Vir Das becomes the first Indian to have his own Netflix Special

Last March when Vir Das became the first Indian comedian to headline the famous Los Angeles routine Hollywood Improv little did we know it would pave the way for more firsts on American shores One year down and Das has become the first Indian to have his own Netflix specialTitled Abroad Understanding the comedian sums it up selfindulgingly as he puts it Its an understanding of abroad as well as a broad understanding he laughs It was Netflix that spotted him during his routine and offered him a special The 75minute long show was filmed in front of a live audience of 12000 people at New Delhis Indira Gandhi Stadium and an unassuming basement in New York that had 200 peopleThe show as Das says is about a journey across the world The core idea was to keep the show Indian So long being Indian and having an Indian accent has always been the punch line never the perspective I wanted to make sure my show had an authentic Indian perspective on issues in both America and India mdash from Obamacare to racism and rise of the right wing article 377 everything It had to sound and feel like an Indian comic travelling around the world and not like a guy who wrote keeping a world audience in mind However its a mix of both personal and worldviews he clarifies I like to make fun of myself more than anybody else So from my first kiss to a life changing car accident my own life forms a large part of the routine I hope to God its funny he smilesIncidentally the show was filmed two days before Donald Trump was elected President of United States This year Netflix is doing 1015 specials all but mine were shot at that time I got a call from them saying that this was going to be their first take on Trump post his victory so I better have something original to say And considering that late night television in the US has been doing Donald Trump jokes for over two years now that was toughTheres a part in the trailer where Das is seen addressing the controversial Muslim ban This was last November I had written about the Muslim ban but wasnt sure whether or not to include it I went with my gut I thought that the wall may not be built but he Trump certainly seems crazy enough to implement the Muslim banThe comedian chose Delhi because thats his hometown It would also make me the first comedian to perform at the massive Indira Gandhi Stadium he says Why New York we ask Well New York has the toughest crowd If your joke is bad they wont laugh I wanted to prove myself to a tough crowd like that It was amusing to hear them talking about how they had never seen an Indian like that