Vir Das

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Vir Das
Comedy musician
Years active2005–present
Spouse
Shivani Mathur
​
(m. 2014)​
Websitewww.virdas.in

Vir Das (born 31 May 1979) is an Indian comedian, actor and musician. After beginning a career in standup comedy, Das moved to

DNA and Tehelka. In 2019, he made his debut in American television with the television series, Whiskey Cavalier. He won the 2023 International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series for the Netflix comedy special Vir Das: Landing.[3]

Personal life

Vir Das was born to Ranu Das and Madhur Das in

Moscow Arts Theatre for their joint Stanislavsky Program.[8] He has a sister Trisha, who is four years elder to him and is a published author and a documentary filmmaker.[6] He has claimed in one of his shows that his grandfather was a Padma Shri awardee from Bengal.[9] He married his girlfriend of five years, Shivani Mathur, in October 2014.[10][11]

Controversies

Vir Das Two Indias

In November 2021, Das performed a comedy monologue at the

Kennedy Center called "Two Indias". He contrasted India's rich vs. poor, criticised politicians and democratic backsliding, and noted divisions over Bollywood films and cricket teams. On the topic of women, he remarked: "I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them at night." The performance received a standing ovation,[12] but Indian politicians filed seven police complaints against Das, including for insulting India on foreign soil.[13]

Vir Das, Netflix

In November 2022, Mumbai police issued an FIR against Vir Das and two other persons and online streaming platform Netflix on charges of copyright rules violation,[14] following a complaint by noted theatre producer Ashvin Gidwani of AGP World that Das re-used material from his previous show in his Netflix special.[15]

Career

He began his career with a gig at one of the premier hotels in New Delhi with a performance titled "Walking on Broken Das".[7]

Das started his career on TV when he hosted two TV shows on

Star World
.

Das has appeared on a variety of comedic television programs. He hosted Cricket Firsts, a sports comedy show on Zee Sports (now

CNN-IBN
.

Das is the host of News on the Loose, his own news comedy show on

CNBC-TV18
. News on the Loose was given its own weekly half-hour special News On The Loose — Weekend on CNBC-TV18.

Das was cast as the comic relief in

Vipul Shah's 2007 movie Namastey London
.

Vir Das has also worked with Ashvin Gidwani Productions-AGP on stand-up shows like Walking on Broken Das, Battle of Da Sexes, and History of India: VIRitten, which he wrote and directed.[16]

He performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011[17] and in 2022.[18]

On 25 April 2017, Das's Netflix special Abroad Understanding was released, in the process becoming the first Indian comedian with a comedy special on the platform.[19]

In June 2017 Das was named one of Variety's "10 Comics to Watch for 2017."[20]

In December 2018, Das released his second Netflix comedy special, entitled Losing It.[21]

In 2019, Das released his travel-cum-comedy show Jestination Unknown where he explores how Indians see humour along with a couple of other stand-up comedians and celebrities.[22]

He starred opposite Preity Zinta in a Fresh Off the Boat episode titled "The Magic Motor Inn".[23] He plays the patriarch of an Indian family. Das's onscreen family will be at the center of the plot of the official spin-off of the same show.[23]

During the lockdown in 2020 he was on Netflix in a one-hour special called Vir Das: Outside In.[24]

On 12 November 2021, Das performed a monologue titled "Two Indias" at the Kennedy Center in Washington.[25][26][27][28][29]

On 29 January 2023, Das appeared on the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast and discussed faking appendicitis as a child, the first laugh he ever got on stage, the controversy over his "Two Indias" monologue, and his new special Vir Das: Landing.[30][31]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2007 Namastey London Prospective Groom No. 2 Guest appearance
Mumbai Salsa Rajeev
2009 Love Aaj Kal Shonty
2010 Badmaash Company Chandu
2011 Delhi Belly Arup Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2013 Go Goa Gone Luv
Sooper Se Ooper Ranvir
2014 Shaadi Ke Side Effects Manav
Revolver Rani Rohan Kapoor
Amit Sahni Ki List Amit Sahni
2016 Mastizaade Aditya Chotia
Santa Banta
 Banta
31st October Devender Singh
Raakh Protagonist
Shivaay Wahab
2017 Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi Monty Tondon
2022
Sabaash Naidu
 Indian Embassy receptionist
The Bubble Ronjon

Television

Year Show Role Notes
2006 The Curse of King Tut's Tomb Jabari
2008 Mumbai Calling Call Centre Operator Seven episodes
2017 Conan (talk show) Guest
2019 Whiskey Cavalier Jai Datta Main Cast
Koffee with Karan Himself Episode: Koffee Awards 2019
2020 Fresh Off the Boat DC Episode: "The Magic Motor Inn"[32]

Web

Year Name Platform Notes
2014 Canvas Laugh Factory YouTube
2017 Abroad Understanding[33] Netflix Stand-up special
2018 Losing It Netflix Stand-up special
2019 Jestination Unknown Amazon Prime Video Comedy series
2020 Hasmukh Netflix Writer and an actor
For India Netflix Stand-up special
Vir Das: Inside Out Virdas.in Stand-up special
Vir Das: Outside In Netflix Stand-up special
2022 Vir Das: Landing Netflix Stand-up special
TBA Call Me Bae † Amazon Prime Video Filming[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pereira, Priyanka (16 November 2016). "Vir Das: No Laughing Matter". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  2. ^ Kozell, Isaac (25 April 2017). "Vir Das Has an 'Abroad Understanding'". Vulture. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. ^ "International Emmy Awards 2023: Netflix's 'Vir Das Landing' wins Best Comedy". India Today. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  4. ^ Mathur, Yashika (31 May 2017). "Happy birthday Vir Das: Celebration's going to be all about family and ghar ka khana". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Gupta, Priya (12 February 2014). "My mother tells me not to say 'penis' on stage: Vir Das". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ^
    ISSN 0099-9660
    . Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  7. ^
    ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Humour and Society, with Vir Das". Asia Society. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Where my Bengalis at?", YouTube, retrieved 6 August 2022
  10. ^ Shah, Jigar (21 January 2015). "I'm called an actor, not a comic: Vir Das". The Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  11. ^ Chatterjee, Suprateek (29 April 2017). "Review: Vir Das' 'Abroad Understanding' Is A Hit-And-Miss Affair". The Quint. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  12. ^ Comedian Vir Das causes a stir with 'two Indias' monologue
  13. ^ Frayer, Lauren (18 November 2021). "Comedian Vir Das called out sexual violence in India. Now he faces lawsuits". NPR. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Mumbai Police register FIR against comedian Vir Das, Netflix on charges of copyright infringement". The Times of India. PTI. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  15. ^ "AGP World". AGP World.
  16. ^ "Ashvin Gidwani Productions and Vir Das take the audience on a laughter ride". India Infoline. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  17. ^ Richardson, Jay (9 August 2011). "Vir Das at Edinburgh Festival Fringe". The List. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  18. ^ "They're Comedy Stars at Home. They're Nobodies at Edinburgh Fringe". New York Times. 24 August 2022.
  19. ^ Nijhawan, Meghna (27 April 2017). "Comedian Vir Das Compares Donald Trump To Arranged Marriage On US TV Show". NDTV.
  20. ^ Riley, Jenelle (13 June 2017). "Variety Announces 10 Comics to Watch for 2017". Variety. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  21. ^ Singh, Deepali (10 December 2018). "'I have worked very hard to be this exhausted': Vir Das". Daily News and Analysis.
  22. ^ Arora, Akhil (18 October 2019). "'Jestination Unknown: Vir Das, Shruti Seth & Co. Tour India and Make Jokes': Vir Das". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. ^ a b Choudhury, Bedatri (29 October 2019). "A Potential "Fresh Off The Boat"Spinoff With Preity Zinta And Vir Das". Forbes. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  24. ^ Malik, Ektaa (16 December 2020). "Vir Das Outside In The Lockdown Special review: A highly relatable Netflix special". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Comedian Vir Das causes a stir with 'two Indias' monologue". BBC News. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Indian comedian Vir Das's hard-hitting 'Two Indias' monologue lands him in trouble". DAWN Images. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  27. ^ Shih, Gerry; Masih, Niha (17 November 2021). "Indian comedian causes stir with Kennedy Center monologue". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  28. ^ Kwan, Rhoda (18 November 2021). "Comedian's tale of 'two Indias' at U.S. show sparks outrage at home". NBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  29. ^ Mogul, Rhea (18 November 2021). "Indian comedian polarizes nation with his tale of 'two Indias'". CNN. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Comedian Vir Das causes a stir with 'two Indias' monologue". BBC News. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  31. ^ "Vir Das". Earwolf. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  32. ^ IANS (23 January 2020). "Preity Zinta, Vir Das' 'Fresh Off The Boat' Episode to Premiere on Jan. 24". India West. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Vir Das's Abroad Understanding: The comedian tackles religion, racism and more in his Netflix special show". Firstpost. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Vir Das to join Ananya Panday and Gurfateh Pirzada in Call Me Bae". Bollywood Hungama. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.

External links

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