Vir Das’s Standup Comedy “2 Indias” at U.S show receives strong criticisms

Vir Das is a famous Indian comedian, actor, and even a comedy musician. He has appeared in many Bollywood movies like Delhi Belly, Badmaash Company, and Go Goa Gone. In the year 2017, he was also featured in the Netflix movie Abroad Understanding. He has even written comedy columns for the following newspapers and magazines, including Femina, Maxim, Exotica, DNA, and Tehelka.

 Recently, Vir Das has performed in a Kennedy Center theatre in Washington D.C., where he narrated a monologue. He covered a topic of binary India- he shared his honest opinion about the real truth of our country. However, his monologue was not well-appreciated by the people of his home country. The opinions seem to be mixed. Many people appraised him for his brutal honesty. But, a lot of people were disappointed about his statements. Let us know the details about Vir Das’s monologue in the Kennedy Comedy Centre and what consequences will his bold statement have on his career.

What was Vir Das’s monologue about?

Vir Das took to his Youtube handle on November 15 and posted a six minutes video titled “I come from two Indias’. He also shared the monologue as his recent performance in the John F. Kennedy Center held at Washington D.C. The topic has talked about the real India.

 It gives a clear distinction between the India we imagine and the India we live in. He has not been hesitant to share the brutal truth about our nation. He has covered several important as well as controversial topics that have taken place in our country for the last few months. This includes the farmer protests, the battle against Covid-19, the duality for Indian women, where he particularly mentioned the issue of rape, and the repression of the comedians.

 In the duality regarding women, he has talked about how women are treated in their own country. The goddesses are worshipped and respected throughout the day, and the women are raped at night. This is the brutal truth of our nation.

 Every nine out of ten women have faced issues of sexual assault and are uncomfortable living independently in their own place. The safety of women is often questioned in our country. No matter how much truth his monologue holds, it has intrigued most of the people of our nation, especially the right-wingers.

Different personalities reply to his monologue.

Many people have not hesitated to express their opinions regarding his monologue. While some appreciated his brutal honesty, others disregarded him and stated that he should be punished for his intolerant statements. As the issue gathered limelight, many celebrities came upfront and shared their opinions.

Mr Sibal expressed that it is evident that there are two Indias. However, we do not want to share it with the world through an Indian. Indians are intolerant and hypocrites in a way.

Mr Shashi Tharoor’s reply was different. He appreciated Vir Das for his utmost honesty and praised him for standing true to the moral meaning of “stand-up”. He has taken a stand for millions of people and really stood up for them. Mr Tharoor tweeted regarding his opinion.

Mr Singhvi, who is also a party colleague of Mr Shashi Tharoor, has also satiated that generalizing the evils of a few individuals and putting a disgrace to the whole nation in front of the world is unfair. He has also compared Vir Das to the people who have showcased India as a place of Luteras and appears under British rule. 

Ms Moitra, who is the MP of the Trinamool party, has also stated that the reaction to Vir Das’s monologue clearly marks Two Indias: a part of India is laughing at the piece of the satire while the other India is filing complaints against his views. 

Many movie stars have also expressed their opinion and saluted him for having the courage and speaking the truth about his countries. This includes the Hindi filmmaker Hansal Mehta and the actor-producer Pooja Bhatt.

Mr Hansal has posted that he belonged from an India where people require the courage to do what Mr Vir Das did. He also belonged from the same India where people praised other people’s courage but still chose to remain silent. Ms Bhatt agreed to the statement and said she was amused by the crowd who cheered over Vir Das’s monologue and their heartfelt reactions. The audience cheered for the India that chooses love over hatred and shows decency and dignity despite all the hidden fears and struggles. One can shamelessly cry for himself while laughing for himself at the same time. 

Kangana Ranaut, who is often known for her controversies and unfiltered opinions, has not kept silent. She has also shared her displeasure with Vir Das’s speech. SWhe has referred to his monologue with “soft terrorism”. Let me remind you, and she recently made her name in the headlines as she condemned the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters and referred to their sacrifices as alms. 

She has shared his post on her respective Twitter handle and said that Vir Das had put the blame on Indians’ sex drive for the high mortality rate and because of hunger. His creative works should be called soft terrorism, and strict actions should be taken against him. 

She has also compared his monologue with Mr Winston Churchill’s quote and said that when people generalize all Indian men as gang rapists, it will lead to bullying and racism all over the world. 

Complaints filed against Vir Das:

Mr Jha, who is the vice-president of the BJP party, has also shared an indifferent opinion like Kangana Ranaut. He has mentioned that he has filed a complaint against Vir Das for his derogatory statements. Deputy Commissioner of the police, Deepak Yadav, has assured that a complaint was filed against Vir Das, and they will conduct an inquiry into the case.

Mr Dubey, who is a Mumbai lawyer and even the legal advisor of BJP- Maharashtra Palghar district, has also revealed that he has filed a complaint against Vir das to the Mumbai police. He has also criticized Mr Tharoor’s tweets.

Clarification made by Vir Das:

On November 16, Vir Das has shared a clarification and said bringing disgrace to his nation was not his intention. He just wanted to make his point that despite his country having its fair share of struggle is a great country. 

He also asked the people not to be fooled by the edited snippets. The audience were cheering him in the crowd and looked at him with love and not in the form of hatred or disrespect. He said that he takes pride in his country and takes it with him around the world. He also cleared that his video was a satire and was not intended to insult his country. Like every nation, India has its own good and bad parts. The video ensures us the fact that we are great and never forget the roots that made us great.

Our country is indeed a diverse country with different perspectives and opinions. We perceive jokes in a different way. Nevertheless, no matter how many struggles we share, we are a great country and take immense pride in inhabiting a diverse nation. But. We should reflect on our country’s shortcomings and address the concerns so that it becomes a better place for the people to live in.