‘Revolver Rani was the game changer’

Funny man Vir Das says he started getting serious roles after his turn as the bemused Rohan Kapoor

July 09, 2014 08:06 pm | Updated 08:06 pm IST

Vir Das

Vir Das

“Every person makes a list of the qualities they would like to see in the love of their life,” declares Vir Das. “ Amit Sahni Ki List is the tale of a young man who makes a physical list and embarks on a search for a soulmate who fulfils all the conditions.”

Describing the movie as a romantic comedy, the popular comedian who was in town for a promotional event says he plays “an investment banker who makes a list after going through a bad breakup in college. The list starts to take control of his life choices.”

Vir is quite the busy bee doing stand-up to full houses, releasing music albums and acting in Hindi films, having been a stand up comic, has bought out music albums and has been seen in a host of bollywood movies, the latest where he played toy boy to Kangana Ranaut’s Revolver Rani. “When I started doing films, I was warned it was full of nepotism and favouritism. My experience was very different. I have been amazed by the love and affection the industry has given a relative outsider such as me. Amit Sahni is one of the first movies where I play the lead character. I look at my filmography as a normal career graph, where I graduated from doing small roles to secondary roles and have now lead roles. I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey. I believe that hard work delivers the best results.”

Saying he always wanted to do rom-coms, Vir says: “Indian romantic comedies often fall into the mushy romance zone and the comedy gets sidelined. With Amit Sahni we have tried to highlight the comedy more.”

Even though films take most of his time, “I am working on almost six movies at a time,” Vir says, “I still enjoy doing stand up comedy. I feel it keeps me grounded. I would like to keep doing comedy and films.”

Vir argues that humour is undergoing a change in Indian cinema. “I think India has a great sense of humour and is full of sarcasm. Go to any hasiya kavi sammelan and you will hear excellent sarcastic humour. There is a lot of irony in our ballads.”

While admitting that offbeat comedy might not work in the commercial space, the 35-year-old says “The success of movies such as Delhi Belly and Go Goa Gone proves that well-written movies, with a quirky sense humour do well.”

Vir says his role as Rohan Kapoor in Revolver Rani was a game changer. “It had serious elements and changed the roles I was being offered. My next film dwells on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. I play a Sikh man in Tilak Nagar. I am also playing a villain in a movie next year.”

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