent that I qualified at regional, national, and international tournaments. I thought I could be a good politician and make a palpable difference in the world.

When I’d give my speeches I’d make sure they were funny, because that’s what I quickly realized garnered me the most support amongst other delegates. After watching House Of Cards, I figured out that politics is quite corrupt, and even if I were good at it, I wouldn’t want to participate in such an immoral practice.

I gravitated towards what got me involved in politics in the first place; The Daily Show. I realized that people like Jon Stewart and his correspondents were the ones relaying political ideology (on a somewhat bipartisan scale) to the masses, without beating around the bush or engaging in corruption. 

They were making a difference with comedy. Yeah, I do tend to lean far left, and being a leftist journalist could have been an option for me, but nothing else combined my interest in policy and love for satirical rhetoric other than comedy, so that’s what I settled with.

Also I want to play a superhero soon, preferably Beast Boy from the Teen Titans. I figured being a famous comedian would be the best way for me to become a movie star and eventual superhero.

Who are your favorite comedians?

Eddie Murphy

Patrice O’Neal

Dave Chappelle

Adam Sandler

Jon Stewart

Stephen Colbert

Donald Glover

Hasan Minhaj

Tina Fey

Larry David

Ronny Chieng

Tim Dillon

Martin Urbano

Neel Nanda

Nimesh Patel

Sam Jay

In terms of my friends and/or peers;

Aida Osman

Rufat Agayev

Dylan Adler

Jamie Wolf

Reggie Edwards

Dan Carney

Luis Lopez

How would you describe your comedic style?

“If Vinay Umapathy did comedy.”

How has social media furthered your career?

I mean, you found me through Twitter. I only have any sort of press on me because of someone who follows me on Twitter or because of a tweet of mine getting noticed. If we’re being real, social media presence matters more than actual stand-up skill. You can be sad about that or celebrate it, but it doesn’t change it being true. In fact, you don’t even need to do stand-up anymore to be a successful stand-up. Just tweet or make front-facing camera skits and make sure you have “comedian” in your bio or @. I promise you if you do that, you will get industry connections and an eventual job. Just make sure you have a solid following to followers ratio. 

What is the funniest joke you heard this year?

Stand-up comedy in 2020. To be honest, probably something from an Andrew Schulz IGTV video. 

What’s next for you?

Hopefully a TV writing job, and if the world begins to heal, performing stand-up comedy inside clubs and grimy bars across the country again.