Vir Das' 'intense efforts' to play a Punjabi engineer

Vir Das will be seen as a Punjabi engineer in "31st October" and the stand-up comedian and actor says he had to put in a lot of effort to "bring life" to his character.

"I play the character of a simple clean hearted man from Delhi, Devender Singh who is an engineer. I have put my intense efforts to bring life to this character, from putting on weight to look like a healthy Punjabi, growing beard for months and working on the right dialect," Vir told IANS.

Adding that he normally doesn't do such films, the "Delhi Belly" actor said: "You would not normally see me in a film like this, the film has also received an incredible response at festivals across the world and we all are looking forward to its Indian release."

Directed by National Award winner Shivaji Lotan Patil, "31st October" is based on the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the events that followed.

Also starring Soha Ali Khan, the movie has been screened at fests like Sikh International Film Festival Toronto and London Indian Film Festival.