Standing TALL

Comedian and actor Vir Das speaks to GQ about winning an International Emmy for his Netflix special, codirecting his first movie, and the future of stand-up comedy in India. 

- SANJANA RAY

VIR DAS DOESN'T remV ember winning an International Emmy. Or the jam-packed weeks that followed, which included multiple short trips between the UK for stand-up shows and New York, where he featured as a guest on The Daily Show. "All I wanted was to eat pie and drink cider in London," the comedian and actor tells me wistfully over a Zoom call, having only returned from the city a few hours before.

But the frenzied schedule has only just begun. A few weeks ago, Das became the first Indian comedian to bag an Emmy in the best comedy category for his Netflix stand-up special Vir Das: Landing. He shared the award with the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls. Up until that moment, Das was determined to simply schmooze his way through the evening. "The first time I was nominated for the Emmys for Vir Das: For India, I was in big trouble back home. This time around, I just wanted to enjoy myself," he says, referring to the backlash he received in 2021 after making an impassioned speech about coming from two Indias.

When the presenter announced Das's name, his mind turned blank. A different sort of blackout, he jokes. The first thing he did after making his speech was to ask his manager if he remembered to thank his wife.

While the 44-year-old has primarily been in the news for his stand-up career spanning over a decade, he's also cemented his credentials as an actor with movies like Badmaash Company (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), and Go Goa Gone (2013), which may not have been blockbusters, but certainly amassed major cult followings.