Comedian Vir Das talks to Lachmi Deb Roy about his home comedy show Inside Out
How is the lockdown treating you?
The lockdown is treating me well. I was more creative than before. I could do shows for charity, put together comedy specials and am part of three different writers’ rooms for projects that I intend to shoot once the lockdown is over. It has been six years since I haven’t shot for this long. It is nice to have this pause to get my creative juices flowing.
How was it to perform digitally?
We did shows on Zoom. The best part is that as it is digital, we sell about 200 to 300 tickets a night to people from all around the world. In fact, I got to perform for more international audiences at home than I could have done on a physical tour.
Tell us about your new show Inside Out.
Inside Out is India’s first lockdown comedy special for charity. It is a conversation with different people around the world, their dreams and what they are thinking about as they remain stuck at home. I was doing shows and I discovered that for the first time in my life, everybody was going through the same thing at the same time. That is unlikely to happen again in my career. So, I had to capture this conversation. We are giving the money we make to four COVID-19 relief charities. So, I tried doing some good with comedy, which is the need of the hour.
What lessons did you learn during the pandemic?
I have learnt to accept that you are not in charge of anything anymore, that it is somebody else in charge of your life and everything happening around you. Things are beyond your control. Since I am an outsider in the industry, anything I have done so far, I have to self-produce or self-fund. That made me accustomed to having a certain hold over my career. And now, for the first time, the virus is in charge of it. So, I have started accepting that other people are in charge of your life. From the Zoom show, I learnt to look into my viewers’ lives—that is a privilege I enjoyed during the lockdown. A close look at my audience changed me as an artist. I know how the parents of some viewers look like, the posters on their wall etc. That helps in continuing the conversation. But, of course, there is absolutely nothing like performing on stage.
Which NGOs are you donating the proceeds to?
I chose four different organisations that work with four different communities in need of help—kids, the elderly, doctors and stray animals. We wanted to know what the NGOs are going to do with the money. CRY is helping underprivileged kids who don’t have access to digital learning by providing resources to learn during the pandemic. HelpAge India is providing survival kits to the elderly. We are supplying PPE kits to doctors. We are also feeding stray dogs and building shelters for them.
All your other shows were on Netflix. Why did you opt to release Inside Out on your own platform?
I did it without Netflix’s support because we wanted to reach a much larger group of people to raise more money. This particular show is for a broader audience that doesn’t need to subscribe to a platform.
Are streaming platforms the future of entertainment?
For now, yes, but will that be the case in the future? I don’t know.
