Indian comedian Vir Das has landed in hot waters over his monologue comedy video which has gone viral on social media. The satire comedy clip not only prompted criticism but Mumbai police have also received numerous complaints against him.
If you’re wondering why would a piece of the light-entertainment draw so much criticism, that’s because it was based on truth. Vir Das, who is nominated for the International Emmys Awards 2021, is facing backlash in his own country for exposing the true face of India.
Vir Das shared a six-minute video on YouTube on Tuesday of one of his shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Das recited a poem entitled “I am from two India” in which he satirized the conflicting social attitudes in the country.
“I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during the night.”
“I come from an India where the AQI (air quality index) is 9,000 but we still sleep on the roof and look at the stars.”
“I come from an India where we take pride in being vegetarian, and yet run over the farmers who grow our vegetables.”
“I come from an India where you can hear our (comedians’) laughter outside the house and where the walls of comedy clubs are broken because laughter is coming from inside.”
If you take off the lens of Indian pseudo-nationalism and neo-fascism, Vir Das has spoken nothing but the truth about some of the most critical issues in India. Violence against women is not a news in India, New Delhi is in the race of world’s most polluted cities, an Indian minister drove his car into protesting farmers killing at least eight the last month, and the recent bashing Vir Das has received over his video just validates his last point.
Vir Das is being lauded for his “truth-telling” of India by some, while most Indians have accused him of tarnishing India’s international image. Freedom of speech has lost credibility in India especially since the Modi-led BJP rule. From “waging war on India from a foreign land” to putting democracy in “jeopardy”, Indians are seeing a terrorist in a comedian for simply telling the truth.
Leave a Reply