English stand-up comedian Vir Das, who performs live this weekend, talks about his journey and his upcoming movies
English stand-up comedian Vir Das, whou00a0 performs live this weekend, talks about his journey and his upcoming movies For someone who studied economics, Vir Das has chalked a complete new chapter for himself.u00a0 Toady, a stand up comedian and an actor Vir Das is definitely striking it big in the Indian entertainment scene.u00a0
u00a0He underwent four years of training in drama in the US and craved for an art form that provided freedom in terms of performance. After working as a dishwasher and a dog walker for a while he went for his first stand up comedy act at one of the amateur events in Chicago. "I was boo-ed off stage for seven weeks in a row before I found my true style. I insulted the audience on not having anything else to do that night and that got them going. I'm known as a very angry comedian," he confessed among laughs.
Vir got his first stint in India at Delhi to a crowd of 600 people. He feels that stand up comedy is an honest profession. "You can never be OK or average as a stand up comedian. People either love you and your work or they hate you. They either call you a genius or a ba'''rd. Plus the feedback and the rewards are instant unlike in movies, where it ends up taking about a year for your movie to be released. I like the rush I feel when I'm performing live," he said.
When asked if he would do comedy in movies, he says, "I'm trying to stay away from it. I've been offered comedy roles in movies but I'm being choosy about it and trying to choose only projects that interest me. I'd prefer doing something different, like a darker role maybe." Vir played the lead Raj, a heart broken guy in Mumbai Salsa and is also part of the next Amir Khan Production Delhi Belly and Yash Raj's untitled movie.
Vir also thinks that Bangalore has the best comedy crowd in India. This is the best place for upcoming comedians he says as it has the right mix of cultures.
Vir Das will be performing live at Opus on August 29 as part of his Weirdass Ham-ateur Nights. This event has 10 open spots for comedians from Bangalore at the end of which Vir will take centre stage.u00a0
