‘There are court cases inside the envelope’: Vir Das roasts cancel culture in India vs the West

Comedian and actor Vir Das isn’t holding anything when discussing how cancel culture functions differently in India versus the West. A portion of Vir’s recent stand-up comedy act, which he published on his Instagram account on Saturday, included his opinions about cancel culture.

Vir began on stage, overlooking hundreds of attendees at the show: “Please don’t cancel me, I apologise! It would really interfere with my incarceration. This is the big Western comic complaint. I was with an American comic. He is like, ‘Vir, cancel culture is insane! The other day a mob came after me. A mob on Twitter!”

As the audience giggled, Vir went on to gesture, calling the person up close and then giving him a kick. He then added, “It’s like telling the freshly castrated that your balls itch! The most annoying article I ever read in the West is that why doesn’t Indian comedy content push the envelope. Really b***h? Because we looked inside the envelope! There are court cases inside the envelope. There is a court date on top of the envelope.”

Over the past five years, Vir has experienced his fair share of court disputes and legal issues. In 2021, Vir caused a stir in India after receiving a barrage of criticism and a police report for allegedly insulting the nation by discussing the “two Indias” from which he was born, bringing up topics including pollution, Covid-19, women’s safety, and farmer protests. In 2020, lawyers filed a complaint and legal notice against the Netflix series Hasmukh, which included him, claiming that the show’s material, especially in episode four, defamed and disparaged the legal profession.

On July 18, Vir’s most recent standup special, Fool Volume, was made available on Netflix.