Right-wing outfit, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, has filed a complaint against comedian Vir Das and demanded that his show in Bengaluru on November 10 be cancelled.
The comedian is on 'THE WANTED TOUR' in India and is supposed to perform in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. His first show of the tour is supposed to be in Bengaluru.
Why the complaint?
The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in its complaint claimed that Vir Das was a "controversial comedian" who denigrated India during his performance at the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC in 2021. The complaint filed at Vyalikaval police station by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti Karnataka spokesperson Mohan Gowda said that the comedian had hurt religious sentiments.
The complaint, a copy of which was shared by NDTV on Twitter, reads, "He had said that 'In India, we worship women in the day and rape them at night' during the performance."
The complaint said that because of this Das should not be allowed to hold a programme in a "communally sensitive area like Bangalore".
"When Karnataka is already facing many law and order problem due to communal accidents, such events which would vitiate the law and order (situation) and should not be allowed. We demand that this program should be canceled immediately," the complaint to the police said.
What was the 'I come from two Indias' show?
The 'I come from two Indias' show was shared on YouTube by Vir Das just about a year ago on November 15, 2021, and even then he had faced huge backlash over the monologue being "anti-India".
During the performance, Das had said, "I come from an 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."
Das was aware, even while performing, that he would be criticised for the monologue too. He has said, "I come from an India that is going to watch this and say 'This isn't standup comedy, Where is the goddamn joke?' and yet I come from an India that will watch this and know there is a gigantic joke, it just isn't funny."
His performance prompted Madhya Pradesh state home minister Narottam Mishra to say that he would never be allowed to perform in the state. "Such type of people like him, I call them 'vidushak' (jester) would not be allowed to perform in the state. If he (Das) apologises, we are going to think over it," PTI had quoted Mishra as saying.
Amid the backlash, Das had said that told NDTV in an interview that he had devoted his life to writing about his country and would keep writing jokes. He said, "I have made my country laugh for 10 years now. I have devoted my life to writing about my country. We are here at the Emmys because I wrote a love letter to my country. As long as I am able to do my comedy I want to keep writing love letters to my country."