Vir Das on Walking Away From Films, Controversies, & His Special ‘Fool Volume'

Vir Das talks about his career choices, controversies, and the impact of his monologue 'Two Indias'.

Vir Das on freedom of speech, controversies, walking away from films, and more

Photo courtesy: The Quint

In this unfiltered episode of the Tell Me All podcast, Vir Das — comedian, actor, producer, and director — The Quint spoke to him about comedy, controversy, freedom of speech, walking away from Hindi films, his return to the industry with ‘Happy Patel’ as co-director and actor produced by Aamir Khan Productions, his new Netflix special 'Fool Volume', and more.

Das spoke about 'struggling academically' due to dyslexia, "I can't write cursive, and I was very lost in imagination. To give you context, I gave both my board exams in capital letters."

The actor says, he was 'lost in his imagination' and a 'bullied kid' during his time in boarding school.

The Emmy- winning comedian, who has had his fair share of controversies, was called both a 'terrorist' and a 'hero' in the same week following the release of his monologue 'Two Indias'.

Reflecting on the polarising reactions, he said, "I didn't go on any news channel, or podcast. I just shut up, wrote about it, and I disappeared for five months. There was nothing to do - no work. I lost three projects and 15 brands backed away."

Vir who had uploaded the show on his YouTube channel, he noted that it primarily went viral within the country, "it was majorly shard on WhatsApp, and domestically. Nobody watched it abroad - 97 percent of the views on that video came from India."

Vir says, "I envy a nepo-kid not because of the fact that they have the opportunity, but because they have the counsel of people who know the business really well."

The actor, who returns to the screen as lead and makes his co-directorial debut with Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jassos, produced by Aamir Khan Productions, also opened up about walking away from acting, "I made some wrong choice early on. I never expected to be in this business and I didn't understand scripts very well. I said 'yes' too much - even to things I wouldn't watch."

When asked about challenging the status - quo in today's climate, he said, "I don't want to challenge the status- quo - just do jokes, and the status-quo will get challenged if the joke works."

He believes it’s the audience, not the comedian, that truly challenges power.

Comedians just say the words, the audience tells the truth. The scariest noise to the people in power are not the words that come out of my mouth, but the noise that comes out for the audiences mouth. A comedian doesn't challenge any power, comedian has zero power.

Vir Das - Comedian, Actor, Director

Vir lost his voice six weeks before filming his new Netflix special Fool Volume. Every doctor told him, he would'nt be able to perform for another six months, "I had a full script ready, then I spent six weeks in silence before filming. After having this silent experience, it felt inauthentic to perform the old material - I was'nt the same guy anymore."

The comedian tried everything - from Adele's speech therapist and chakra healing to vocals coaching, homeopathy, and even pandits to remove nazar, "I was desperate, because 12,000 people were coming in six weeks. You are supposed to record a special when you're at your most rehearsed, after 180 shows, when you know the material."

Vir shot the special having rehearsed the material just once and it releases on Netflix on 18th July.