Vir Das is arriving in Delhi after touring six continents with The Boarding Das Tour and he says he was ‘cooking’ something special for it. “I went to 33 countries and developed the show which I am going to do at Delhi, my own city. I was cooking it on a slow heat so that I can serve it well,” quips Vir ahead of his show in Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium this evening. Though the premise and narratives of his stage shows are evolving to cater the changing audience, his ability to engage an audience with conversation, maintaining a monotone in his satire and the whimsical analogies are still with him. He did Abroad Understanding for Netflix that is modelled on the popular international stand-up format and it changed the demography of his audience. “Since the Netflix show came out, the fan base has changed abroad. Earlier there were 90 % Indians in those international shows but it has diminished to 50 % as more local people are attending the show,” informs Vir.
Talking about the role of digital medium in helping him spread his wings, Vir says, the medium gave users the convenience to consume content according to their timeline. “And when there are so many people in the world waiting to be catered to, I believe every genre will survive and stand up is just one of them.”
Not only the ‘brown comedy’, based on race and ethnicity, something which has been used widely by the South Asians in the west, is in his arsenal but, he says, his own personal stories win over audiences totally unfamiliar to him and his background.
“You really have to rely on your personal story more and represent your culture. You have to make fun of yourself as you do not know what is funny to a German, Norwegian or a Finnish person. One definitely enjoys laughing at the other (laughs). The show has stories of growing up in Delhi, studying in Delhi Public School, going to Delhi University’s South Campus, falling in love with a Delhi girl, and actually marrying that girl,” chuckles Vir.
Intelligence is key
His Netflix show has a strong socio-political undertone. When one reminds Vir the recent instances where the comedians faced harsh reactions for their statements, he prefers to grin. “Not only comedy, you have to be fearless in every art form. In a comedy, you have to strive to be intelligent, as only if you are intelligent, you can say whatever you want. It is when you get out of the realm of reason that you end up getting into trouble,” maintains Vir. Having said that, he adds, “There is no way to tell what is going to happen when you go on the stage. This profession is very spontaneous and the audience governs you here, not the fear of an authority. They may not laugh and, believe me, I do not think any authority can give you more fear than that.”
According to him, the understanding of humour changes even within one region and no one can define it in one sense at least for a country as large as India. “It is very contextual to where you are. We have many different cultures and there cannot be one distinct sense of humour for the nation,” analyses Vir. Despite the growing trend of stand-up comedy in many cities, he still feels comedy scene is yet to mature, particularly when the digital medium is bringing it to appointment viewing.
“I have been in the business for nine years but still feel that the market is very young. When you go out of the country you realise that there are comedians who are doing this work for 20 to 30 years. There is a lot to be done in our country,” says the artist.
He balances his two careers pretty well and one wonders whether one feeds the other. “I like to carve out chunks from my life and plan it for many things. Last year was dedicated to shows but this year is for acting and productions as I will be making two movies, one will feature many faces from the comedy scene and the second one will be in action space.”
As someone who grew up watching Nukkad and Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai, he says, Shekhar Suman was his influence in the early phase of his career. But he does not want his film characters to sound funny all the time. “I do not want to play a young funny character which is very much like me. Be it 31st October or Revolver Rani, I have tried to be someone who I am not in my real life,” asserts Vir.
Unconventional choices
He does not want to be on a fast track with many films but tries being offbeat in his choices. “Some films become a challenge and some are just fun to do. Go Goa Gone was a fun-to-do-film but I am proud of the work I did in 31st October and for a healthy career you should have a balance of both.” He believes in his audience too. “Audience is also mature enough to understand when you are experimenting and when you are playing to your strength.”
Still he continues to be labelled as a stand-up comedian. “I do not think of myself as just a comedian; I am a content creator. I do at least two films a year and regularly do shows around the world.” He thinks he is too young to have just one forte. “We are at a time when the audience wants to consume four-five things from the artist. My forte may change in near future. I care about the journey next week and forget what I did last week.” As for the aesthetic health of society, Vir comes up with the parting shot. “A regular dose of comedy will be helpful for the health of the country.”
