Omid Djalili seriously funny
March 22nd, 2008, 10:01 pm Hobbies Ideas
Omid Djalili, as a British-born Iranian comedian, offers many illuminating
insights into disparate strands of different cultures. Did you know, for
instance, that the BBC took a view on the hirsuteness tolerance of its
audience? This emerged when Omid %26ndash; it surely won%26rsquo;t be long before he becomes
a one-name brand like Oprah, Delia, Madonna %26ndash; was advised to move a
flesh-revealing shot from the first episode of his television series to the
last.
Listen, he says in defence of the Beeb, they knew it was a huge, huge risk
for me to be on BBC1 on a Saturday night because to have an Iranian guy for
a lot of people is too much, and, %26lsquo;A hairy chest is pushing it,%26rsquo; they said.
%26lsquo;But a hairy back for a primetime audience is so obviously Middle Eastern%26hellip;%26rsquo;
They felt this would be a %26lsquo;switch-off moment%26rsquo; for the Christians and the
over-fifties.
The hairy back is something of a running theme %26ndash; indeed, it prompted him
kindly to present me with an opening line for this piece: At one moment, I
thought the talent had his hand up his backside, but he was scratching his
rather hirsute back, which has given him a lot of trouble, especially after
the sleep apnoea machine didn%26rsquo;t work. Although as a performer he is
fidgety, this is nothing compared to him off stage. Sitting on the sofa of
the living room of his home in East Sheen, the talent is either massaging
his wrist (a tennis injury), twisted awkwardly with his arm agitating behind
his back, or yawning every few minutes after his sleepless night %26ndash; which
makes it quite hard to concentrate on what he has to say.
The first time I caught sight of Djalili was last November, when guffaws from
my living room drew me in, and it was instant beguilement. His show is the
old Dave Allen format of stand-up and sketches, and has the
cross-generational edginess of Eddie Izzard or Ricky Gervais, with the more
comforting, nostalgic appeal of Morecambe and Wise and the Two Ronnies. He
is funny on so many different levels: the way he moves his body (his belly
dance, with his mic transformed into a swinging dick, has become a cultish
physical gag), his acute observations of Britishness versus Iranian manners,
and best of all %26ndash; since he is almost uniquely placed to do this %26ndash; is his
terrorism humour.
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