American editor Varun Viswanath, who grew up as a Tamil-Malayali boy in Bengaluru, spent a typical morning wrangling his son into the car before his phone started to blow up. On the other end of the line was Patrick, his co-editor, who almost never calls. “We did it! We got nominated!” exclaimed Patrick. For first-time Emmy nominee Varun, the memory of a young boy wrestling with stage lights at Bengaluru’s city hall seemed like a lifetime ago. His penchant for orchestrating events behind the scenes appeared to forecast the illustrious career he would eventually embrace.
At 18, a scholarship diverted him to Singapore, where he was expected to pursue a path well-trodden by the Indian diaspora. While his peers saw only the allure of giants like Sony or Nokia, for Varun, the stage and the screen beckoned. Extra-curricular activities became his lifeline, and he transformed from an aspiring engineer to a storyteller, albeit one who still knew his way around a soldering iron.
The 2008 financial crisis was the deus ex machina that nudged him towards his true calling. As the corporate grind lost its sheen, the chaos of filmmaking became his sanctuary. A serendipitous connection with director Anurag Kashyap, who optioned a friend’s book, catalyzed this significant shift. A feature film, shot on a shoestring budget in Singapore, became the tipping point for Varun.
Disguising his artistic aspirations under the guise of MBA applications, Varun landed a spot in the American Film Institute’s (AFI) editing program. Here, amid classmates who had already won Emmys and professors moonlighting on Game of Thrones, he found his tribe.
Though the thesis film he edited was nominated for a Student Academy Award, his first professional gig in the US was a humbling night-shift assistant editor role on a reality show. “Bottom of the barrel stuff,” he chuckles.
An apprenticeship under seasoned editors set the stage for one of his first big breaks as an assistant editor on Arrested Development. However, it was his work on Taika Waititi’s vampire mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows, that truly marked his ascent. His editing on the quirky, genre-defying comedy earned him an American Cinematic Editors (ACE) Eddie Award nomination and subsequent ACE accreditation.
Soon after, with Reservation Dogs, Varun seems to have found his magnum opus.
. From its indie pilot to the meteoric rise as a critically acclaimed series, his editing alongside co-editor Patrick Tuck has been instrumental in capturing the raw, authentic voices of the series’ leading Indigenous stars in rural Oklahoma. The show’s success — garnering widespread acclaim and a fervent fan base — culminated in multiple Emmy nominations for its third and final season, which many would attest has been atrociously overdue.
Today, as Varun stands on the precipice of his first potential Emmy win, he reflects on his experiences in the cutting room on Reservation Dogs and the responses to his first Television Academy nomination. He notes the differences between working on Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows, citing the effort to depict real people in the former, as opposed to the absurd characters in the latter. “The rhythms, the cadence, everything is different between the two shows,” explains Varun.
Reservation Dogs resonated deeply with rural communities, reflecting real emotions and people, much like Taika Waititi’s indie films. Yet, the vision of Sterlin Harjo, the series co-creator, shined through, capturing the essence of the Oklahoma community. Varun confesses initial apprehensions about understanding American rural culture, but found that the community and family values echoed his own upbringing.
The sense of belonging that Reservation Dogs portrays parallels Varun’s own quest for belonging. Growing up in Bangalore, he felt a strong sense of community, a sentiment he later found missing in Singapore but rediscovered in the diverse and welcoming environment of LA’s film industry.
In Hollywood, the uniqueness of Native American art often faces disinterest or misunderstanding from broader audiences. Reservation Dogs cleverly uses and subverts these stereotypes, inviting viewers to laugh with the characters rather than at them. Over time, the show’s compelling characters drew in audiences, making the humorous and emotional content resonate despite cultural differences.
Achieving tonal balance in Reservation Dogs was paramount. Varun explains, “When in doubt, we err in favor of comedy.” Balancing intense themes of loss and death with humor, the show aimed to present drama naturally without forcing it.
Despite the growing buzz around his Emmy nomination, Varun has yet to fully engage with it, receiving congratulatory messages from friends and colleagues while still trying to absorb the excitement. For the Tamil-Malayali boy from Bengaluru, this nomination is not just a professional milestone but a testament to his journey of finding belonging and making meaningful connections through storytelling.
All seasons of FX’s Reservation Dogs are currently streaming on Hotstar.
