Vir caught in the web
Web series seem to have caught Indian filmmakers’ fancy these days. HT Café has learnt that now, actor and stand-up comedian, Vir Das, is set to join hands with film-maker, Nikkhil Advani, for a new online show. Deviating from your standard fare, the series will be about a “bad stand-up comic who also aims to be a serial killer”.
The story will be set in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and has Vir playing the protagonist. “It’s a dark comedy, but will show a very real, gritty world too,” says Nikkhil,
adding that the shooting for the series will start after the monsoons.
The film-maker reveals that it was Vir who came up with the idea. “I was hooked immediately. Vir and I wanted to work together about three years ago on a film that was mostly in English. But when we tried to translate the lines into Hindi, the story was losing its nuances,” he says.
As a result, the two put the project on hold. “It was clear that we wanted to work together. But after that, Vir got busy with his work and his comedy tour in the US, and I was also caught up with my own projects. But when he came up with the concept for the web series, we knew it was the right subject and the correct time to join hands,” says Nikkhil.
Vir and Nikkhil’s teams are working jointly on the script for the new series, but the film-maker will oversee the project once it kicks off. “In such projects, you need a common link who has the know-how of the script and other departments. So, we may have two to three directors, but I will be the show runner,” says Nikkhil.