Vir Das's ‘two India’ poetry: Politician, Bollywood react
Vir Das soon released an explanation stating that his comments weren’t intended to insult the country, and urged his followers to not fall for edited excerpts of the video
Actor-comedian Vir Das found himself in hot waters after police complaints were lodged against him in both Delhi and Mumbai for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the nation in his video “I come from two Indias”.
Das soon released an explanation stating that his comments weren’t intended to insult the country, and urged his followers to not fall for edited excerpts of the video going around on social media.
Support for the satirist is divided in the political circles, with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor heralding Das for “standing up” and speaking for millions.
“A stand-up comedian who knows the real meaning of the term "stand up" is not physical but moral -- @thevirdas spoke for millions in this 6-minute take on the Two Indias he hails from & stands up for,” Tharoor tweeted on Tuesday. However, Congress politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi did not share Tharoor’s sentiments and criticised him for "vilifying the nation".
Trinamool Congress MP Mohua Maitra and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal too came out in support of Das. Sibal supported the actor's monologue on “two Indians”, stating that the existence of “two Indias” cannot be doubted “Just that we don’t want an Indian to tell the world about it. We are intolerant and hypocritical."
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who tends to be vocal on all trending issues, did not miss the opportunity to talk about Winston Churchill, drawing a comparison between Das and the erstwhile British Prime Minister.
"He blamed Indians sex drive/fertility for the death millions because of hunger... Such creative work targeting an entire race is soft terrorism... strict action must be taken against such criminals," Ranaut posted on Instagram. However, actors Pooja Bhatt and Hansal Mehta came out in support of Das.
Das, while performing at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, spoke about topical issues like farmers protest, rapes, India’s Covid-19 response, stating that "this is a joke, but it's just not funny."
