Stand-up comedian and actor Vir Das is facing extreme backlash on social media for his recent performance in Washington DC talking about what he felt were the contrasts seen in India. He shared a video of the monologue at the Kennedy Center, titled “Two Indias”, on social media on Monday and since then, the video has become a talking point on the internet.
A police complaint was filed against Das in Delhi for the video, news agency ANI reported.
Vir Das, who has often taken on the government with his stand-up comedy, talks about the duality of the country and mentions some of the most topical issues India is facing, from its battle against COVID-19, incidents of rapes, crackdown against comedians to the farmers' protests.
A section on Twitter posted clips and pictures from his monologue, specifically the part where the comedian said, “I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during the night."
After the massive trolling, Das, 42, tweeted a clarification on Tuesday night. "The video is a satire about the duality of two very separate India's that do different things. Like any nation has light and dark, good and evil within it. None of this is a secret. The video appeals for us to never forget that we are great. To never stop focusing on what makes us great,” he said in a statement.
"It ends in a gigantic patriotic round of applause for a country we all love, believe in, and are proud of. That there is more to our country than the headlines, a deep beauty. That's the point of the video and the reason for the applause.”
The video on YouTube has collected over 7.87 lakh views. He is currently in the United States.
Here are some of the points he makes in the six-minute performance:
- “I come from an India where children in masks hold hands with each other and yet, I come from an India where leaders hug each other without masks.”
- “I come from an India where the AQI is 9,000 but we still sleep on the roof and look up at the stars.”
- “I come from an India where we claim to be divided over Bollywood on Twitter and yet, united by Bollywood in the darkness of a theatre.”
- “I come from an India where we bleed blue every time we play green but every time we lose to green, we turn orange all of a sudden.”
- “I come from an India where we laugh so loudly in the comfort of our own homes that you can hear us through the walls and yet, I come from an India where we break down the walls of a comedy club because you can hear laughter inside.”
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