Vir
Das'
much-delayed
Aamir
Khan
production
Delhi
Belly
with
Imran
Khan
is
finally
going
to
release.
Das
basking
in
the
favourable
reviews
of
Badmaash
Company
says
Delhi
Belly
will
be
released
in
the
first
quarter
of
2011,
a
fact
that
even
director
Abhinay
Deo
now
blissfully
into
his
second
directorial
venture
Game,
is
not
aware
of.
Now
that
Vir
Das
is
doing
mainstream
Hindi
films,
he
is
unlikely
to
make
those
stinging
savage
stand-up
jokes
about
Salman
and
other
Bollywood
biggies.
This
has
not
gone
down
with
his
fans.
A
lady
has
threatened
to
come
after
the
stand-up
comic
virtuoso
turned
film
actor
Vir
Das
with
a
butcher's
knife
for
acting
in
a
Bollywood
film
after
savagely
satirizing
all
things
about
Bollywood
on
stage
for
years.
And
this
is
just
one
of
the
innumerable
hate
messages
and
calls
Vir
has
received
ever
since
he
made
an
impact
as
the
blimp
with
the
roving
eye
in
Badmaash
Company
this
week.
Chuckles
the
amused
actor,
"Those
who
have
been
watching
me
do
stand-up
comedy
for
years
think
I've
sold
out
to
Bollywood
because
I'm
now
working
in
the
very
system
that
I've
been
religiously
mocking
and
demolishing
on
stage.
But
the
fact
of
the
matter
is,
I
was
I
am
and
I
will
continue
to
be
a
stand-up
comedian
and
I
will
continue
to
make
jokes
on
the
Indian
movie
industry."
Vir
admits
Bollywood
biggies
have
a
sense
of
humour
about
themselves.
His
favourite
brunt
of
joke
used
to
be
George
Bush
and
not
Salman
Khan,
as
rumoured.
"Obama
doesn't
render
himself
to
the
same
humour
as
Bush.
So
my
new
best
friend
is
Tiger
Woods.
And
of
course
IPL
jokes," says
Vir
who
is
clearly
steering
away
from
taking
potshots
at
Bollywood
after
Badmaash
Company.
Vir
Das
Says
Vir,
"I
started
as
a
stand-up
comedian
and
that's
what
I
remain
at
heart.
I
haven't
forgotten
my
beginnings
in
Chicago
in
2004
as
a
dog-walker
and
a
doorman
at
a
hotel.
So
when
we
were
back
in
the
US
to
shoot
for
Badmaash
Company,
I'd
shoot
the
whole
day
and
then
head
for
the
local
clubs
to
do
my
stand-up
acts
for
two
hours
almost
every
evening."
It's
a
difficult
choice
for
Vir.
Even
as
he
gets
acceptance
as
an
actor
in
Bollywood,
he's
expected
to
go
up
on
stage
and
continue
to
jokingly
abuse
Bollywood.
Vir
is
amazed
by
the
impact
he
has
made
in
Badmaash
Company.
"When
I
signed
the
film,
I
knew
it
was
a
Shahid
Kapoor
film.
I
had
seen
how
central
he
had
been
to
his
earlier
films
and
expected
this
one
to
be
no
different.
But
I
was
pleasantly
surprised
when
my
role
turned
out
to
be
so
substantial."
Aamir
Khan's
Delhi
Belly
is
his
next
release,
and
Vir
is
confident
he'd
make
an
impact.
There
seems
to
be
as
much
of
a
bonding
with
Imran
Khan
as
there
was
with
Shahid
Kapoor
during
Badmaash
Company.
Says
Vir,
"I
can't
talk
about
my
role.
But
I
play
a
character
diametrically
opposite
to
the
one
in
Badmaash
Company.
Imran
and
I
became
good
friends
during
Delhi
Belly.
We're
both
comedy
fans
and
Mac
junkies.
We
had
an
insane
amount
of
fun
doing
this
film.
We
all
knew
we'd
never
have
an
experience
like
this
again."
Producer
Aamir
Khan
didn't
make
things
easy
.
Vir
had
to
undergo
auditions
repeatedly
before
he
was
selected.
Says
Vir,
"I
auditioned
nine
times
in
one
year.
Then
every
week
I'd
read
some
bigger
Bollywood
actor
had
bagged
my
role.
So
by
the
time
I
got
in
the
room
with
Aamir,
I
was
on
Cloud
9.
He's
nothing
less
than
a
genius."
Vir
says
there
was
no
interference
from
Aamir
on
the
sets.
"Aamir
was
heavily
into
Delhi
Belly
during
auditions
and
the
worskshops.
After
that
he
kind
of
set
us
loose."
Travelling
extensively
to
cities
all
over
for
his
stand-up
comedy
Vir
says
he
has
had
no
time
to
get
himself
into
a
steady
relationship.
"Of
course
I've
had
relationships
and
girlfriends.
But
I'm
dying
for
the
day
when
I
can
say
about
someone
that
we're
just
good
friends."