Showing posts with label Emmy Awards 2023. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emmy Awards 2023. Show all posts
I think you have to give us comedians the audacity to be imperfect-Vir Das
8:27 AM
From Noida to Nigeria to the stage in New York where he became the first Indian comedian to win an Emmy award, it’s been quite a journey for Vir Das. In an interview to Kritika Sharma, the 44-year-old talks about the early days of DIY standup, and his brush with controversy
Kritika Sharma (THE TIMES OF INDIA' November 26, 2023)
Congratulations on winning the Emmy. How’s the experience been?
I haven’t slept in about six days as I have seven shows lined up. But it has been a tremendous amount of love and nothing like I have ever experienced in my career. No one thought that we were going to be nominated for an Emmy and win the award, I wasn’t even supposed to be in America. I was supposed to be in Bengaluru and in other Indian cities. I went there to cheer for Shefali (Shah).
This was your second nomination. You must’ve had a hope that you would win this time?
I did not think I was going to win, because the last time I was there I lost to a massive show called ‘Call My Agent’. Even this time, I was against the massive Netflix show ‘Derry Girls’. I was kind of an underdog who got thrown in there.
Why do you think your special ‘Landing’ won?
The last show that I did ‘Vir Das: For India’ was very much like a comfort show — I like to think of it as rajma chawal. People thought that he is talking about all the things that we love, and it makes us feel like home. However, I realised that I had not let my audience into my personal life. I kind of went for it and let my audience know me with ‘Landing’. I think that resonated with the audience, as well as the idea of carrying the idea of home with us wherever we go. As we become more global, this is something that we can relate to.
Is there a difference between your audience in India and abroad?
Pretty much wherever I go it’s about 50-50 (Indians and locals). All of them expect an authentic Indian story. They already have a local, palatable version of the Indian diaspora from successful Indian American and British Indian comics, so they expect me to come up with something that they haven’t already heard of. That is kind of what I like doing, taking stories from Noida to Norway and stuff from DPS to Dublin.
Tell us a little about your initial journey as a stand-up.
I was quite young when I started, and looking for other people to collaborate with. Being a comedian is like being the only one in the room who sees the ghost, and you’re just kind of looking around to see if anybody else sees the ghost too. When you find that person, you kind of gravitate towards each other. That’s kind of how we started the comedy scene in India. In the early days, we used to do amateur nights and pretty much every senior comic in India came out of it. We had to do the ticketing, marketing and then do the headlining and ring the bell to let each other know that we were out of time. It was all DIY at that time, and it was a lot of fun. There was no context for what was good or bad comedy; we were just trying things.
Your Noida school teacher says you were interested in theatre as a child. How did the shift to comedy happen?
Ever since I was five years old, if you put me on the stage, I would be very comfortable. I did a bachelors in theatre minor from Knox college, Illinois. I had done some 25-30 plays and after that I needed an art form which was a little more organic and a little more rebellious. But the theatre training did help because it lets you be comfortable on stage.
Who are your inspirations in comedy?
Johny Lever. I think everyone should watch Johny Lever perform live, at least once in their lifetime. The others who inspire me are George Carlin and Richard Pryor.
Your 2021 monologue in Washington DC titled ‘I come from two Indias’ sparked a lot of outrage. How did you deal with it and what do you think about comedians being targeted in India?
I think you have to give us comedians the audacity to be imperfect. As for the trolls on social media, if you are going to take the freedom and traction that comes with social media to promote your art, then you have to take the flip side too. If I’ve ever been in the spotlight for any kind of reason, the first thing I’ve done is write a joke about it.
Do these things make you worry about how your audience is going to react to some jokes?
My audience is too diverse to predict what they are going to like and what they will not like. I just have to go with gut instinct, and hopefully they realize that it all comes from the same heart. The audience ranges from 18 to 60-year-olds with varying ideologies and religions. If I try and second guess myself, I will drive myself insane. I hope that they realize that this comedy is coming from a place of love.
After attending a festival, you are even more charged add something to your country-Radhika Madan
5:37 AM
Navya Kharbanda (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 24, 2023)
Actor Radhika Madan made headlines as the youngest jury member from India at this year’s International Emmy Awards. Initially surprised by the offer, the 28-year-old shares that she was in disbelief: “When I got to know I was going to be the youngest jury member from India, I just couldn’t believe it. I felt so proud!”
She also became the first Indian actor to join the jury at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2023 in Estonia. Madan expresses her excitement about the opportunity, saying, “To be a jury member was phenomenal. It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life.”
For her, festivals aren’t about “titles but about experiencing diversity and meeting people”, something that she finds “de-calibrating yet inspiring”. The actor further elaborates, “After attending a festival, you are even more charged and passionate to come back to your country and add something that you never did before.”
Addressing stereotypes about Indian cinema that she observed on international platforms, the Angrezi Medium (2020) actor remarks, “While singing and dancing are integral parts of our culture, our films reflect our versatility. We need to showcase our diversity to the world, as people still associate singing and dancing with Indian films at festivals.”
Reflecting on her experience at the Black Nights Film Festival, Madan shares, “Last year, when I went there with my film Sanaa, I learned so many things about my craft, and my mind opened so much about cinema since I got to see so many movies from all over the world. It was just fantastic to know that they wanted me back there.”
When I walked off stage, I panicked and was asking people, ‘Please tell me I thanked everyone’-Vir Das
5:35 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 24, 2023)
Having performed in front of big and small crowds, in India and around the world, stand-up comedian Vir Das no longer finds it tough to make people laugh. He’s “hopeful” that his jokes are now “good enough” and will crack up the audience, but “it still requires work and manoeuvring,” he says.
Das won the International Emmy for Best Comedy for his Netflix show, Vir Das: Landing, which is tied with Derry Girls (Season 3). Ask if this win and the pressure of representing India affects him and he says, “I feel the pressure to be funny. Winning this trophy might add an extra thirty seconds to the applause that my audience will give me at the end of my show. And I am always grateful, but they tell me, ‘I spent money to buy a ticket, got a baby sitter or didn’t party for a month to save up, so make me laugh’. That’s the pressure [I feel], but I’m happy to take it on.”
When his name was announced, Das confesses that he blanked out. He says, “Laughter is laughter. This category allows underdogs to punch above their weight. When they took my name onstage, I was in shock. I don’t remember anything I said. When I walked off stage, I panicked and was asking people, ‘Please tell me I thanked everyone’ (laughs).”
The crowd will clap for me for Emmy but 90 seconds later, they’re going to say, ‘Come on, make us laugh’-Vir Das
8:23 AM
Cinching an Emmy Award for his show, Vir Das on finding fodder in his life’s perils—like the American pop singer does—to create the special
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; November 23, 2023)
Several comedians would vouch for the fact that tragedy begets comedy. Soon after coming close to experiencing the death of his career, Vir Das is now celebrating a career milestone. Das, however, believes that his International Emmy Award win for his stand-up special, Landing, will not significantly change his life. “It was a good night; I met really good people who I respect and admire. It’s something I’ll remember for a long time,” he says, quick to add that within a few hours, he’ll be back to doing what he was meant to.
“I’ll be in Panchkula, Chandigarh, in 36 hours. When I stand on stage, [the crowd] will look at me and say, ‘We’re happy for you’. They’ll clap, [shower me] with love, and I’ll appreciate it. But, 90 seconds later, they’re going to say, ‘We got babysitters. We spent a damn ton of money and drove all this way to see you. Come on, make us laugh’.”
Das’s Landing could well be described as a personal anecdote, penned with the aim of giving a viewer a peek into his life, including the shame he encountered when his trajectory nosedived. “I had never put myself out there like I did with Landing. I was ready to share it with people. [I thought], if Taylor Swift gets to write about a rough night, why don’t I? I am hopeful that my narrative helps somebody else deal with their rough night.”
Among his inspirations are Johny Lever for the way he “owns the stage”, George Carlin for “saying the tough things that make people uncomfortable”, and Richard Pryor for tackling “very vulnerable situations”. But, when asked what sets him apart from his fellow comedians, Das refuses to analyze his work. “It’s none of my business. When I leave the stage, the viewer will [be assured of the fact that] I have given 600 per cent. Thereafter, the viewer can decide if that was good or bad.”
Like most evolving artistes, he struggles to watch his years-old content. “I cannot even watch stuff from two months ago. I don’t watch myself. If I can get through a whole year without having to look at myself, that will be a good year. Sometimes, when I [analyze] an old premise that I worked on, [I tell myself], look at what I did with that eight years ago, and what I can do with it today. Back then, it led to the [making of] two jokes, now it could have been 24. I didn’t know enough back then.”
He may not be able to chart a roadmap to the Emmys for aspiring comedians, but he encourages them to “write and rewrite”. “Also, they [viewers] have to know you. If you can get them to get to know you in the first 30 seconds and form a real connection, they’ll stick with you for 60 minutes. If you can’t, they’ll stick with you for 60 minutes, but might forget about you the next minute,” says Das, who is gearing up for his next stand-up special.
“MindFool is about not knowing how to adult. Most adults, I believe, are kids pretending to have their s**t together.”
Dumbing down art into entertainment is a worldwide trend-Jim Sarbh
7:58 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; October 3, 2023)
Jim Sarbh’s uninhibited performances speak a language of their own. Ram Madhvani’s Neerja put him on the map, and he has continued to prove his mettle in films and web shows like Padmaavat, Made in Heaven, Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway and Rocket Boys, to name a few. Recently, Jim was nominated for an International Emmy in the Best Performance by an Actor category for his role of nuclear physicist Dr Homi Bhabha in Rocket Boys. Excerpts from a conversation...
Cillian Murphy is expected to sweep the acting awards internationally for Oppenheimer and your portrayal of Dr Homi Bhabha in Rocket Boys has won you an International Emmy nomination. Isn’t it quite a coincidence that both these standout performances portrayed nuclear physicists?
I don’t think we ever shot it but there was a scene in the original version (of Rocket Boys) where Dr Bhabha went to see Oppenheimer. The story changed direction a little bit. I have liked Cillian for a long time. He was scary and strange in Batman Begins as the Scarecrow, and you must see him in The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006).
As far as Rocket Boys is concerned, I am overwhelmed and excited to be nominated for an Emmy. It is an honour to be recognized amongst such talented individuals from across the world. The series salutes some of India’s scientists, artists and leaders, the pioneers of a newly birthed nation. I am so glad the makers believed in this project, and in me.
You exude this free-spirited, fiercely independent streak. How have you managed to retain that quality as an actor in an industry that often expects one to toe the line?
A film should be a creative collaboration between all the partners. Of course, you have a captain of the ship, but the best directors that I have worked with are the ones who encourage and enjoy collaborations. If you know your lines, if you are not forgetting your cues or are not changing the rhythm of the scene too much, within that frame, you have a choice as to how you want to interpret a moment. Good directors are always open to listening. Filmmaking requires expertise in general across the board. An incredible editor or a production designer can change your film and hide all potential flaws. I believe in that kind of culture.
You never hold back or hesitate to speak your mind. What would you attribute this outspokenness to?
I think it’s more of mounting frustration and eventually, the fact that I can’t stop myself from saying something. I know that the wiser choice would be to act cool or make jokes about it or pretend that it’s someone else’s problem. I just get frustrated and if I am in a bad mood on a particular day, I will eventually say something. I remember when I was doing interviews for Padmaavat, I was asked three standard questions. 1) What was it like to work with Ranveer Singh? 2) What was it like to work with Deepika Padukone? 3) Were you afraid of playing gay? These are such shallow questions. I think there is a trend worldwide of dumbing down art into content or entertainment purposes only so that no one thinks too deeply.
Has your upbringing played a huge role in bringing out your honest, true self, on screen and in reality?
My grandmom told me to speak the truth. That was most important to her, and my mom tells me to lie instead (laughs). She tells me (mimics her), “You don’t have to tell me everything no, Jim. Learn how to lie a bit.” I will send her this article.
DO YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS MADE FOR INSTANT GRATIFICATION IN A WAY?
Nothing is provocative or makes you think too deeply anymore because if we can’t understand something in 10 seconds, it’s labelled as ‘boring’. Christopher Nolan is a master of his craft. Whether you like his films or not is a separate thing. Tenet for instance didn’t strike a chord with me emotionally as much as I thought it would, instead it was a puzzle for me to mentally unravel. I prefer to experience a film emotionally and it can leave me with questions that I can ponder about later. I remember seeing No Country For Old Men in the US with a friend. At the end of it, we were so affected that we couldn’t say a word. On the drive back home, we spoke of its elements and concluded that we really liked it. It left us perplexed.
Emmy recognition is an answer to all the people who were saying negative things-Sima Taparia
8:33 AM
Sugandha Rawal (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 15, 2023)
Sima Taparia was in Switzerland enjoying some time with her family when she got the news of her show, Indian Matchmaking (Season 3), getting an Emmy nomination again, and she has not stopped smiling since then. The celebrity matchmaker admits that the global recognition is a fitting response to all the people looking at the show with a more critical lens.
“The news came to me as a sweet surprise. Everyone is so happy that the show has received global acknowledgment and recognition at the Emmys for the second time. The recognition is an answer to all the people who were saying negative things about the show. If a global body is recognizing us, show mein kuch toh hoga na,” an excited Taparia tells us.
She adds, “We were nominated pehle bhi but couldn’t win. We have another chance to win the Emmy for the whole team that worked hard on it. This time, I am sure that the Emmy will come to India.”
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