Talktime | Vir Das
He is a stand-up comedian, an actor and now a fashion designer who got a standing ovation at the london Film Festival for his first drama movie 31 October. Under his label — Weirdass — he aspires to experiment a lot and make it big. He has also tied up with the Creative Artists Agency in US for his international performances. Sangeeta Yadav catches up with him
What’s keeping you busy these daysIJ
I have got two weeks before my next project called Plan B kick off. It’s an action-movie opposite Surveen Chawla and I’ll be playing the role of a hacker. I’m trying to do as much comedy as I can before the movie goes on the floor. Right now I’m doing History of India stand-up comedy tour in Vadodara.
Tell us about your role in two comedy movies Santa-Banta and MastizaadeIJ
Both the movies will be out this year. I’ll be playing Banta who is a very innocent and simple person who shares a great bonding with Santa played by Boman Irani. It’s a nice comedy film which you can watch it with your family. Whereas Mastizaade is a movie you can watch with a girl on a Sunday night. It’s an adult comedy and little bit like Delhi Belly and Go Goa Gone. Both the movies are completely different in that respect. It’s very strange to play a simpleton in one movie and a wicked person in the other.
When do we get to see you in serious rolesIJ
In the film titled 31 October which is based on a true story of a couple and what happened to them in 1984 riots after the assassination of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It’s my first drama film where I’ll play a father. There is Soha Ali Khan as well. The movie got a very good response at the london Film Festival and it has also got selected for the Toronto Film Festival too.
Tell us about your concert Unbelievable TourIJ
The show did exceedingly well. We performed in 18 cities in 40 days. I was told that we did the largest tour in the stand-up comedy thus far. It was a good time. I’m getting back to the film mode simply because I have been touring for about two months. The next four to five months will only be about films. I have also signed a contract with an international agency called Creative Artists Agency and will be spending a lot of time in the US as well.
You recently added another feather to your hat as a fashion designer. How did this happenIJ
I have a life brand, film brand, musical brand and a digital brand. The one thing I didn’t have was a merchandising brand. So I decided to launch the Weirdass collection. I also feel that in the market there are so many T-shirts, but most of them are not of good quality. You wash them once and they are gone. I really wanted a high-end fun T-shirts and boxers with quality designs. I have been writing T-shirt ideas for a while and collaborated with the VoxPop e-commerce site. We did a combination of funny Bollywood movie slogans, one-liners, music based snippets and T-shirts for fat and skinny people.
What’s your fashion and style statementIJ
My stylist tells me what to do and I follow it. I have no fashion or style statement what soever.
What will be your next collectionIJ
I’ll come up with accessories and footwear before I launch the next apparel range.