Hasan Minhaj’s de-politicization on Netflix’s The King’s Jester is a feeble homecoming

During the course of his hour-plus standup in Netflix’s The King’s Jester, American-Indian standup comedian Hasan Minhaj speaks about the danger to his family because of his political outspokenness.

When he speaks of an anthrax threat to his infant daughter, it is from the heart. This was the only segment in the rambling roar of an emasculated lion that I enjoyed. Otherwise, this was tame stuff. Full of growl and little bite. In fact, zero bite in spite of the on-stage energy on display.

Hasan Minhaj has always reminded me of that over-smart boy in the classroom who raises his hand each time the teacher asks a question, although he doesn’t know the answer. There is a bright bouncy cocky eagerness to Minhaj’s staged monologues. But he seldom crosses over from perky protest to something more meaningful.

His anti-establishment tirade often sounds like a WhatsApp group chat where one man has appointed himself the group supervisor although he is not necessarily qualified for the responsibility.

A lot of what Minhaj says in The King’s Jester sounds like self-congratulations cloaked in self-mockery: outwardly it seems like Minhaj is not taking himself seriously even when he is at an exclusive dinner with Jared Kushner and t when he brings up the arrest of Saudi activist Loujain Alhathloul on stage before Kushner he is not being gutsy: just doing his duty as a global citizen. (Modest biting of lip, etc).

But I am not sure Minhaj means to be modest. A lot of his comments under that tone of self-mocking bravado are meant to slyly accentuate his fame reach and popularity.

Minhaj wants to be known as a man who is not conscious of his power. In truth, it is just the opposite. He uses the standup platform to let us know how powerful he is. And nothing wrong with that. If only he would be less dodgy about his true intentions.

This time I heard a lot from Minhaj about his wife Beena. Beena this, Beena that….yakety yak. It sounds like a not-very-clever lunge at inclusiveness to keep the marriage trouble-free. He tells us that the ubiquitous Beena told him to stop being a “brave” activist because his political outspokenness about things that do not concern him(Beena is right, they don’t) is putting their daughter in danger.

Hence, and here comes the clincher, if Minhaj heard being less forthright, it is for the family.

In The King’s Jester, Minhaj has a lot to say about his inability to bear children. Lots of googlies on testicles, semen, sexual positions during intercourse, etc…I am sure all of this is done with Beena’s permission. But it doesn’t make interesting standup material. At heart, infertility is a very sad situation. Jokes about one’s balls being non-functional and all that can only go this far and no further.

Mihaj is known among other things for Modi-baiting. In this seriously sorry standup hour we see a clip where during an event to honour the Indian PM in the US, a man reprimands Minhaj for being anti-Modi.

Then the man asks for a selfie with Minhaj.

We get it. Between Prime Minister Modi and Standup Minhaj, we know who the bigger star is. And we don’t need Beena’s intervention on this one.

Quip selfie, anyone?

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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