Netflix special has Nazeem Hussain turning heads on the world stage
He found global success with a Netflix stand-up show and homegrown fame with a TV series — but all Nazeem Hussain really wants to talk about is bowel movements.
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Nazeem Hussain says his new show, Basic Idiot, is “just talking about some stuff that happened last year”.
But Hussain has had an exceptional year by any measure, ticking off some major life events.
He found global success with a Netflix stand-up special, the comedy equivalent of giving a TED Talk.
His sketch comedy series Orange is the New Brown was a homegrown success on Channel 7, oh and he has managed to keep a human alive (together with his wife) following the birth of son Eesa last year.
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Despite playing to crowds of 400 every night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, he’s still not convinced of his fame.
“Having a Netflix special … comedians can’t ask for too much more,” he says.
“But as soon as it started streaming, your life doesn’t change. You’ve still got to write the next little hour of comedy.
“People from around the world messaged me and said they really enjoyed it, from Brazil, Japan and Central Africa. But at the same time, you never know.
“Does this mean that I’m globally famous, or does it mean that one person in Brazil likes me? If I tour there, will only three people turn up?”
Hussain first started stand-up as a hobby, and quickly built a viable career.
“Now I look at my career and go, ‘Oh God, I have to make jokes. I have to feed my kid now’,” he says.
“It started out as something fun and exciting, but now I need to never run out of jokes. It’s real.”
Luckily the jokes aren’t in short supply.
Basic Idiot covers a range of topics including the sleep-deprived mania of new parenthood.
“It’s my favourite one yet,” he says. “I’m talking about my time as a new dad, some of the complications there. My phone addiction.
“A story about how me and my family nearly died because my sister had to go the toilet, and how her poo saved our lives.”
Poo is something he discusses more now than ever before.
“Now I just stop on the street and speak to other parents about stuff that I could have never imagined, like, prams and pram politics,” Hussain says.
“It’s a really weird world. Parents are the most bizarre sort of people on the planet because they’ve all got really strong opinions about things.”
Hussain’s Muslim upbringing has always coloured his stand-up and continues to do so. He navigates notoriously tricky areas such as reverse racism with apparent ease, and says Australians are pretty good at getting their heads around it.
“They don’t know how to speak about things that seem excessively politically correct (if I could put that in quotations). Comedy helps cut through some of the noise … you can make a lot of points that people might not understand in tweets or opinion pieces.
“As long as it’s funny, Australians are happy to accept your point of view. If you’re going to challenge people with an opinion or perspective that they might not accept, you’ve got to make sure it’s funny.”
OUR REVIEW OF NAZEEM HUSSAIN, BASIC IDIOT
Rating: ★★★★
Reviewer: Daniel Ziffer
In his own words, Hussain is a “celebrity TV Muslim” you’d struggle to miss.
You may have seen his Channel 7 sketch show, Orange Is The New Brown, his Netflix special or even him eating offal on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
If you haven’t, you’re in for an even bigger treat.
This wonderful new hour from the nation’s favourite Sri Lankan-Australian comedian — sorry Dilruk Jayasinha — takes in his role as a new dad, family and tougher material.
Even viewed in a preview, with tightening up and polish to come, this is a delight.
It’s a measure of Hussain’s talent that weeks from a terror attack in Christchurch, and just a block from one on Bourke Street, he skilfully milks relaxed laughter from the grim situations.
Nazeem Hussain, Basic Idiot, until April 21, Lower Town Hall, Melbourne Town Hall.
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