After shooting his Netflix special Abroad Understanding last year, popular comedian and actor Vir Das is coming back to Delhi as part of his Boarding Das world tour. Before Vir hits the famous Indira Gandhi Stadium stage for his finale act, News18 speaks with him about his life after a successful Netflix special and that one extremely rare and proud appearance on Conan O'Brian's show.
About the change in his life, Vir says, "For me, it's just the size of the audience. The process is still the same, just that the research and material being produce is now for a larger, global audience. The tangible effect is that I am just happy as an artist. I got to do a world tour in 33 countries and that hasn't happened before with anyone outside India. Earlier my audience used to be 90-95% Indians, but post-Netflix special it has become 50-50. It changes your worldview, you feel like you have to work harder to cater to such vast audience."
So how does it feel to be a pioneer of the Indian comedy scene on a global stage? He quips, "These are things that people write about and other comedians talk about. I have a very minimalistic approach to life which is what is in front of me tonight. "
The comedian has now decided to penetrate the interiors of the country with his nation-wide tour. From Vapi to Indore and even cities like Meerut, Vir plans to bring his comedy to smaller cities this time. "I went to Vapi last week and I went to Indore and this is something I never imagined would happen in my career like thousand people will come to Vapi to watch me perform. It's a blessing. Now that one has that large fanbase the plan is to cater it to digital content, across movies and music," says the actor.
Vir's production company The Weirdass Comedy will now be producing content for digital platforms and the focus will be on comedy. "We'll start with what we're good at. Comedy and horror are two genres I'm really passionate about. There is a very niche consumer base for them as well. The most common question I get asked is when Go Goa Gone's sequel is coming, or when Delhi Belly 2 is coming. There is a demand for those kinds of films and they aren't being made as often. That audience is definitely hungry for content and I want my company to the one providing them. " says Vir.
Being one of the most common public figure facing the wrath of fringe outfit supporters and other groups for voicing his dissent, Vir has an interesting take on the entire Padmaavat controversy. The stand-up comic feels the only solution to such anger outburst is to make people familiar with more content.
" I think the solution to this problem is to create more content and keep creating it without distractions. You need to keep doing comedy until people understand that political comedy is an integral part of the democratic ecosystem. More Padmavatis need to be made so that people understand that historical fiction is a genre. Look at the response to the film! It's a huge hit and I am happy to see that. I am happy for the filmmakers because they went on a tough ride last year and it good to see a positive outcome. " he says.
The comedian is set to take the stage on February 11 in New Delhi and then will heading to international stages, tickling the funny bone with his sly poloticval humour.
Comments
0 comment