Bengaluru's actor-comedian Danish Sait spills the beans about his 'lockdown' videos

Comedian-actor Danish Sait shares what prompted him to make his new lockdown videos
Danish Sait
Danish Sait

A Malayali shopkeeper, a domestic help, an NRI friend, and a confused son who is trying to cook — all these characters played by comedian-actor Danish Sait have come as a whiff of fresh air online, amidst the long-drawn-out webinars. The minute-long videos that the comedian has been posting on his social media accounts have garnered quite a significant number of views online.

The first video, Conversations With My Friends, has recorded over 6,00,000 views on Instagram. After this went viral, Danish has been posting videos almost every day. Like the first, the rest have also gone viral with celebrities like actors Rana Daggubati, Parvathy, Regina Cassandra, and music composer Anirudh liking and commenting on the posts. The insightful and funny take on real-life conversations makes these videos unique. The ideas are simple, but the timing is perfect. “I was talking to friends about the lockdown and realised that all of us are going through similar situations. So I thought of the common topics that we talk about, made the first video, and it just worked,” says the artiste.

Although it looks like the videos are impromptu and the comedian is just having fun, Danish reveals everything is scripted. “I have a core group and I discuss the topics with them. Every line is written and I send the script for feedback, we discuss what works and doesn’t. But I shoot and edit on my phone,” he reveals. Danish’s entertaining impressions of different people — be it a parent or a fitness buddy, and the unusual props he uses (like a paintbrush, a box of tissues and sometimes his Persian cat) add to the humour.

Danish also teamed up with filmmaker Saad Khan for the ‘Shivajinagar News Central’ videos in which he plays the role of Razia who hosts the Urdu news show along with her lecherous cousin Razaq (played by Saad). “I know the local Urdu dialect well and have never been shy of wearing it on my sleeve. I wanted to do something different from Nograj (his politician character). None of these videos are scripted. We know the talking points and improvise on it. It’s like an improv performance,” he says.

ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax

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