“Our film’s cost might be equal to the catering budget of Border 2,” Vir Das says, with a chuckle. The standup comedian/actor displays crowd-work wit as he goes on to give a logline for his latest film, his directorial debut Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, in which he essays the role of a clumsy spy, who can quickly assemble a sniper gun but will surely miss out on the trigger: “It’s Johnny English meets Tees Maar Khan!”
Happy Patel comes at a time when Hindi cinema is inundated with the spy genre. Last year’s biggest film was Dhurandhar, which had Ranveer Singh infiltrating the Pakistan mafia. Yash Raj Films already has a bonafide universe of special agents. Vir informs that he and his co-director Kavi Shastri used to discuss the idea for Happy Patel on the sets of Love Aaj Kal (2009) in which they had blink-and-miss roles and were also seen dancing on either side of Saif Ali Khan in the song ‘Twist’. “Back then there was no real spy culture in Hindi films. Comedy is counterculture and since nothing had come out yet, the whole idea for Happy Patel felt a little too early. I think when something becomes so mainstream that’s when you have the right to do the most absurd version of it,” he says.
“I think every joint family dinner table needs an idiot. You should imagine, Tiger, Pathaan, Kabir (from War) and Ranveer’s Hamza from Dhurandhar all sitting together and I am the fool who also gets a seat,” he adds. With their beards and biceps, there is a brand of aggressive masculinity these characters seem to portray. In contrast, Vir’s Happy, an adopted son of two gay British secret service agents, does ballet in a scene in the film while assembling sandwiches. “I won’t say Happy Patel is a deliberate reaction to those films,” clarifies Vir. “I mean a man who is silly, who dances and who makes you laugh is also…a man. Let’s just say modern masculinity is a spectrum and Happy Patel is just another end.”
The film is backed by Aamir Khan who has also lent a cameo in it. He plays Jimmy Mario, a Goan don, who is the father of Mona Singh’s character in the film. Vir says he was talking to Aamir after 12 years when he pitched the film to him (the actor had also produced Delhi Belly, 2011 in which Vir starred alongside Imran Khan and Kunaal Roy Kapur). “He called me and Kavi for a narration. Then he sat with us for about five to six rewrites,” says Vir. “He is a great lighthouse for story and is always concerned with character motivations and whether the script is tying up.” Next came a director’s audition. “He asked us to shoot five scenes of the film, not at the production level, ofcourse. He just wanted to see how we moved the camera. He saw the 14-minute clip we came up with and greenlit the project.”
Vir says after the shoot and edit they got two cuts of the film but the real gruelling experience were the test screenings. “We had 28 of them,” he informs. “And these were not for industry people. They were with a normal audience and each time of different demographics. At the end of every screening Aamir came and told everybody, ‘If you like the film, we are happy. But for the next two hours no praise. Tell us, what’s wrong. And from the feedback we received, we made our third and final cut.”
It's not just Aamir who has a cameo in the film but also Imran Khan, who, Vir says, texted him that he wants to be a part of it. “Aamir was there and Imran also knows a few other people who worked on the film. I think he was getting FOMO,” quips Vir. It’s a Delhi Belly reunion, we ask if the legacy of the 2011 film impacted Happy Patel in some way? “That's a very high bar to match,” answers Vir. “Moreover, Delhi Belly came out at a time when cinema was very soft. This was an era of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Guzaarish and Parineeta. When we came in with gaalis, we really stood out. Post Paatal Lok, Mirzapur and (Gangs of) Wasseypur, I don't think that trick is going to work. When mainstream culture is already hard, you have to go soft and stupid.”
Happy Patel fared decently in its first weekend, inching close to Rs 4.5 crore. We ask Vir if he ever thought of the film’s box office possibilities while making it. “I don’t think I have the right to,” he says. “I am not some industry insider who knows the markets or the ecosystem. I am just a guy who got caught up with a bunch of friends and made some mad shit.”