Vir Das on landing and how he always lands up in controversies

In conversation with Vir Das

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Indian actor and comedian Vir Das talks about Netflix’s Landing and on being the only comedian with four specials on Netflix. He literally raised the bar as an artist with Landing. Known for not repeating a joke, Vir Das truly knows his craft. Being a socially awkward person, he talks about how his personal and professional life are different and how he is close to his wife and just three other people.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

On stand-up comic going digital…

We have been waiting for a day like this to come for a very long time. It just started off literally as a word of mouth. We have all been waiting for digital to live and probably outlive us. Once you are touring, you are writing a good show every two years, but you are not, repeating jokes. And when you are done with two years of joke, you want that comic episode to rest and at the same time you want people to continue to consume it on You tube or Netflix. Earlier you had to be a really big comedian to go on HBO, George Carlin used to do that. But for little guys like me, it is nice to have a home for our jokes to outlive us.

In terms of it being my fourth special with Netflix, this has been my most global show. I have done 182 shows across the world. The central theme of the show is the notion of home.

How do you deal with backlashes?

You don’t need to bother about it. Any feedback is good feedback. Good artists take their feedback, mouth shut and heads down and imbibe what they think is positive and try and learn from it and it will reflect in their next piece of art. That’s how I operate and it shows in my next piece of work.

On laughter as a celebration. How do you practice in your day to day life?

My day to day life is very different, not funny at all. I am quite socially awkward and it is literally my wife and three other people that I am truly comfortable with. I am much happier sitting in the corner of a party and observing a party, rather than being the life of the party. So, my day to day life and my comedy have very little in common. The millions of people sending laughter to me is a very positive, cathartic sort of experience.  I often tell my audiences; I wish you could see what I can see from my script. My biggest source of happiness is that I get to see 3000 people smile and the spark in their eyes. That’s truly a beautiful sight.

What are the movies that you are working on?

I have an American TV show, an American rom-com that I will star in. I just wrapped up a series in India with Applause entertainment which will be out on the platform soon and there is an another series lined up end of this year. 2022 was a touring year, but 2023 is pretty much an acting and directing year.

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