Vir Das is an Indian comedian, actor and musician. After beginning a career in standup comedy, Das moved to Hindi cinema starring in films like Badmaash Company (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), and Go Goa Gone (2013) in supporting roles. In 2017, he performed the Netflix special Abroad Understanding. Das has appeared in approximately 35 plays, over 100 stand-up comedy shows, 18 films, eight TV shows and six comedy specials. He has written comedic columns for Femina, Maxim, Exotica, DNA and Tehelka. In 2019, he made his debut in American television with the television series, Whiskey Cavalier. In 2017, he performed the Netflix special Abroad Understanding.He won the 2023 International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series for the Netflix comedy special Vir Das: Landing.

Personal life

Vir Das was born to Ranu Das and Madhur Das in Dehradun on 31 May 1979. He was raised in Nigeria and India. In Nigeria, he attended the Indian Language School in Lagos, Nigeria. In India, he attended The Lawrence School, Sanawar and Delhi Public School, Noida. After 18 months at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi he went to the United States. There he obtained a bachelor's degree from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois in Economics and Theatre with a concentration in performance. After graduating from Knox, Das was accepted into the Harvard University's and Moscow Arts Theatre for their joint Stanislavsky Program. He has a sister Trisha, who is four years elder to him and is a published author and a documentary filmmaker. He has claimed in one of his shows that his grandfather was a Padma Shri awardee from Bengal. He married his girlfriend of five years, Shivani Mathur, in October 2014.

Controversies

Vir Das Two Indias

In November 2021, Das performed a comedy monologue at the Kennedy Center called "Two Indias". He contrasted India's rich vs. poor, criticised politicians and democratic backsliding, and noted divisions over Bollywood films and cricket teams. On the topic of women, he remarked: "I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them at night." The performance received a standing ovation, but Indian politicians filed seven police complaints against Das, including for insulting India on foreign soil.

Vir Das, Netflix v AGP World

In November 2022, Mumbai police issued an FIR against Vir Das and two other persons and online streaming platform Netflix on charges of copyright rules violation, following a complaint by noted theatre producer Ashvin Gidwani of AGP World that Das re-used material from his previous show in his Netflix special.

Career

• He began his career with a gig at one of the premier hotel in New Delhi with a performance titled "Walking on Broken Das".
• Das started his career on TV when he hosted two TV shows on Zoom. The first one was Is Route Ki Sabhin Linein Maast Hain where he was an agony uncle. The second was his own stand-up comedy late night show Ek Rahin Vir. Das also hosted Top Drive - Getaway for Star World.
• Das has appeared on a variety of comedic television programs. He hosted Cricket Firsts, a sports comedy show on Zee Sports (now TEN Action+). He did improvisational comedy on SAB TV's Lo Kar Lo Baat. He was an addition to the cast of The Great Indian Comedy Show on STAR One. He can be seen anchoring Now Not Showing on CNN-IBN.
• Das is the host of News on the Loose, his own news comedy show on CNBC-TV18. News on the Loose was given its own weekly half-hour special News On The Loose — Weekend on CNBC-TV18.
• Das was cast as the comic relief in The Curse of King Tut's Tomb, a Hallmark mini-series filmed in India. He began filming for his first two Bollywood roles in early 2006. He played a small role Vipul Shah's 2007 movie Namastey London.
• Vir Das has also worked with Ashvin Gidwani Productions-AGP on stand-up shows like Walking on Broken Das, Battle of Da Sexes, and History of India: VIRitten, which he wrote and directed.
• He performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011 and in 2022.
• On 25 April 2017, Das's Netflix special Abroad Understanding was released, in the process becoming the first Indian comedian with a comedy special on the platform.
• In June 2017 Das was named one of Variety's "10 Comics to Watch for 2017."
• In December 2018, Das released his second Netflix comedy special, entitled Losing It.
• In 2019, Das released his travel-cum-comedy show Jestination Unknown where he explores how Indians see humour along with a couple of other stand-up comedians and celebrities.
• He starred opposite Preity Zinta in a Fresh Off the Boat episode titled "The Magic Motor Inn". He plays the patriarch of an Indian family. Das's onscreen family will be at the center of the plot of the official spin-off of the same show.
• During the lockdown in 2020 he was on Netflix in a one-hour special called Vir Das: Outside In.
• On 12 November 2021, Das performed a monologue titled "Two Indias" at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
• On 29 January 2023, Das appeared on the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast and discussed faking appendicitis as a child, the first laugh he ever got on stage, the controversy over his "Two Indias" monologue, and his new special Vir Das: Landing.

Awards and Achievements

• IWM Digital Awards
  2021 Jury Award Best Actor in a Comic Role in a Web Series Hasmukh (2020)
• Talent Track Awards
  2021 Digital Movies & TV Series Award Best Stand-up Artist Vir Das: For India (2020)

Facts

• At his alma mater, Knox College in Illinois, Vir Das received an honorary doctorate last year. It's an honour from a prestigious international educational institution that very few Indian artists have received.
• Early in 2016, it was announced that Vir Das had signed with one of the biggest talent agencies in the world, CAA in Los Angeles, becoming the first Indian comedian to do so. After Priyanka Chopra, Vir Das was the second Indian to sign with CAA. Shortly after, he became the first Indian comedian to sign with Levity for his comedy work, a name that is associated with Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, and many other names in the comedy space.
• In 2017, Vir Das was listed in Variety Magazine's coveted list of the top 10 comedians to watch for. Variety Magazine compiles a list of the world's most in-demand comedians every year.
• As the first Indian to ever sign a deal with Netflix for a comedy special with international understanding, Vir Das made history. This comedy special, which was shot in New York and New Delhi, was broadcast on Netflix in more than 100 nations. Abroad Understanding rose to prominence on Netflix as one of its most popular and lucrative programmes. Losing It, his most recent special, was also well-received throughout the world.
• In 2017, Vir Das made history by embarking on the first-ever world tour by a comedian, visiting 32 nations on 6 continents. The Boarding Das was the largest world tour undertaken by an Indian comedian to date.
• Upon asking, First and foremost, please tell us how you got into stand-up comedy, Vir Das stated 'In the United States, I was in a very serious acting programme. It has a'sit in a circle and cry all day' vibe to it. I wanted something a little more rebellious and organic, so I began writing jokes. I knew I was hooked for life the first time a joke landed and I got a laugh.'