Vir Das on Walking away from Films, Controversies, His Special 'Fool Volume', and more | The Quint
In this unfiltered episode of the Tell Me All podcast, #virdas — comedian, actor, producer, and director — talks about comedy, controversy, freedom of speech, walking away from Hindi films, his return to the industry with ‘Happy Patel’ as co-director and actor produced by #AamirKhan Productions, his new Netflix special #FoolVolume, and more.Quick Guide
00:00 Intro
1:51 Vir Das on what growth looks like to him
2:44 On growing up in Africa
3:40 "My entire comedic perspective is the outsider perspective"
5:00 On dealing with dyslexia and being bullied in boarding school
8:05 Recalls playing the guitar at Harvard Square and making USD 11 a day
9:25 On his learnings from early days of doing comedy
10:47 On losing his voice six weeks before recording 'Fool Volume'
11:46 On everything he did to get his voice back
13:17 On when did he realise that he belonged on stage
15:40 On white comic from the U.K getting weekends at 'The Comedy Store'
17:15 "It's tougher to convince people on what the truth is"
18:22 On taking risks and speaking the truth
19:01 "You can't calculate the risk today"
20:03 "I am fair game, my family is not"
20:33 "It’s audacious to say 'the thing I don't like should not exist'"
21:31 On being called a 'traitor' and a hero
22:26 On losing three projects and 15 brands post 'Two Indias'
23:08 "97% of the views on 'Two Indias' came from India"
24:55 On freedom of speech for stand-up comics in India versus internationally
26:55 "Comedians say words, the audience tells the truth"
27:40 "The scariest sound to people in power isn’t me — it’s the reaction of the audience"
28:18 "The comedian doesn't challenge the status quo — the audience does"
28:57 Is self-censorship a survival skill for stand-up comics?
30:09 On stand-up comics doing political satire in India
33:01 What does an Emmy win mean to him?
34:20 On why he walked away from films and making wrong choices
35:16 "I’m not the guy you call for a Dharma production — I’m the guy who makes fun of it"
36:00 On co-directing 'Happy Patel: Khatarnaak Jasoos' with Kavi Shastri, produced by Aamir Khan Productions
36:50 Being on the sets of 'Call Me Bae'
37:48 Vir recalls a day on the sets of 'Delhi Belly'
38:59 On surviving an industry that seems transactional
41:33 On Aamir producing his directorial debut
42:15 "Co-directing I realised what a small part of the movie the actor is"
42:37 On star-kids having the counsel
43:15 Recalls working in 'Go Goa Gone'
44:17 On his comedy special on Netflix 'Fool Volume'
45:06 On writing 'The Outsider: A Memoir for Misfits'
46:35 Vir on an audience comment that stayed with him
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