Sensational Varun Grover wows audience at SALA with his brand of comedy

Ritu Jha–

The South Asian Literature and Arts Festival (SALA) 2023 brought in awarded authors, screenwriters, stars, lyricists and directors from various fields of literature and arts at Menlo College in Atherton, California, on October 7 and 8. On Day 1 popular Indian writer, stand-up comedian, poet, lyricist and filmmaker Varun Grover saw his comedy night sold out. Grover spoke to indica on the sidelines of the festival on personal life, life as a screen writer and the entertainment industry.

“We are missing a connection to the roots,” Grover said. “After Sacred Games, people thought violence sells. Since then, we have had a lot of shows about violence, gang wars, and they all look like a copy of each other. I hope people see that there is space for original stories. Of the recent shows, I really loved Kohra, which had a very violent core and still was very sensitive.”

Grover has displayed a remarkable contrast in his creative abilities. He wrote the sensitive popular song — Moh Moh Ke Dhaage from the Bollywood film Dum Laga Ke Haisha — and was also lead writer and executive producer of Netflix India’s series, Sacred Games (2018-2019), which included dialogues marked by abusive language.

“If I do Sacred Games again, I’d reduce cuss words. There is a constant debate whether we should depict what is real or should we depict what is ideal and aspirational. That is an ongoing debate. But I think there are better ways to depict violence that are not repulsive or filled with cuss words.”

While Sacred Games gave him fame, Grover says he gets more response for Masaan (2015). “Every week, I get at least three, four messages on Masaan. People talk more about Masaan or Moh Moh Ke Dhage or another song I recently wrote — Shauq from film Qala.”

Grover said his choice of projects is independent of audience demand. “I do what I love. I reject lots of projects, probably five or six projects every week. Sometimes I don’t have time, and sometimes I don’t like what they want me to do. I will do things that add to the story, to art in general, My work should give hope and solace to people.”

While songs and films have their own audience, his brand of anti-establishment stand-up comedy has attracted a swarm of critics. “I get lots of hate messages. There are threats. Some comedians have been arrested; so everyone is a bit more careful. But I’m also hopeful because I feel that art is always more powerful than any kind of oppression. Art is peaceful and creative, and it gives hope and power to people.”

Grover said he looks at OTT platforms positively because “there is space to do more stories.”

The IIT graduate-turned-writer said, “There are so many OTT platforms, and so many new shows, so there is space to do way more new stories from diverse backgrounds. There is always a question of quality control, but there is a churn at present. Eventually, I think, we’ll reach a stage where there’s a sense of balance and more quality stuff because no matter how many shows come up, only the good-quality shows are doing well.”

He said he is happy to see how Indians have created a tremendous impact in the US. “Indians have so much power here, so much influence. To have a festival (SALA) of this scale in Silicon Valley where you have artists flying in from India to talk about their experiences, I think it is good to see such a powerful and diverse Indian community.”

At present, Grover is looking forward to the OTT release of Merry Christmas in December. The film is a Bollywood crime thriller drama written and directed by Sriram Raghavan. Grover has penned the lyrics for all of the film’s songs.

His debut as a director film, ‘All India Rank’, will be screened in the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles from Oct 11 through 15.

“All India Rank will be the festival’s closing film. It is a youth-centric comedy about a 17-year-old boy who is sent to an IIT coaching center and he has to deal with the pressures and expectations of his parents. This film is my debut as a director. I wanted to be a director because I’m a writer and I feel I wanted to see the whole process of how something transforms from a page to the screen.”

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