Vir Das booked for a satirical poem
Vir Das, a famous stand-up comedian, has become the latest person to face the heat of a certain section of netizens.
The comedian had recently posted a video on his Youtube channel. In the video, comedian Vir Das read a poem penned by him titled “I come from Two Indias” in front of a sold-out Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
In the poem, Vir Das mentions two forms of India which co-exist right now and shows a contrast between the two.
Two posts by Vir Das
The poem
In the six-minute video, uploaded on Monday, Das talks about the duality of the country and mentions some of the most topical issues India is facing, from its battle against COVID-19, gang-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.”
This satirical poem is the reason why Vir Das has found himself grappled with trouble and internet hatred and support. Vir Das has also issued a clarification trying to appease the agitated internet folks.
The clarification
The 42-year-old took to Twitter and posted a note on Tuesday, stating that his intention was to serve as a reminder that the country, despite its issues, was “great.” “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. “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,” his statement read.
Two Indias on the internet
The netizens are also divided on the whole incident and are showing their opposition and support for the comedian. One can say the internet also shows Two Indias.
The Opposers
A few twitter users have blamed “such influencers” for the “snake charmer” image of India.
To ride the internet’s cancel culture bus came forward the self-declared queen of India Kangana Ranaut.
Kangana Ranaut shared an Instagram story on Wednesday mentioning how many of the things said by the comedians help in generalization of Indians all around the world.
The actress went on to compare Vir Das’ monologue to Winston Churchill’s speech about Bengal Famine of 1943. The actress blamed the artist for racism against India.
The actress said that “such creative work targeting an entire race is soft terrorism” and demanded “strict actions against such criminals” while tagging Vir Das.
Kangana Ranaut is banned from twitter for hate speech.
A BJP leader from Delhi has lodged a complaint against actor-comedian Vir Das alleging that he used “derogatory” statements against India at an international platform with an intention to malign the country’s image, police said on November 17.
The Supporters
However, it is not all bad news for the comedian as many people have come out in support of the comedian and his freedom of expression.
Political stalwarts like Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor have shown open support for the comedian.
“I come from an India where greater accountability is demanded from a comedian and none from an elected minister whose son mowed down protestors. #VirDas”-tweeted Rohini Singh, journalist, from her verified account on twitter.
“One” Vir Das
Vir Das is an Indian comedian, actor and comedy musician. After beginning a career in standup comedy, Das moved to Hindi cinema starring in films like Delhi Belly, Badmaash Company and Go Goa Gone.
In 2017, he acted in the Netflix special Abroad Understanding. Das has performed in approximately 35 plays, over 100 stand-up comedy shows, 18 films, eight TV shows and six comedy specials. He has written comedic columns for Femina, Maxim, Exotica, DNA and Tehelka. In 2019, he made his debut in American television with the television series, Whiskey Cavalier.
The stand-up comedian is currently on a world tour with his show “Manic Man”.