EXCLUSIVE | Vir Das on Aamir Khan’s ‘Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos’ & his book: ‘I am not Kapil Sharma on Netflix…’

For Vir Das, stand-up comedy is the most honest art form. Juggling two major releases one his book which he had already mentioned is going to be his first and last and his film ‘Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos’. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Vir Das, who has made Indian comedy global, talks about his book ‘The Outsider: A Memoir for Misfits’, his role in Aamir Khan’s Happy Patel and more.

The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2026 is currently in its fourth day and amidst the usual crowd of serious novelists and poets, it was comedian Vir Das who drew one of the largest and most energetic audiences at the festival. While he was there to promote his brand-new memoir, he surprised everyone by announcing that he has officially retired from the world of literature. But I am sure he is just joking.

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About his book

In a recent exclusive conversation with Firstpost, Vir Das said, I feel like I’ve kind of gate crashed the coolest parties in the world. I somehow made it into Bollywood and into the stand-up comedy scene that didn’t exist back then.

He says, being an author is the hardest thing he has ever done. In fact, it’s the hardest thing anyone will ever do. I have massive respect for authors. It is harder than stand-up and even harder than directing.

Vir Das on directing Aamir Khan’s spy-comedy ‘Happy Patel- Khatarnak Jasoos’

Considering the budget being low, the film did brilliantly. Talking about the idea, he said to Firstpost in a recent interview, **"**The idea  about the fil, I had about ten years ago when Johnny English came out, and Happy Patel tonality is kind of like a Johnny English meets Tees Maar Khan. It is really ridiculous and absurd and mad, but it is a spy comedy. And the problem was when one thought of it, there was no mainstream spy culture. One had to wait for War and Pathaan and Tiger and  Dhurandhar and all of this stuff to become the mainstream, you know? And when that becomes the mainstream, then you get to do your own absolutely ridiculous version of the mainstream."