Comedian-turned-actor-turned director: Vir Das has added another feather to his colourful hat. His directorial debut, Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, hit the screens today. And if the early reviews are any indication, it is just as zany and crazy as his comedy.
On the eve of the film’s release, Vir spoke to HT about donning the director’s hat, why he chose to make a spy comedy, and reuniting with Aamir Khan and Imran Khan. Excerpts:
HT: Over the years, you have donned many hats, from comedian to writer, and actor. How did director happen?
Vir Das: Co-director, to clarify. Kavi Shastri and I make everything together. For the longest time, this script lived in our heads. Being a director is the closest thing to being a stand-up comic you can imagine. As a stand-up, you control the lighting, the vibe, every word of content, and the performance. As an actor, you have to submit to someone else’s vision. Being a director is the closest experience to that control.
HT: And the difference here is that you are controlling not just yourself, because stand-up is your own performance, but here, there are other external factors.
Vir Das: Yes, the lovely thing about being a director is you get to collaborate. Stand-up is such an isolated art form, but as a director, you trust 200 people who are trying to make the madness in your mind better. After 15 years as a DIY (Do It Yourself) artist, it is nice to have a crew that helps you out. We got a crew that I don’t think we really deserved. They are all very serious film crews. My costume designer did Sacred Games, my colourist did Homebound, my DoP (Director of Photography) has shot legendary films, and my music directors did Jigra. It is validating that these people trust your vision. We are a tiny film, probably the smallest film this crew has done in a very long time.
HT: How did the genesis of this story happen, and how did it become Happy Patel?
Vir Das: When I started pitching it, people asked how an Indian spy film would work. Then, I saw Pathaan and Tiger come and go. I realised this was becoming a “thing”. Comedy is counter-culture; mainstream culture has to exist for counter-culture to exist. Now that the mainstream spy genre is the “it” genre in Indian cinema, it is time for the comedy version of it. Two years ago, maybe after Pathaan or Tiger 3, I decided to rewrite the whole script.
HT: When people like Imran Khan ask for a cameo or Aamir Khan says he will produce the film, that validates you. But does it make you nervous too?
Vir Das: Of course, I am nervous. I have watched my film 800 times to make sure every footstep and bullet sound is right. What is validating is Aamir’s process; he will make you do 30 test screenings before releasing the movie. By screening 22 or 25, you keep tinkering until people say the second half “really flew by,” and the climax is the high point. And that is what you want.
HT: Did you at any point think of another actor to play the lead, or were you always confident in your ability to pull this off?
Vir Das: This film was character first. I created a character for my Instagram Reels called “Sajna,” a Punjabi UK guy. This is similar. It is an outsider’s story about an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) coming to India and discovering his misconceptions are wrong. In action-comedies, the standard rule is that the hero never wins; he has to lose until the very end. I can relate to that underdog energy like in a Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler movie, so I am well-qualified to play this.
HT: You say you are a tiny film. And that is big, coming in an era where ‘bigger is better’ has become the norm in cinema…
Vir Das: Let me clarify that, yes, we are a tiny film. We probably cost less than the catering budget of some big films. But we are a tiny film that makes big swings. We have six action sequences and 14 original songs in the background music. No tiny film is supposed to have that. People relate to that underdog energy.
Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos is directed by Vir Das and Kavi Shastri. The spy comedy stars Vir in the titular role alongside Mona Singh and Mithila Palkar, with cameos by Imran Khan and Aamir Khan. The film released in theatres on January 16.