Exclusive: The Story Behind The Ba***ds Of Bollywood's DJ Adam Aka Neville Bharucha, A Comedian And Improv Trainer

Neville Bharucha, a comedian and improv trainer, made his Netflix debut in The Ba***ds of Bollywood playing the very lovable music composer DJ Adam. In the series, his character partners with Manoj Pahwa's Avtar Singh, and apart from creating a viral track, they bring their own dose of humour and drama to the show. In an interaction with The Free Press Journal, Neville tells us about how he got the role, what Aryan Khan is like, being a comedian and improv trainer and more.

Q. How did you get cast in The Ba***ds of Bollywood?

A. I get calls for auditions for TVCs. I don't do movies or web series because it requires a slightly longer commitment, and being an improv teacher and teaching kids and all, it becomes very difficult. So when I got a call to audition for a web series. I initially was hesitant. I said no, I don't know if I'll have the time, and on top of that I was a school teacher at the time, so I said I don't think I'd be able to commit to it. And I was sort of egged on—like, come on, do it, try, see where it lands up—and on top of all of that, I was about to fly off to Singapore that night, and my wife said just go for the audition, see what it's like. I went. The gentleman taking the audition was absolutely wonderful; he gave me some great pointers, and I remember walking out of that place feeling extremely confident about the audition. And I remember calling my wife and saying “I think I’ll get this” to her, and sure enough, a month later I got a call saying I had snagged the role of DJ Adam.

Q. Tell us about the work ethic of Aryan Khan.

A. Aryan Khan is probably one of the most sincere, hardworking people I know. From everything, from the beginning all the way till the end. That first narration of the opening scene that you all saw, he narrated that with such excitement and enthusiasm, from that second I knew inside me, that this is something special. And that man is a force to reckon with. He has a wonderful vision, and he will put in all the effort in the world to make sure that vision comes to life. He is such a patient listener. He will listen to all of your ideas. He will listen to all of your inputs. He is the most wonderful person to work with. He's so driven and excited about everything, and he really inspires you to give it your best—all this while also, by far, being the most fun person to be around on set.

Q. Any other thoughts about working with the other cast members you want to share?

A. The cast, I’m sure you can tell it’s just a powerhouse of heavy hitters. Each and every one of them brings a wealth of talent and skill to the entire project. Personally, my scenes with Manoj Sir are some of the most fun I’ve ever had on set. He is effortlessly funny there is not a dialogue he cannot pull off and there was so many times. I remember the whole crew would just applaud at what he done. Sharing space with a veteran like him was honestly something incredible. The entire cast is just so warm and friendly, always excited to see each other and I think that you could tell that was the case because it’s all visible on screen. I’m truly grateful to be a part of such a wonderful ensemble.

Q. What made you make the switch from digital marketing to becoming an improv trainer?

A. I used to work in digital marketing, and I enjoyed myself. There was never a very clear thing like, okay, I want to leave digital marketing to be an improv trainer. There were a lot of things I wanted to be between those two. I wanted to do stand-up. I enjoyed hosting events, that sort of stuff. What made me become an improv trainer? I really like teaching. I feel I always was a very good teacher. In 2018, I went abroad to study improv from very esteemed places like UCB and The Second City. I remember coming back saying, okay, now I’ve got all this knowledge. What do I do? Do I take classes here? And it started off as a whim, and I took a couple of classes. They went well, but they were very unstructured in what I wanted to teach and how I wanted to teach. Then slowly, over the years, it became bigger and bigger. Even in the pandemic, I was eventually teaching online classes five days a week, and there were people all over the world who used to join. I think at that point, I was like, okay, it looks like this improv thing is happening. And now, we have a new batch every month at The Habitat in Khar, and it’s been that way for the last three years, where we have 10 to 15 people joining. It’s just so overwhelmingly wonderful to think that you’re doing something that wasn’t as popular five, seven years ago.

Q. Improv trainer, creative writing teacher and comedy- how easy or difficult has it been to sustain yourself doing all of these on your own? 

A. I mean, it’s easy because I feel over time you become good at it. So that’s what makes it easy. And I always want to be better, and I always want to be like the best, and I always want people to come and say, okay, you were really good, this was a great class, or that was really funny. And not more from a validation point of view, but more from a perfection point of view for myself. I always want to make sure that I’m good at whatever I do. I want a good rep that way! But the nature of it is, because you’re doing it on your own, you’re not only spending time teaching improv or teaching creative writing but you’re spending more of your time to ancillary stuff. A lot of time goes in building the business, getting new students, figuring out how to create a better student experience for them, doing accounts, following up with people. And what people don’t see is that when you’re doing your own thing, 70 percent of your time is doing other stuff related to that thing. So actually teaching and performing takes up only 30 percent of my time. But it’s a good trade-off to have, to do something you get so much satisfaction from.


Q. The best part about being a comedian.

A. The best part about being a comedian, I guess, would be to make people laugh. I don't see myself as only a comedian, I used to do stand up, I don’t do that much anymore. I see myself more as an improviser now. So, yeah, I guess I am funny at the root of it, but I think it's more the entertainment quotient of it. And just making people happy in the moment is what I love. That's what I thrive on. And making people feel good, that's the absolute best feeling in the world.

Q. The worst part about being a comedian.

A. The worst thing about being a comedian is being the only one who finds yourself funny, and the delusion with which you’re like, okay, I’m very good at this so I can pursue it. That, and for me, I’m very scared of people not liking me. I really, really want everyone to like me. Again, not from a validation point of view—I just don’t like being disliked. I feel very bad if someone does not like me.

Q. Has it ever happened that a comedian stole your script/performance? How did you handle that?

A. No one has ever stolen a joke from me. And even if they do, I don’t think anyone would be able to perform someone else’s material very convincingly. Because what matters is the POV that the material is said from. So while a joke might be absolutely hilarious, the authenticity of the joke will always go when it comes from someone that the joke does not belong to. I feel the audience appreciates authenticity. The audience appreciates the honesty and vulnerability a comedian brings on stage. And if you take that from someone, I think they’ll be able to see through it. So, I mean, there are a lot of topics that will overlap, and maybe one or two punchlines might be the same. But in the bigger picture, I don’t think it really matters. I think your whole act is something that is a more wholesome thing. And very often, I’m sure stuff might overlap without people realizing it. But there’s nothing that a conversation can’t solve. I’m sure it has happened in the past. I’m not aware it’s happened to me. But I would assume that people would steal jokes from better comedians, not me.