Reality shows are all scripted: Vir Das

NEW DELHI - Having torn up the stage with his comic missiles and currently trying to make it on the big screen, Vir Das will never venture into one zone - reality shows.

“Honestly, I am not a fan of reality shows myself as they are almost fiction and they are all scripted. I would rather prefer to watch actual fiction shows,” Das told IANS over the telephone from Mumbai.

Born in Dehradun, Das grew up in South Africa and then moved to Delhi to pursue his graduation from Venkateswara college. After studying for two years, he joined Knox College, Illinois, in the US to finish his bachelors in economics. It was at Knox that he first explored stand-up comedy.

The 31-year-old worked in comedy clubs in Chicago before returning to India in April 2003 and notching up over 100 shows in all the major cities.

“My comic acts have never been issue-based, it has always been observational. Whatever I see around me, I just grab it and present it in a funny way to the people and they enjoy it. I enjoy making people laugh,” he said.

Taking a sci-fi leap, Das is now going to take audiences back in time with a special New Year show, “Ripping Up The Decade”, on STAR World.

“The show will be a funny and witty recap of the best and worst of the decade. Along with my friend Kavi Shastri, I will talk about interesting things that happened in Bollywood, politics, sports, technology, Hollywood, Obama’s election, Steve Jobs among others,” he said.

Das’ band Alien Chutney has given the background music for the show.

Asked how different it is to perform in front of an Indian and an American audience, he said: “I enjoy performing in front of people from both the countries but the only difference I could see is one has to do more homework when it comes to performing in front of an Indian audience compared to the American audience.”

Stand up comedy apart, he is now on a new trail to prove his acting skills.

Having done cameos in movies like “Mumbai Salsa”, “Mumbai Calling”, “Namastey London” and “Love Aaj Kal”, Das got a full- fledged role in Yash Raj Films’ “Badmaash Company” alongside Shahid Kapoor.

He will be next seen in Aamir Khan’s Hinglish outing “Delhi Belly” and will start shooting for another film in February.