How Twitter reacted to Vir Das' seven-minute monologue on India in Washington DC’s Kennedy Center

Comedian Vir Das is in the news again after his recent stand-up comic at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. At the end of the performance, he narrated a poem called Two Indias. The poem sees Das take on a host of issues such as intolerance, safety of women and deteriorating air quality. The performance tackled topics such as rising fuel prices, communalism and even India-Pakistan’s cricket rivalry. The sombre issues were expressed with witty descriptions, making people applaud the monologue. Das talks about both the flaws and the uniqueness of India, reminding people of both the good and bad aspects of the country. In the video, the 42-year-old stand-up comedian acknowledges that many people will not find the video funny, but some would see “that there is a gigantic joke but it isn’t funny”. He went on to say that while both versions of his country exist simultaneously, there is only one version that he is proud of. The 6.54-minute video has gone viral on social media, garnering a variety of reactions. Several users were blown away by the clip with Congress leader Digvijaya Singh calling it “an excellent satire”. Actor Shruti Seth shared the video on social media, saying that she was proud to call herself a friend of Das. Actor Nakuul Mehta also applauded Das for his performance. However, some users were displeased by the video, with several users calling out Das for his views. Many social media users said that the video showed that the comedian was only interested in criticising his country. Some users accused him of perpetuating stereotypes about India through his video. Das  has been nominated for the International Emmys this year for his comedy special Vir Das: For India. The Netflix special was nominated Colombian series Promesas de Campana, French show Call My Agent and UK’s Motherland: Christmas Special in the comedy segment. The comedy special premiered in January 2020. The awards are set to be announced at the in-person award ceremony on 22 November in New York City. Watch the monologue here