Hari Kondabolu on becoming friends with Hank Azaria after The Problem with Apu
'We're forever connected now,' the comedian says in a Q interview
When Hari Kondabolu released his critically acclaimed documentary The Problem with Apu in 2017, it sparked worldwide conversations about race and representation.
Kondabolu's problem with Apu, the Indian Kwik-E-Mart owner on The Simpsons, was that the character was voiced by Hank Azaria, a white actor. The comedian argued that the depiction of Apu was a demeaning stereotype that was hurtful and harmful to audiences of South Asian descent.
While Azaria declined to appear in the documentary (to his credit, he stepped away from the role of Apu in 2020), he and Kondabolu have now made amends. In a short video released on April 12, Azaria promoted Kondabolu's new YouTube comedy special, Vacation Baby, to atone for his portrayal of the character.
"The thing is, me and Hank have been speaking for a minute now, maybe a year, where we've met for breakfast and we talked," Kondabolu told Q's Tom Power in an interview. "It had been so long, it was one of those things where we had to actually get to know each other.
"On Totally Biased, W. Kamau Bell's old show, I criticized [the character of Apu] 2012. And then the documentary came out in 2017, and I think I met [Hank] in 2022, sometime early last year."
Naturally, Kondabolu's first meeting with Azaria was a bit awkward.
"It was awkward because there had been so much that had happened," said the comedian. "He apologized a lot, which honestly, I didn't think was necessary…. It was an open and honest conversation and, you know, the kind of conversation I wish happened on the actual documentary. I also kind of understand why he wasn't ready to have that conversation X number of years ago, but I'm glad we're talking about stuff now."
WATCH | Hank Azaria for Hari Kondabolu's Vacation Baby:
Kondabolu said he thinks Azaria has done a lot of work on himself in the time since The Problem with Apu was made.
"[He's] done a lot of work with anti-racist organizations, and has really taught himself about privilege, and is really actively working on educating other white people about how oppression works," he told Power.
"It's kind of stunning, like, the fact that this documentary and the stuff that's happened since has affected him as much as it has, and I'm happy about that…. I feel like we kind of met at an interesting place in both our lives because we're forever connected now."
It's kind of nice and surreal that we're friends now.- Hari Kondabolu
When Kondabolu asked Azaria to help him promote Vacation Baby, the voice actor "took a second to think about it" before he eventually agreed, which Kondabolu thought was fair.
"It was fun, you know, we really had a good time," he said. "He's an incredible performer. The funny thing about it is even with the documentary and my criticisms of the character, and me certainly talking about him, like, there was still a bit of — you know, it's Hank Azaria! I mean, there's a little bit of awe at the fact…. And so it's kind of nice and surreal that we're friends now."
The full interview with Hari Kondabolu is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Hari Kondabolu produced by Sarah Melton.
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