Not Just Bollywood | Vir Das: ‘Audience will value honesty & authenticity over anything else’

Vir Das will soon be seen in Call Me Bae alongside Ananya Pandey and Gurfateh Pirzada. Call Me Bae is created by Ishita Moitra who has also co-written the series with Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair. He is also set to go on a world tour starting in September. Titled Mind Fool, what makes this unique is that he will be the first Indian comedian to be performing at some world’s most iconic venues including Kennedy Centre and Sydney Opera House. Talking about Mind Fool,  Vir Das says, “It’s very mindful, the show is basically about not knowing how to be an adult. There’s a gigantic chapter on adulting that we skipped and weren’t taught as kids. We all were just pretending to be grown –ups, but we all are scared children inside.” Going deep into the adulating topic, Vir explains that most of the adults are very good actors. “I have met a lot of people in their 20s who are way more sorted than us. Since they have all of their fixed deposits and investments and all these things. My generation of artists are a bunch of scared children, that’s what I feel.” Vir is known for making comedies relatable. He believes audiences value authenticity over anything else, anything that feels performative, fake, or driven by marketing, they can smell it. “For an audience, you have to put in a lot of thought into your material that needs to come from an honest place. When I write, it’s all about how I am feeling that day, driven by intelligence too. Your work has to be honest. Heads down and mouth shut, he adds On advising young, aspiring comedians, Vir thinks that they just need to say what they feel. “Just say it. Make sure what you say reflects a part of who you are. That’s where the difference lies between a comedian that’s successful and memorable. Anyone can make you laugh for 60 minutes, but if you say something people remember or recall a month after, it only happens when you really put yourself out there.” Writing scripts for his shows is a morning exercise for him.  He wakes up at 7 in the morning, he doesn’t talk to anyone and doesn’t even look into his phone. “I go to my room and don’t come out by 9:30-9:45. It can be for a stand-up, or a movie. If it’s stand-up, it could be seven to eight pages.”