Despite having comedian Vir Das on board, showrunner Nikkhil Advani admits Hasmukh suffered due to weak writing, discusses roping in new creative team for the black comedy's second season
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 28, 2020)

In hindsight, showrunner Nikkhil Advani admits he has greater clarity on why the Vir Das-fronted Hasmukh failed to strike a chord with the audience. "Fundamentally, what went wrong was that people perceived it as a comedy. It was not supposed to be a laugh-out-loud funny show; it was a tale of morality versus ambition," explains Advani, who is already using his learning from the first edition to develop a sharper sophomore season.

Even though the team behind the script included bright minds like Das and him, the producer states that he has roped in new writers for the next outing. "The writing could have been much better. So, we are bringing other writers on board to develop a more layered second season. This was not meant to be a polished show. The jokes weren't supposed to be nuanced because a stand-up comic from Saharanpur doesn't want to be Trevor Noah, he aspires to be like Jaspal Bhatti or Kapil Sharma. The jokes should have been more crass. Also, the positioning was wrong because when Vir plays Hasmukh, people expect great comedy."

Giving credit where it is due, the filmmaker points out the series brought forth the leading man's acting skills. "Whether people enjoyed the show or not, they liked Vir's performance. The acting department [elevated the show], be it Vir or his chemistry with Ranvir Shorey."

Soon after it dropped online, the black comedy landed in a legal soup after a lawyer moved the Delhi High Court alleging that one of the episodes — in which they have been referred to as "thieves, scoundrels, goons and rapists" — maligns the image and reputation of advocates. However, Advani refused to comment on the subject saying it is sub-judice.

As a mentor to Vir Das's Hasmukh in the comic's forthcoming eponymous Netflix web show, Ranvir Shorey says his part is crucial and has an attention-worthy track
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; April 16, 2020)

Ranvir Shorey made a conscious decision to green-light digital projects. "For independent actors who do not belong to any camp, like myself, this is important," he says. The actor's upcoming web series, Hasmukh, is a comic caper, with a twist. "It's a dark narrative. I am told everyone is glued to OTT platforms in the current scenario. Hopefully, this will give people reason to laugh."

The Netflix series, which drops tomorrow, is about a small-town comedian, played by Vir Das, who longs for a big break in stand-up acts. Things take a bizarre turn when he realises comedy too can be serious business, something that he may even need to kill for.

As Hasmukh's manager, Jimmy, Shorey also doubles up as his guide. "Jimmy is a scumbag with a heart of gold. When [Hasmukh] is off-stage, I [mentor] him. The two characters are together, but have their own individual graphs."

Shorey had earlier collaborated with Hasmukh producer Nikkhil Advani in Chandni Chowk to China (2009). "I guess, the previous outing landed me a role in Hasmukh. Shooting for a web series is more time consuming than a film. Every show poses its own challenges."

The promising run of his last Bollywood film, the Irrfan-starrer Angrezi Medium, was cut short owing to the Coronavirus lockdown. But Shorey is not dissuaded. "Many of my good films have suffered due to certain situations in the past. There's nothing one can do about it. But the response to Angrezi Medium is heartening. The digital platform is a blessing, and a game-changer," says Shorey, who was previously seen in web shows like Sacred Games and Bomber.

Meanwhile, Shorey is enjoying the hiatus that we have been compelled to take. "I binge watch shows, and the sheer joy of doing so is unexplainable. I also have other fears, like [finding] work again, contracting the disease, or availing enough groceries."

Vir Das discusses modelling his character in Hasmukh on ’ 70s actor, and Peter Sellers
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 10, 2020)

Vir Das’s latest fictional series, Hasmukh, sees him in a new avatar. As the mild-mannered stand-up comic from Saharanpur who comes alive on stage only when he commits a murder before each gig, the actor turns from timid to terrifying on a dime. Turns out, the writer-actor took inspiration from Amol Palekar’s onscreen parts while developing the comic side to Hasmukh’s personality.

“The stage persona of Hasmukh is like that of Amol Palekar. He is so sweet that you would never expect him to have a dark side. I wanted to tap into that innocence of the character,” explains Das, highlighting the vulnerability of the protagonist of the dark comedy.

He also turned to his favourite comedian Peter Sellers’ movies for a tip or two on portraying a seemingly innocent man with a mercurial temperament. “Peter Sellers changed like a chameleon, and that’s a striking quality in Hasmukh. He can go from coy to wild in a matter of minutes. I took elements from people I have studied, and brought my own interpretation to the rest of it.”

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 8, 2019)

The past six months have been eventful for Vir Das, who earned not only his second Netflix original in Losing It, but also landed a prominent part in the ABC series, Whiskey Cavalier.

Now, the actor-comedian has bagged a three-month-long residency in the US, making him the first Indian artiste to achieve the feat. For the uninitiated, residency is a format offered to artistes - including comedians, musicians, singers and dancers - where they are booked by a venue to perform multiple shows every week for a stipulated period.

Das, who is juggling his film project Hasmukh with his stand-up acts, recently inked the deal with a venue in the West Coast and will be seen performing there, come July 2020.

Confirming the development, Das' spokesperson said, "The deal has gone through and it's a big achievement for Vir. But he remains equally committed to his acting assignments in India, starting with the Go Goa Gone sequel and Hasmukh, extending to the future films and shows he picks up. He is hopeful that this paves the way for more homegrown comics to penetrate into the international market."

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 22, 2019)

Almost a year after revealing that he was set to bring forth a dark comedy thriller along with Nikkhil Advani, Vir Das has shared his first look from Hasmukh, with mid-day. Das, who plays the part of a stand-up comedian by the day, and a serial killer at night, sports a rural appearance in the series.

The comedian, who has also penned the series, tells mid-day, "This is a character I have never explored, since he is from the hinterlands. The process of writing it was drastically different too since I hadn't written comedy [content] in Hindi, until now. Hasmukh gave me the opportunity to do something new." The show was shot in UP and Mumbai.

Apart from Hasmukh, which also features Ranvir Shorey, Das is looking to back a series of scripts in different languages under his comedy collective, Weirdass Comedy.

Deepali Singh (DNA; December 10, 2018)

“It’s cold!” are the first words Vir Das utters when he comes on the line to speak to us. The stand-up comedian, actor and musician, is stationed in Prague to shoot for the American TV show Whiskey Cavalier and it’s minus five degrees there. It might be freezing cold, but Vir is enjoying being the new guy on the sets. He tells us. “I’ve never done a mainstream network American show. It’s an action comedy about four people who are part of a team that saves the world every week. We get to wear suits and fire guns,” he says.

For someone whose phone had stopped ringing after the debacle called Mastizaade in 2016, Vir seems to be juggling a lot of balls in the air. Apart from the TV show, he’s writing and acting in a Hindi web series, and has three films including the sequel of Go Goa Gone. Moreover, his second Netflix special, Losing It, is all set to release tomorrow. “I’m always happiest when I’m over-busy,” he exclaims. “I have worked very hard to be this exhausted in life,” he adds.

Why are you ‘losing it’ and what exactly are you losing?
The show’s about losing who you were as an individual and questioning all of your beliefs in life. It’s about waking up and realising that you don’t believe 90 per cent of the sh*t you used to believe — so re-questioning your perspective, religion, your politics, relationships, friendships, career, masculinity, feminism — all of it. I think it’s a point in life a lot of people can relate to, specially when they enter their 30s. It’s also a show where I, in a certain sense, lost my nationality as well because I took a year off to travel across the globe. I went to 33 different countries to write this show and it’s also about that — your Indian identity in the world today.

So it’s a lot more personal than your earlier show, Abroad Understanding?
I think so. In the first one, I was trying to introduce myself to people and I had to talk about what they wanted to talk about. Now, it’s like a second date and I will say things I want to talk about. So, there are stories about me going bankrupt, falling sick, about being a dishonest child, being a compulsive liar etc.

Do you think now, more than ever, a stand-up comedian is also required to be a social commentator?
No, I think a stand-up comedian is required to be a storyteller. There’s no point going there and making social statements you cannot weave within the quilt of a story, otherwise you’re just making a speech and not doing comedy.

You have also written your first Hindi web series, Hasmukh and you’re acting in it as well...
(Cuts in) Yes, but I should clarify that I have only written the story with Nikkhil Advani. There’s a writer’s room of eight talented writers who have done the screenplay and dialogue. I took the idea of the show to Nikkhil two years ago and he’s directing it. I play Hasmukh, the title character. He’s a serial killer and it’s a nice range for me to go that way — the opposite of who I am.

In movies, you have mostly been the funny guy. Do you want to move away from those kind of roles and try something totally different?
With movies or acting, initially, you’re just trying to get your foot in the door, so you just do what is given to you. I don’t think you get to start experimenting till you have a fan base that is so sizeable that people can’t ignore it. There is an artistic intention to do these things, but it needs business viability.

What’s happening on the music front and your band, Alien Chutney?
It’s been about three or four months since I made any music. The plan is to make another Alien Chutney album by the middle of next year.

Do your roles as an actor, stand-up comedian and musician overlap?
It’s natural to have them all together and the audiences overlap as well. We’ve always been overkeen to compartmentalise. What we are realising is that audiences are looking for variety from the same artiste. The same guy who is going to watch a Rohit Shetty film, will watch a Neerja and the same guy will watch a good series online. So, it’s possible to do different things and entertain viewers through the year.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 30, 2018)

Following Hasmukh, which marks Vir Das’s first attempt at writing in the Hindi language, the actor- comedian is set to bring forth a series of seven other ventures. Among the projects in the pipeline is yet an offering for children, and a buddy-cop film.

Das tells mid-day of his projects, which have been penned by him and his team, “Writing has been something I have always been involved in. Yet, doing so for shows varies greatly from writing for a series or movie. We have been working on several concepts. Apart from Hasmukh, a children’s dramedy is being conceptualised. There’s a dire need of content for the children of India.”

Pointing out that his other productions may even deviate from the genre that made him the brand he is — comedy — he says, “We are trying to diversify the genres and cater to people across age groups.”

Vir Das talks about scripting his first regional language comedy, Hasmukh
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 6, 2018)

Even though he took to social media to announce the venture in May, Vir Das hadn't revealed until now that he has also co-written the script of Hasmukh, the dark thriller with a pinch of humour. This feat marks Das's first attempt at writing comedy in the Hindi language, given that the actor-comedian has helmed English-based acts until now.

Talking about the Nikkhil Advani-directed venture, Das says, "I am familiar with the [Hindi] language, and have consumed a great amount of content [in it]. But, to write in it is a different ball game altogether. I have not been averse to it, but have never had the opportunity to write comedy, especially stand-up, in Hindi."

Aware that comedy banks heavily on punch-lines, which can often be language-specific, Das says, "Some jokes have a better impact when used in certain languages. As comedians and writers, we have to adapt to that. Writing comedy needs a deep understanding of the pulse of the markets [that use it]. Since India is a culturally diverse country, everyone has a different sensibility." Das also points out that the use of the Hindi language has increasingly made its way into Indian comedy shows.