'Delhi Belly' is not a sex comedy, says Vir Das

Actor Vir Das is no stranger to risque comedy, but the stand-up comedian who shot to fame with his own brand of satire is miffed with reports that are branding his upcoming film Delhi Belly a sex comedy.

The film, which is being produced by Aamir Khan, has been dogged by reports that it is a desi version of American Pie, with actor Ranbir Kapoor reportedly dropping out of the project because of its supposedly X-rated content.

But Das, who is sometimes called the Russell Peters of India, set the record straight. "The film is not a sex comedy, it's not a desi American Pie," he said. As far as the question of risque content goes, I am a comedian who stands up in front of thousands faking a female orgasm and the film is like a family show in comparison."

The comedy revolves around the lives of three men played by Imran Khan, Vir Das, and newcomer Kunal Roy Kapoor. The actor said the trio had as much fun off-screen as they do on-screen.

"We had an illegal amount of fun while working on the film," Das said. "Imran, Kunal, and me are the same generation and totally similar people, we are game junkies and like the same kind of music, so the bonding was great."

The comedian has been signed on for the next Yash Raj film, which will also star Shahid Kapur and Anoushka Sharma.

A die-hard Rishi Kapoor fan, Das will also be seen in Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal, a film he took up just to share screen space with his idol.

"I have a small role in Love Aaj Kal, I did the film for Rishi Kapoor," Das said. "I am a huge fan of his. I was in London doing my shows and Imtiaz called up and told me about the role. I knew Rishiji was part of the film and said yes."

The sets of the film again became a place for male-bonding as the team, including actor-producer Saif Ali Khan and director Imtiaz Ali, bonded over comedy and cricket.

"I actually was in London for my shows when Imtiaz called me," Das said. "We had fun shooting for the film. Sometimes Saif and the team would come and watch me perform. We watched some of the matches in the T20 Cup together. It was fun."

Das gave up a white-collar job in banking to pursue his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. Now, he is happy juggling his acting career with stand-up comedy as it gives him the "luxury of choice".

"Bollywood is not my bread and butter and that affords me the great luxury of choice," he said. "I will only do a film if I really like the role and the story. Thankfully I have been lucky and given plenty of opportunities despite the fact that I am an outsider with no godfather."

Other than his film projects, Das is busy with his show, Walking On Broken Glass, and will soon embark on a world tour with it. "I am going to be on a world tour with my show," he said. "We are going to be performing in some 16 countries. That's easy because my comedy is not racial or topical. I talk about life, food, sex, orgasms. And people in Japan have sex as do the people in India and Pakistan."

The comedian describes his profession as a stand-up comedian as suicidal. "My profession as a stand-up comedian is suicidal," he said. "I go up in front of large audiences without a script, just relying on my instinct and improvising. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not."