Neel Kolhatkar on taking the blowtorch to everyone

Instead the Sydney comedian wants to potentially shock his audience and leave them questioning their previously-held views.

That might sound like a lofty ambition. But the 23-year-old is an ambitious funnyman.

Since becoming an overnight sensation in 2013 following the viral success of his Australia in 2 Minutes YouTube video, Kolhatkar has been busy producing a diverse range of comedy. Everything through DIY webcam videos poking fun at Australian racial stereotypes, slicker mini-films like Modern Educayshun and #Equality that critically examine and mock political correctness and even more light-hearted shows critiquing modern dating.

Of course there has also been Kolhatkar’s stand-up routines, which have been performed in Britain and the US and across Australia at various comedy festivals.

“I like changing people’s minds,” Kolhatkar says while raiding the mini bar in his Melbourne hotel room.

“Altering the way they think about a certain issue or topic and changing their frame of mind. I think that’s what great stand-up comedy is.

“It’s about using comedy to pick the flaws in how people think and really expand people’s way of thinking in the way they perceive a particular topic or viewpoint.”

Kolhatkar comes from a unique vantage point to challenge both right and left-wing views. He was born and raised in south-east Sydney to Indian parents and first found success by winning a secondary school comedy competition, Class Clowns, in 2009.

His multicultural upbringing heavily influenced his fluent use of racial and cultural impersonations.

It has also meant Kolhatkar has incurred criticism from various parties, especially the far left, for being racist and misogynist.

“I try to stay objective as possible and the man in the middle and unwrap every viewpoint and ideology and make fun of everybody, and that’s what a good satirist should do,” he says.

“My humour can be quite controversial and push the boundaries, and personally I think that’s the best kind of humour.

“If you’re doing vanilla-straight comedy, it’s all good for a little chuckle here and there, but it’s not going to stay with you for very long. I’ve had push backs from all kinds of people, all sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in comedy, but that’s something you have to move past.

“As long as there’s a reason for what you’re saying and for pushing the boundaries.”

Kolhatkar has also been forced endure criticism from within comedic circles. After finding fame through Australia in 2 Minutes, which has attracted 3.9 million views, many comedians dismissed Kolhatkar as a passing fad.

Many comic purists believe success needs to be attained through the cutthroat grind of the stand-up circuit. Kolhatkar says the criticism only inspired him to work harder.

“There was a big divide between the traditional comedy purists and the new-age internet comedians,” Kolhatkar says. “I’d been doing the circuit for 18 months prior to the internet taking off, so I was lucky.

“There’s always a bit of tension in the beginning as you have the potential to achieve a lot of success quite quickly on the internet and traditionally that wouldn’t happen for stand-ups.

“To be honest, the criticism helped in a way as it gave me a huge incentive to be the best comedian I can be because I’m not just doing it for myself, but to prove that internet comedians can sustain their career and match it with traditional comedians. It’s not just a fad or a way to make money.”

Kolhatkar also hopes to further develop his acting. Besides Modern Educayhun and #Equality, he has also appeared in the surfing movie Head Above Water (2016) and TV comedy series Little Sista (2017). A series for the ABC is currently in production.  

“I’m trying to write a few more complex roles for myself and all the contributors to my projects,” he says. “Acting is definitely something I want to keep doing as it’s a skill like any other, you’ve got to keep at it or you lose your ability to do it.”