Comedian Vir Das issues clarification; critics remind him of his Mastizaade days [details]

On Monday, November 15, comedian Vir Das took to his Youtube page to share one of his recent feats; one that he would have felt really proud of. Titled 'I come from two Indias', the almost 7-minute video shows Vir staging his apparently comic act at the John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts.

Das's stand-up comedy act which sounded more like a poetic account of the country he hails from, filled with satire didn't go down very well with a certain section of the social media users. Especially after a short edited snippet from the 7-minute long video went viral. In the snippet, only parts of Vir Das's complete act that criticized India were highlighted.

A day later, following extreme reactions, the comedian and actor issued a public clarification to ease the situation with fans. In his long note, he pleaded to the audiences that the video is a satire about the duality of two very separate Indias that do different things and one shouldn't be fooled by edited snippets.

Das's recent performance at the Kennedy Centre has received more than 3,20,000 views and 55k likes on his YouTube page. Yet, parts of it haven't gone down well with followers who think influencers like Vir are the reason behind India's snake charmer image and Das is no authority to speak on behalf of billions of Indians. A few Twitter users shared a poster of Das's film in the past that grossly objectified women. 

Earlier in June this year, another Indian comedian, Kunal Kamra was heavily trolled on social media after his opinion piece in the New York Times criticizing the Indian government's Covid-19 management went viral. 

The six-minute video titled "Modi Caused a Covid Massacre," according to the NYTimes Youtube page, accused the nation's leadership, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of putting political vanity before "common sense" and opening the door to a devastating resurgence of coronavirus infections that devastated the country.