Vir Das on his Emmy nomination: ‘I like to remove the trappings of comfort from my shows’

In Pic: Actor-Comedian Vir Dar

Actor-comedian Vir Das, nominated for an International Emmy for his comedy special 'Landing,' expressed his passion for challenging himself in his work. He revels in tackling projects that seem "impossible" and derives immense satisfaction from the creative process. This unique approach to his craft has earned him international acclaim.

Talking to IANS in the light of his nomination, Vir told IANS: "I like to remove the trappings of comfort from my shows. I could have done this comedy special at a huge stadium with numerous cameras focusing on me from different angles but I wanted to keep it simple and Netflix was gracious enough to agree to that."

He further mentioned: "In this special there's no set, there's just one stool. There's no production as such, there's only some sand on the floor, there's not even any enhanced lighting. In such a case, the special rides just on the words that come out of the comedian's mouth and the content. So, I like to scare myself in that sense."

The comic artiste also feels that the greatest achievement for any artiste is when their audience remembers their act. He told IANS: "There is a demarcation between an artiste and their personality but the greatest glimpses of artistry happen when the lines between the two are blurred. Every great song is about a real person who broke their heart in a moment of truth, isn't it?"

The comedian also spoke up on the ongoing wars across different parts of the world be it Russia-Ukraine or between Israel and Hamas. In a lighthearted manner, he remarked that there seems to be a widespread interest in comedians' viewpoints on important matters as if humor alone isn't sufficient for them.

He further added, "We as a species don't learn from our mistakes in the past, we are of a cyclical nature, I would say. We keep coming back to our ingrained behavior."

But he has a glimmer of hope, "Having said that, I'm optimistic because with every passing decade, we lift more people out of poverty, we educate more people and we document more humanity. The field of medicine and bioscience for instance, has shown tremendous growth. We do identify more principals and values for the future," he concluded.

Vir Das's ‘Landing' is streaming on Netflix.

(With inputs IANS)