Drawing for Free Tickets to Nanjiani's 'The Big Sick’

Published:
July 21, 2017

In celebration of the national release of The Big Sick starring Kumail Nanjiani ’01, this year's commencement speaker, Grinnell College has purchased 100 tickets to the film opening at Grinnell's Strand Theatre on Friday, July 28.

Fifty lucky winners from the community and the College will each receive two tickets for one showing of the movie at the Strand, 921 Main St., Grinnell.

Individuals who would like to be included in the drawing for tickets should send an email by 3 p.m. Thursday, July 27, to Community Enhancement and Engagement. The drawing will be held at 4 p.m. that day, and winners will be notified by email by 5 p.m. Winners may pick up their tickets from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 28, in the Office of Community Enhancement and Engagement in the Old Glove Factory, 733 Broad St., Grinnell.

The Big Sick movie poster
Nanjiani and Gordon co-wrote the movie, which is based on their real-life courtship. The Big Sick tells the story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Nanjiani, who connects with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup sets. However, what they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Nanjiani by his traditional Muslim parents.

When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. The Big Sick was directed by Michael Showalter and produced by Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel.

When Variety reviewed The Big Sick, the reviewer called the film smart, funny, generous and politically savvy. The same adjectives might also be applied to Nanjiani himself. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Nanjiani arrived at Grinnell having never seen a single stand-up comedy performance. A friend showed him the Jerry Seinfeld HBO special I’m Telling You for the Last Time, which sparked Nanjiani's interest in the world of comedy.

Nanjiani got his comedic start as a senior during open mic night at the Bob's Underground Cafe. After graduating from Grinnell with a bachelors in computer science and philosophy in 2001, Nanjiani moved to Chicago to pursue comic work more seriously. He honed his craft through open mic nights at The Cubby Bear and writing classes at Second City. This work led to his first breakout project, a one-man show called "Unpronounceable." In it, Nanjiani uses comedy to explore his roots as a Pakistani man and his complicated relationship with America.

He moved New York in 2007 and began performing at comedy clubs almost every night. His tireless work ethic and unique perspective helped him land scene-stealing guest-star roles in shows including The Colbert Report, Veep, Key and Peele, Broad City, and Portlandia.

In 2013, he released his first hourlong comedy special, "Beta Male," through Comedy Central. His skills as a comedian and performer have been praised by a range of publications, from The New York Times to Vanity Fair to The Hollywood Reporter.

While Nanjiani has exceled on television, his talents are platform-agnostic. He launched "Kumail Nanjiani’s The X-Files Files," a cult-hit podcast dedicated to analyzing every episode of The X-Files. He’s also attracted more than 1 million Twitter followers with his pull-no-punches tweets about politics, immigration, and current events.

Today, Nanjiani is best known as the caustically funny but unlucky-in-love software engineer Dinesh in HBO’s Silicon Valley. This summer, expect his star to rise even higher as The Big Sick hits theaters nationwide.

Poster for the movie The Big Sick courtesy of Amazon Studios, Lionsgate.

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