Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, actors Richa Chadha, Ashwin Mushran and many others have taken to social media to applaud Vir Das' recent piece, 'Two Indias'. Das narrated the poem after his performance at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC. Right from COVID-19 to the price of petrol and the communalism that has gripped the country, Das highlighted the duality we are all living in.
Sharing the video Hansal Mehta tweeted, "I was very moved by this @thevirdas. I come from an India where it needs courage for a Vir Das to say this, I come from an India where many of us admire this courage, yet choose to remain silent".
Responding to a tweet criticising Das for his poem Richa Chadha tweeted, "Gentle reminder that the pursuit of azaadi must also free us from all-season RWA presidents masquerading as politicos. The ‘national image’ argument is irrelevant, when brutal crimes make global headlines and the country has fallen several ranks in ALL indices".
Actor Ashwin Mushran shared Das' statement asking people not to fall for edited snippets of the video. Mushran highlighted that there's one India that "sits through 6 minutes of a video and the other who rushes through 15 seconds of an edited one of the same".
After the video went viral, journalists, stand-up comedians and a host of other people have started writing about the 'two Indias' we live in.
Complaints Against Vir Das
There was a huge outrage following Das' monologue. Two complaints have been filed against the comedian for for "derogatory statements against India".
'Don't Be Fooled by Edited Snippets'
Das released a statement on Tuesday, 16 November, asking people not to be 'fooled by edited snippets' doing the rounds. He clarified that the piece isn't intended to insult the country.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)