I See Myself as an Artist Because Artists Fight Back, Says Vir Das

Actor-comedian Vir Das has a clear-cut perspective towards the online outrage these days.

He says, "This is the first pandemic for everyone in this world. They are either living alone or with their parents and I think everyone is kind of done putting up with each other. They don't have any place to throw tantrums except social media. That's how I look at it."

Talking about artists being targetted for their old videos and posts, he says, "Every artist has a season to evolve. If somebody wants to take out old videos and use them out of context now, you're welcome to do that. At the end of the day, I take to freedom to say whatever I want and about whoever I want on stage, so I have to grant that freedom to others as well. But if an old video upsets you, it indicates you're stuck in the past. I don't want to be stuck in the past, I'd rather be in present or look forward to the future."

He added, "I don't see myself as being targetted, I see myself as an artist because artists fight back, targets don't."

Das wants to use comedy to usher positive changes. He will be hosting a unique unscripted crowdsourced special, Inside Out, to support charity for COVID frontline workers.

"The narrative of comedy is that it can help people. In this case by not just making them laugh but also raising money for charity.”

During the lockdown from April to June, Das did multiple virtual comedy shows for charity. People joined him from all over the world and shared their experience of the lockdown. Inside Out is derived from these charity shows.

"The entire world is facing the same problem at the same time. This is a moment in my artistic history that will probably never happen again. With a tinge of optimism, I decided to capture this rare story and help those in need."

The show will be available to stream on Vir Das’ website on August 21.