Vir Das is back to where he belongs — a Netflix special. Titled Landing, and dropping today, this is the popular stand-up comic’s fourth special with the streaming giant. Year 2022 has seen Vir, 43, tour 25 countries across eight months, and also invite the wrath of those who are quick to outrage on social media. The Telegraph chatted with the always irreverent Vir on his new special, his new audience and his old clothes!
Twenty-five countries, 183 shows, eight months. These are staggering numbers!
I took a year off just to tour the world. During the pandemic, I acted in back-to-back projects... I just spent two-and-a half years on different sets. There was no touring career at that point, but I have been on the road for eight months this year. I think my body is very mad at me because it’s been in too many temperatures and time zones. In the last 10 days, I was in Australia, Singapore and London, which is anything from 34°C to 12°C.
What’s the downside to travelling so much?
I don’t think there is a downside. Before this tour, I had set a goal for myself that I wanted to sell the most number of tickets this year than I had ever sold in my life. We went after that goal pretty tenaciously. If you look at 183 shows, then that means that I was doing a show every other night, and sometimes two shows a night. And given that these shows are 90 minutes each, then that means three hours of stage time every night.
The bright side to this is that you feel really good about what you do. Like any other art form, comedy is all about prep, and that prep takes hours. This year, I have felt the most comfortable than I have ever felt on stage. And it’s pretty ironic that now all that material is set to come out on Netflix. So just when I am feeling the most comfortable, I have realised that I have zero minutes of new material. I am in Bangkok in three days from now and I have no new material, no new jokes... I have to start all over again! (Laughs)
That must be nerve-wracking but also pretty exciting, right?
It is very exciting! Landing is a special which is a complete departure from anything that I have done before. It’s reasonably more emotional, it’s more real and it kind of puts a lot of me out there. Thar’s not something I have done before... I have always approached comedy from a pretty safe distance. It’s always been an analytical view of the world or making fun of myself more than I make fun of the audience, which is my golden rule. But in Landing, things are different.
Has all the noise and controversy that’s followed you over the last year or so impacted your material? Has it made you more fearless?
The definition of what is fearless changes on a week-to-week basis, doesn’t it? (Laughs) Something that is fearless this week becomes passe next week because of how outrage machines on social media operate.
I have two rules about stand-up. One is that a comedian should never lionise himself or play the victim. I think that’s a very unattractive quality in an artiste. Your work should do the talking.
The second thing that I believe in is that your content may become controversy, but controversy should never become your content. I don’t think of myself as fearless... I think of myself as a fool, a moron. And I think that’s a much better way to come into a show.
Stand-up comedy has never been as valid as it is now. On a worldwide level, people are listening to comedians more than they have ever done before. I have always unapologetically believed that Indian content is global content. So being on a platform like Netflix becomes useful because a story about Andheri or Bandra gets to go to people in Shanghai or Poland.
Over the last year of extensive touring, have you noticed a change in how the audience reacts to you?
The biggest surprise for me this year has been in India, just in terms of how many people came out to see my shows. We looked at a map of India and said that can we go to places where we have never been before, especially as an English stand-up comedian. There are Hindi language comedians who get to play at pretty much 65 per cent of the country. For an English comic, that number significantly reduces.
But we said, let’s go to Nagpur, let’s go to Shillong, let’s go everywhere we can... the size of the venue does not matter. We did shows for 6,000-7,000 people in stadiums, but we ended the tour with a show for 73 people in a pub in Shillong. So literally top to bottom of India... we went everywhere. We went to Ladakh also.
Yesterday, Book My Show’s annual ticketing report came out and my Wanted Tour — which is an English stand-up comedy tour — was the second-highest selling event across India. The first one was Diljit Dosanjh, and it’s very hard to compete with Diljit Dosanjh! That guy is huge! (Anubhav Singh) Bassi who is a Hindi comic and me, who is an English comic... both our shows outsold the IPL!
Indians want to laugh and they are willing to spend money to laugh. They are even willing to travel to other cities to laugh. In that sense, what a blessing this year has been.
And the demographic?
Oh, there has been a huge change! My fanbase now is the youngest it’s ever been. Eighty per cent of the attendance in my shows, and about 70 per cent of my following on social media now, is between the ages of 18 and 25. And I am 43! So trying to find common topics to talk about with this generation is hilarious, to say the least (laughs)
I love performing for this demographic because they smell bullshit a mile away and have zero tolerance for anything inauthentic. This is a generation where they are the main characters of their stories. For comedians like me who have waited a long time for authenticity to be valued, this is a great generation to perform to.
What was it like performing in Kolkata in November?
Kolkata is always fun! I go up on stage and I say, ‘My name is Das’ and they all show up for their fellow Bengali, without knowing that I am half UP and half Bihari! (Laughs) They feel betrayed, so then you have to make them laugh after that! (Laughs)
It’s always great to be in Kolkata. There is a culture of theatre and of live performance, which is always healthy and fun. And then, after my show, I invariably go and have a Nizam’s roll and fly out the next morning.
What can you tell us about this comedy show that you are doing with CBS?
We are still developing it and it’s looking really good. In 2023, I will have an American TV show, an American rom com.... In India, I just wrapped up a show and then I will do a movie here.
Last time, you had told us how you were trying to tour with minimal items in your suitcase. What’s the update on that front?
It is the same number of clothes but it smells worse because it has gone to too many countries! (Laughs) I just went to London for one night. I was coming off summer in Australia and Singapore. I got on to Amazon and bought a 25 pound puffer jacket and some boots for 15 pounds and socks for 10 pounds. I performed in them and then gave them away to a college student.... I hope he enjoyed it... it’s the ugliest jacket I have ever bought in my life!
