'There are court cases inside the envelope': Vir Das roasts cancel culture in India vs the West

Vir Das shared a snippet from his standup performance where he talked about how differently cancel culture works in the East and the West.

Updated on: Sep 20, 2025, 14:31:30 IST

By Santanu Das

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Actor-comedian Vir Das isn't holding back his thoughts on how cancel culture works differently in the West and in India. Vir shared his thoughts on cancel culture during a recent stand-up comedy performance, a snippet of which he posted on his Instagram account on Saturday. (Also read: Vir Das says he gets described like Covid-19 by the paparazzi, fans love his hilarious acceptance speech at IFFM 2025)

Actor-comedian Vir Das talked about cancel culture.

What Vir said

Vir began on stage, overlooking hundreds of attendees at the show: "Please don't cancel me, I apologise! It would really interfere with my incarceration. This is the big Western comic complaint. I was with an American comic. He is like, 'Vir, cancel culture is insane! The other day a mob came after me. A mob on Twitter!”

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A post shared by Vir Das (@virdas)

‘There are court cases inside the envelope’

As the audience giggled, Vir went on to gesture, calling the person up close and then giving him a kick. He then added, “It's like telling the freshly castrated that your balls itch! The most annoying article I ever read in the West is that why doesn't Indian comedy content push the envelope. Really b***h? Because we looked inside the envelope! There are court cases inside the envelope. There is a court date on top of the envelope.”

Vir has had his share of court cases and legal trouble over the last few years. In 2021, Vir sparked a controversy in India with a storm of criticism and a police complaint filed against him for allegedly insulting the country for talking about the “two Indias” he hailed from, taking on issues such as women’s safety, Covid-19, pollution and the farmer’s protest.

The Netflix series Hasmukh, featuring him, faced a legal challenge in 2020 from lawyers who filed a lawsuit and a legal notice alleging that the show's content, particularly in episode four, maligned and defamed the legal profession.

Fool Volume, Vir's latest standup special, was released on Netflix on July 18.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Santanu Das
Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’. A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic. When not watching films or speaking to celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own. Santanu continues to write passionately about films and celebrity culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience. Find him on LinkedIn: santanudasfilm Instagram: @santupechaRead More

Vir Das

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