Actor Vir Das and author Trisha are siblings living in different worlds, whose love for the movies keeps bringing them back together
Trisha Das and Vir Das
Trisha Das and Vir Das
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In the midst of a photo shoot with actor-comedian Vir Das and his sister Trisha at the former's Santacruz (W) office, we hear the self-proclaimed camera-shy siblings engage in amusing banter. "Say something funny Vir… make me laugh," Trisha tells him, in between awkward smiles. "No way!" Vir says. "I only crack jokes if I am paid for it." With no help coming from the little brother, Trisha nudges him in jest, and they both burst out laughing.
When they are done with the shoot, the 37-year-old actor tells us how he "hates being photographed", while Trisha — a National Award-winning documentarian — who has mostly worked behind the lens, reveals how she enjoys clicking and shooting away. "We are poles apart," she says, to drive the point home.
Now, based in Singapore, Delhi girl Trisha is in town to release her new novel Ms Draupadi Kuru, published by HarperCollins India. But, most importantly, this is another excuse to visit the brother, she says. "Vir is a very busy guy. But, he won't spare an opportunity to come visit his nephews and me. So, we end up seeing each other a lot…almost three or four times every year," says Trisha, who moved to Singapore 12 years ago.
It's a significant year for the creatively tuned sibling duo. The release of Trisha's book comes close on the heels of Vir's film release, 31st October — based on a true story set in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination — where he will be seen playing a serious character for the first time. The credit for his movie career, he says, goes to his sister.
"She's the first one in the family to show professional artistic inclination, and that's something that definitely inspired all of us," says Vir of Trisha, who started making documentaries in the early 2000s. "The money earned through her documentaries helped send me to drama school as well, and this, in the most literal way possible, enabled me to become an artiste," he adds.
Trisha, sitting right beside him, suddenly reminds him of how she filmed "his hand" for one of her documentaries. "That was the first shoot he ever did," she says. Vir looks at her, slightly embarrassed, recalling the many times he was unwittingly dragged into his sister's films. He enjoyed it nonetheless.
"But, I feel that it's only when Trisha started putting pen to paper that she really found complete creative liberation," he says, speaking of Trisha's transition to books from filmmaking, which saw her previously author The Mahabharata Re-imagined and 'How to Write a Documentary Script'.
Trisha won her first National Award for the documentary Fiddlers on the Thatch (2005), when she was 27. "At that point, I was still studying in the US and did not understand the magnitude of this win," says Vir. "It's only now that I realise what a big deal that was."
Trisha, on the other hand, doesn't "see Vir through the lens of his career". "He's still my little brother. When he came into the comedy scene, what he was doing was very new. So, obviously I was worried for him and tried to help as much as possible," says Trisha, who is older to Vir by three years. She, however, clarifies that she wasn't nervous about the path he had chosen. "I was confident that he'd do well. I was just worried that he wasn't sleeping enough and only eating cereal for lunch and dinner," says Trisha, a mother of two boys. "Yes, that way, she is fiercely protective of me," Vir admits.
Trisha recounts how Vir was always the family rebel. "I didn't go through the rebellious phase, I went through a revolution," Vir corrects his sister. "I gave my parents way more sleepless nights than Trisha could ever do. I failed exams, had bad company, did the opposite of what was good for me and was never academically inclined," says Vir. "I was the good kid," Trisha adds. "And even if I made mischief, I did it discreetly."
Gone past their crazy childhood days, the successful siblings now egg each other to do better. "We even collaborated on a script two years ago, and it will hopefully be produced soon," says Vir. And the brother can't stop harping about Trisha's new fiction, Ms Draupadi Kuru, where the most famous female characters from the Mahabharata — Draupadi, Amba, Kunti and Gandhari — give up the comforts of heaven for a holiday in Delhi's chaos. "I want her to make it into a film. I've been telling her that ever since I read the book," he says. "In fact, I would like to see Trisha direct a film at some point."
Trisha, too, is incredibly proud that her brother is taking up challenging roles with fil-ms like 31st October. "I am glad he's exploring newer territories. But, I think he will make a better director… I see that happening for him." "Wait, wait! Let me make the shift from comedy to drama first," Vir tells his sister. "You're getting there," she says, winking at him. He looks smugly. "Okay! Mother."
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