I came from a very different sort of background and pedigree from the people who were on "The Daily Show". I was an actor. I was sort of - the irony is that I've done as much dramatic work in my career as comedic work and I don't really think of myself as a comedian.

Indian culture is essentially much more of a we culture. It's a communal culture where you do what's best for the community - you procreate.

It's an organic thing that I try not to analyze too much, because I worry that it will go away.

Re-colonizing it and sort of reverse-colonizing it to the point that today the national dish of Great Britain is Chicken Tikka Masala.

The experience of being on a show that is very much in the center of popular culture is exciting. You really feel like you're reaching people.

The great joy of doing 'The Daily Show' for me is that I get to sit on the fence between cultures. I am commenting on the absurdity of both sides as an outsider and insider. Sometimes I'm playing the brown guy, and sometimes I'm not, but the best stuff I do always goes back to being a brown kid in a white world.

We are Muslims. My father would pawn off his Muslim in-laws as Hindus just so that he could get free pancakes.