When Varun Viswanath heard he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing For A Single-Camera Comedy Series - 2024, he just could not believe it. The Bengaluru boy, who is now working as an editor in Los Angeles, is thrilled that his hard work on Reservation Dogs is being recognised – and he can’t wait for the actual ceremony in September.

In this exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, the Emmy-nominated editor talks about his journey from Bengaluru to LA, how he got his big break and what’s next. And yes, he reveals he's craving for some good old Death by Chocolate from Bangalore's Corner House too!

Tell us about your journey from Bengaluru to Hollywood.

I grew up in South Bangalore on a healthy diet of Ananth Nag movies, Crazy Mohan comedies, and my late grandmother’s keen interest in all the English TV series on cable. I went to college in Singapore where I was heavily involved in theatre and cultural events productions. Our theatre group made two independent feature films, which had successful theatrical runs in Singapore and garnered some attention from film festivals in the US. I decided to work in film and I was lucky to be accepted as one of only 14 students into the Film Editing MFA program at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory in Hollywood. As part of the AFI program, I edited eight short films with five different directors, interned as an Assistant Editor on a feature documentary at Varsity Pictures, and my thesis film Samnang was nominated for a Student Academy Award, and premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2013. That was the second most exhilarating period of my life - only beaten by the current moment right after I heard I was nominated for an Emmy Award!

⁠What was your first big break in Hollywood?

The first project in Hollywood where I actually got paid to do editing work was the short film The 5, directed by Ravi Kapoor. I will forever be indebted to him for giving me my start in Hollywood. I also edited his first feature film Miss India America, starring Hannah Simone and Tiya Sircar. From there, I got a big break in comedy editing on the show Arrested Development after it was revived on Netflix. This was my first step into the world of editing Comedy Series – this was in November 2014. And a decade later, I can’t believe I am nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Editing in a Comedy Series.

⁠Is it easy for Indian technicians to get work in LA?

I would not say it is easy, but it is possible. The most successful path I have seen so far is the reputed film school route. It definitely comes with an exorbitant price tag and hefty monthly student loan repayments, however you can get a more structured introduction to how the industry runs here and use your time as a student to build your portfolio, build your professional network - both to set up a strong foundation for your career, as well as visa applications to stay and work in Hollywood. That being said, there have been a few select success stories of behind-the-scenes artists who have moved from Bollywood to Hollywood and successfully re-established their careers - such as fellow editor from India, Sujit Agrawal, ACE. He started his career in Mumbai in the late 90’s on Satya, and has now made a name for himself in Hollywood over the last 20 years. He recently won the 2024 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Camera Editing for his work on Drive with Swizz Beatz.

⁠⁠What’s one good thing about working in Hollywood?

The great thing about working in Hollywood is the sheer breadth and depth of the community of your peers around you, and how welcoming they are of new people. We all see ourselves in each other, since filmmakers and aspirers alike have been concentrating in Hollywood from all over the world for multiple generations now. Behind all the glitz and glamour of the A-List celebrities - the engines of the industry are driven by behind-the-scenes professionals working tirelessly to bring stories and characters and sets to life. The more you embed yourself into that community, you start to realize that hardworking, talented people can build long, stable careers with comfortable middle class family lives in this industry. But it is a double-edged sword - which brings me to the bad thing - this entire community of your peers is also your competition. For any hyper specific requirements, there is a deep and impressive talent pool with the perfect relevant experience - so you really have to hustle hard to build your resume in the exact direction you want, learn to be networking constantly, while dealing with an incredibly high cost of living.

⁠What else are you working on now?

I just finished working on a new comedy series for Hulu (Hotstar) called Deli Boys, which is slated to release later in the year. Starring Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh and Poorna Jagannathan; with directors Jenni Konner and Nisha Ganatra. I did some editing work for the Biden-Harris Presidential Campaign in the last election cycle, and hope to contribute again this time around. And I am an Editing Professor at the AFI Conservatory as well.

How do you plan to celebrate if you win the Emmy?

I wish I could get some Corner House ice cream (in Bangalore), but I will have to settle for renting out a beach house in Malibu and throwing the biggest party ever! Does anybody know if you can ship a few Death By Chocolate ice creams from Bengaluru to Malibu??? (laughs)

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