Vir Das: I come from a pure place

In his first press interaction since his comedy clip fired up India’s outrage industry, Vir Das says ‘he’s just a guy with a mic, making jokes’

Stand-up comedian Vir Das is currently in New York City. A big night awaits him at the Big Apple, as we speak. The International Emmy Awards is 24 hours away, where Das is nominated for Best Comedy, for his Netflix stand-up special, Vir Das: For India.

Which also means he’s single-handedly competing with full-on shows, such as Call My Agent (Season 4), in the same global category. Also making him the first Indian stand-up comedian to be honoured thus. 

The Two Indias clip was part of Das’s performance in Washington DC

While this should make India proud, as it certainly does, Das’s big moment is also sort of eclipsed by anxiety over the massive outrage directed against him, in both social media and television news, ever since he shared a short stand-up comedy clip last week on his personal YouTube channel.

The routine was from his performance in Washington DC, during an ongoing US tour. Along with virtual threats, there has also been vocal support for his freedom of expression in the same platforms. On his part, he has posted a clarification on the intent of his video.

The monologue was an attempt at satire, expressing dichotomy of two Indias, both bright and dark, that reside within one country. Das sounds understandably guarded, as we meet him at a New York City hotel — as part of the press interview for his Netflix special’s Emmy nomination. Also understandable that the quick conversation we have is centred on that clip instead.

Vir Das in the Two Indias video

One day, one (five-odd minutes’) video. Just take us through what has happened since.
I put [the video] up. And there has been a response. It has been humbling to receive love from everywhere in the world.

Did you foresee the consequences, or likely impact — from ministers in government to leaders from the opposition, everyone’s had their say on it since.
Look, laughter is a celebration. And I think any Indian, with a sense of humour, who understands satire, and who watched my entire video — which is a large group of people — knows that’s what happened in that room. That’s what I’m focusing on. 

When you say, watched the entire video, you mean the larger act, of which the clip you put out was only a part?
I mean the video that ends with a gigantic round of applause, for our country — people celebrating our country. That’s a beautiful thing.

Not just with you, but do you think the community of (stand-up) comedians are taken more seriously, than even journalists — when it comes to speaking truth, and not just to power?
Our only job is to make people laugh. You’re a journalist — you tell me if we [stand-up comedians] are being taken more seriously, or not. You have a very important job. Mine is just to tell jokes. That’s it. I’m just a guy with a mic.

Did the reactions freak you out though, with stuff that happened after the video was out?
Define ‘freak me out’? 

As in something you hadn’t imagined. Or, actually, just tell me what went through your head.
I think as an artiste, you have to humbly accept every kind of feedback. And I humbly do. Because that’s everybody’s right. All you can do [thereafter] is continue to focus on being an artiste. And know that you come from a pure place. I think that’s pretty evident in my work — that I come from a pure place. 

Do you also believe that as an artiste, it is your job to express what you feel, and say it the way you see it?
Every artiste does that at some level — whether a musician, or author — you just express your experience of day, or month, etc. Comedy is just about things. 

Your refrain from the clip, “I come from an India…” has gone beyond a meme — turned into something larger (either way). 
Man, if I made some people laugh or smile, I’m happy.

What about those you made angry?
There are two responses to a joke — if you laugh, you keep watching. If not, you stop. And if you didn’t laugh, I hope you find something else that gives you joy. 

There was self-referencing in that act itself. Which is the bit where you talk about how a lot of people would think that what you’re telling is not a joke. Do you feel the stand-up comedy scene, globally, is becoming more and more about Op-Ed commentary, rather than cracking jokes for the heck of it?
I don’t think any comedian goes up on stage with that intention. We just write jokes. Which creates conversation. Then people have that conversation. But you create the art with the intention of making people happy. 

Sure, but there are all kinds of comedy — observational, situational, commentary...
But over a couple of hours of a show — you see all of the other types of comedy as well. No comedian does only one thing. 

Do you think though — that mess, being the message — a more confessional kinda comedy is what you’d do?
I just go ahead and do what I think is funny. I don’t think we give ourselves any self-importance, whatsoever. My job is to make fun of myself, to make you feel better — to send you home on a cloud, that’s it.

Do you think the idea of people constantly taking offence to everything hurts comedy badly?
No. Any joke will have the ‘laughter’ and ‘no laughter’. And there’s the third kind of response as well. But if there are enough people laughing at your joke, feeling good for what you’re doing — keep going. 

What’s the third kind of response?
You get angry, etc — in which case, you [should] find something that you wanna laugh with. And focus on that. Focus on what you love, or makes you happy. That’s it. 

Do you notice a culture of people constantly getting all heated up about one thing, and swiftly moving on to the next thing to get heated up about?
I think so. There will be something else, and someone else, and something else, and someone else…. And for the ‘something else’ and ‘someone else’ — I [just] hope that they’re okay. 

Are you okay?
I hope to be, some day.

Responses that Das’s set evoked on Twitter

>> “Vir Das goes to the USA and says this to a packed Kennedy Center. These are the “influencers” of our country who continue to perpetuate the “snake charmer” idea of India to the world!””
>> “I come from a India where I bash the country in the day and apologise in the night and get away with it.”
>> “It is a shame that such people call themselves Indians and then for some money, tarnish the honour of their country.”

Also Read: Vir Das: Win or lose, it’s nice to have my culture up there

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