“I Come From 2 Indias”: 2 Complaints Filed Against Comedian Vir Das Over Monologue At John F. Kennedy Center

A monologue video that was shared among the masses has invited flak to the one who comes up with it. Two complaints have been filed against actor and standup comedian Vir Das for his viral monologue “I COME FROM TWO INDIAS” for derogatory statements and insulting India in the USA.

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The monologue titled “I Come From Two Indias” was performed in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In the six-minute video, comedian Vir Das talks about the most topical issues in India including farmers’ protests, gangrapes, Covid-19, and targeting of the comedians.

The first complaint has been filed by a lawyer Ashutosh Dubey with the Mumbai police. He is the legal advisor of BJP-Maharashtra Palghar District.

The second complaint has been filed in Delhi’s Tilak Marg Police station.

Clarification by Vir Das

After comedian faced severe backlash, he posted a clarification statement on Twitter which says,

“There has been a sizeable reaction to a video I posted on YouTube. The video is a satire about the duality of two very separate India’s that do different things. Like any nation has light and dark, good and evil within it. None of this is a secret.

The video appeals for us to never forget that we are great. To never stop focusing on what makes us great. It ends in a gigantic patriotic round of applause for a country we all love, believe in, and are proud of. That there is more to our country than the headlines, a deep beauty. THAT’S the point of the video and the reason for the applause.

Please do not be fooled by edited snippets.

People cheer for India with hope, not hate. People clap for India with respect, not malice. You cannot sell tickets, earn applause, or represent a great people with negativity, only with pride.

I take pride in my country, and I carry that pride across the world. To me, a room full of people anywhere in the world, giving India an ovation is pure love.

I ask of you, the same thing I asked of that audience… to focus on the light, remember our greatness, and spread the love.”

We Know Which India This Complaint Comes From: Shashi Tharoor

“I Come From An India” Monologue by Vir Das

“I come from which India?

I come from two Indias. Those are the Indias I bring on stage with me right now.

I come from an India where children in masks hold hands with each other and yet I come from an India where leaders hug each other without masks.

I come from an India where the AQI is 9000 but we will still sleep on the roof and look up at the stars.

I come from India where we worship women during the day and gangrape them at night.

I come from an India where we claim to be divided over Bollywood on Twitter and yet are united by Bollywood in the darkness of a theatre.

I come from an India where we scoff at sexuality and yet F*** till we reach a billion people.

I come from an India where journalism is supposedly dead because men in fancy studios, in fancy suits, give each other handjobs and yet women on the road with laptops are still telling the truth.

I come from an India where we bleed blue every time we play green. But every time we loose to green, we turn orange all of a sudden.

I come from an India where we laugh so loudly in the comfort of our own homes that you can hear us through the walls, and yet I come from an India where we break down the walls of a comedy club because you can hear laughter inside.

I come from an India where old leaders will not stop talking about their dead fathers and young leaders will not stop following their living mothers.

I come from an India that has the largest working population under 30 on the planet but still listen to 75 year old leaders with 150-year old ideas.

I come from an India where every time we get the information we are always available to care for the PM but we cannot seem to get any information on PM CARES.

I come from an India where we kicked out the British but yet we call the govt the ruling party.

I come from an India where women wear saris and sneakers and yet have to take advice from old men who have never worn a saree and will never get to take one off in their entire lives.

I come from an India where our music is Bahut (very) Hard but our sentiments are Bahut soft.

I come from an India where people sleep outside on the road outside the club but man 20 times a year, the road is the club.

I come from an India where we take pride in being vegetarians and yet run over the farmers who grow our vegetables.

I come from an India where we claim to fully support the troops until it comes to their pension plans.

I come from an India where we can never be on time no matter where we go. But yet we are always early on the Cowin website for some reason.

I come from an India where we have maid and drivers and yet want to come to America to do their job.

I come from an India that self serves and I come from an India that self preserves.

I come from an India that will not shut up. I come from an India that will not speak up.

I come from an India that will accuse me of airing our dirty laundry and yet I come from an India that wears their heart on their sleeve irrespective of how dirty our clothes are.

I come from an India that tells me every single day to go to Pakistan and yet I also come from an India that invited Pakistanis over every single day. If only to whoop their a$$ on a cricket field.

I come from an India that is going to watch this and say ‘This is not comedy. Where is the goddam joke?’ and yet I come from an India that will watch this and know there is a gigantic joke. It just isn’t funny.

I come from an India where children living in basements and writing on comment sections have more courage than men in skyscrapers.

I come from an India that is Hindu and Muslim; and Christian; and Sikh; and Parsi; and Jew; and when we all look up at the sky, we only see one thing together – the price of PETROL.

I leave you tonight and go back to that India. Which India do I go back to? Both of them.

Which India am I proud of? One of them.

Which India is proud of me? NONE of them.

I wanted to do this because we are at the Kennedy Center. You know this is a dream for an artist. It’s been mine for a very long time. And the reason it’s a dream because you get to see great people here. You get to see greatness on this stage and this whole room was built for a great man, in this memory.

But as I stand here before you, I am reminded that I represent a great people. Great people who built a great thing that is turning into a memory and I know that you believe in that India like I believe in that India. Because I see it in your eyes and you are in this room tonight.

So, before I leave your country, I will leave this stage and I will put the camera on you and make some noise for the India you want to live in. Because I promise you that this is the Kennedy Center but tonight this is our f***ing house.

Make some noise for India.“