Vir Das stars as Hasmukh — a stand-up comic who needs to murder to get his mojo on stage — in the eponymously titled show, now streaming on Netflix. We caught up with the comedian-actor on what made him write Hasmukh and what’s keeping him going in the lockdown.

A couple of years ago, you went to producer Nikkhil Advani with the story of Hasmukh. What made you write this story of a stand-up comedian who doubles as a murderer?

I’d been working on this story for the better part of three years. It comes from two broad places. First, myself, and most comedians I would say, are very superstitious about the things we do when we get on stage, just to get us in the mood. I have a particular leather belt, which I have worn for every show I have done since I was 21. So I have actually been wearing this belt for every show for the last 19 years! (Laughs) It’s lasted that long?!

It has! It looks like shit (laughs), but I won’t travel without it, I won’t get on stage without it. The second reason that propelled me to write this show was that the first time when I managed some laughs from my audience was when I started being myself on stage. That’s the toughest thing about being a comic. Anybody can write a joke, but can you tell it as yourself? The first time I got some laughs from the audience was when I was about 22. I was broke and girls wouldn’t speak to me, I had no money even for rent and I just went up on stage and yelled at people about how tough my life was! (Laughs)

So, I thought why not look at the story of a comedian who is a good writer but a terrible comic, just like Hasmukh is? And to be himself on stage, he needs to murder someone at least 20 minutes before his act. The murder gives him the adrenaline and the confidence to be on stage.

So I wrote a pilot of about 35 pages and took it to Nikkhil Advani. He was like, ‘This is great! This is very funny... can we make it darker?’ That’s where we divided up the labour, where I was in charge of the funny bit and the comedian’s journey and Nikkhil took on the responsibility of making it cinematic and dark.

The milieu and motivations are different, but do you identify with Hasmukh in any way?

Well, I don’t murder people before an act! (Laughs) But the story is definitely based on some beats in my life. We show Hasmukh at the beginning of his career as a comedian, and he isn’t polished on stage. I relate to that from 10 years ago and even today... it takes 20-25 years to get good at this. Johny Lever is the best he’s ever been... now. It takes years for a comedian to figure out what your voice is and what you want to say.

It’s also based on my coming to Bombay. I came here one night and never left. When I came to this city,

I used to be a writer for a lot of GEC (general entertainment channels) stuff... I wrote a lot of award shows, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, The Great Indian Comedy Show... I worked in that ecosystem. This show is built in that world.

You’ve been having a great run with Netflix, with Hasmukh coming after your special called For India. Were you surprised how well the Special did, given it was contentious and controversial in many ways?

I was very nervous about that Special... it was my third with Netflix and I had covered all the personal ground I could cover in the first two Specials. It’s always tough when you aren’t talking about yourself and in For India, I had to talk about my country, and there are so many versions of India. It was just a moment in time when we had to remember the small things that make up our country and which bring us together. I was happy it was received so well.

The lockdown has seen you doing virtual comedy acts called #VirDasAtHome for charity, catch up on The Office and also whip up some Dalgona Coffee. What else is keeping you busy?

I am writing new material but I am also focused on raising money at a time like this. We did six shows and those sold out in about 10 hours... I am adding a few more for different charities. Trust me, no comedian wants to do a show on Zoom (laughs) and give away one’s material online, so I am writing a lot more material. I get up every day with the focus that I have to write, do a show in the evening, raise money and send it to some charity. That’s what’s keeping me structured. What I don’t do is an InstaLive every night! (Laughs) The one thing that this virus has done is that it’s made everyone an influencer! Everyone’s doing cookery tutorials and workout videos and being spiritual.... I feel influencers are the worst hit, they are no longer special! (Laughs)

There’s definitely frustration at a time like this, but one needs to remind oneself that our frustration is quite minimal as compared to what a large section of the population is feeling. The privileged will get through this lockdown without too much stress and we should be thankful for that. I don’t fear about the future because I feel that the urge to sit in a room and laugh with other people is universal, right? At some point, we will get back on stage and people will want to come out and laugh with each other again.