{"id":7466,"date":"2016-07-20T08:54:09","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T03:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466"},"modified":"2016-07-20T08:54:09","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T03:24:09","slug":"vir-das-two-indias-kangana-ranaut-monologue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7466","title":{"rendered":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees"},"content":{"rendered":"\nV<\/span>ir Das knew exactly what he was in for when he delivered his \u201cI Come From 2 Indias\u201d monologue. He knew that it would grab the eyeballs of foreigners who have no other work but to indulge in some India-centred schadenfreude. Vir Das knew exactly how the audience at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, DC) would cheer him as he used irony to tug at their heartstrings. Of all the fodder he could\u2019ve harnessed for his half-funny jokes, he decided that deriding India\u2019s most inconsequential stories would be hilarious for a predominantly desi audience; one that yearns for an American Dream-based idea of India but won\u2019t actively help in building it, even as it quietly reaps the welfare benefits of being American.\n\nVir Dar knew exactly how the optics of his satirical trip would play out in the media, as the most offended experts would extol the virtues of nationalistic pride and the trolls on social media would froth with excitement. After all, how dare he make generalisations about inconvenient issues like rape, rising living costs and farmer protests?\n\n

Vir Das knew exactly how idiotic the timing is, to take jibes at distractions like soaring petrol prices and safety for women when Aryan Khan is out on bail, Rhea Chakraborty has not resurfaced, and smaller drug trails are to be chased?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nVir Das knew exactly how idiotic the timing is, to take jibes at distractions like soaring petrol prices and safety for women when Aryan Khan is out on bail, Rhea Chakraborty has not resurfaced, and smaller drug trails are to be chased? Doesn\u2019t Vir know that just like \u201csickularism\u201d is a revolting \u201clibtard idea\u201d, freedom of expression is an outdated and should be removed from the Constitution. That it has no relevance in the modern, demonetised and demoralised India of today. Ask Kangana Ranaut.\n\nWho is this Vir Das anyway? Just some diminutive man with an attitude no one cares about and performances that aren\u2019t even effective most of the time. He\u2019s essentially Kangana without the National Awards; the loose cannon without the legitimacy of the powers that back her. He says these uncomfortable things and thinks that by setting them to rhythm and meter, he\u2019s some modern day Vikram Seth. No, he isn\u2019t. He\u2019s just another Swara Bhasker, saying it as he sees it and not caring about the repercussions this could have (and it always does, rather frighteningly) on his own family.\n\n

Vir Das knew exactly how irony is so lost on people who are not accustomed to having a laugh at their own expense.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nYet, Vir Das knew exactly how the lawyers who will not do pro bono work for genuine social causes like those of the farmers or sexual harassment, will quickly file complaints of derogatory speech and slander. Vir Das knew exactly how irony is so lost on people who are not accustomed to having a laugh at their own expense. We cry about our image but do little to manufacture another. A bit like Australia on the cricket field. We laugh and sledge at everyone else, but should the joke be on us (which very often it is because of our own follies), we\u2019re uncomfortable. So, we complain and rant to the mums (read: authorities\/government) in our lives who then swoop in to defend their laadla spoilt bachchas who have not been taught to tolerate a contrarian viewpoint.\n\nOne would imagine writing jokes has a lot to do with understanding one\u2019s audience and crafting speeches that would be most effective in reaching out to them. So, in all his wisdom, Das decided that writing about the beauty of India\u2019s dichotomy will actually sound poetic to the ears of people who are tone-deaf about the country they see, and the one that exists.\u00a0 Because their idea of patriotism is like that Indian cricket team-supporting NRI who moved to England for better prospects. The point is that just like Kangana, Das has the right to believe in his own idea of India, however flawed or contrarian to a majoritarian perspective.\n\nVir is a coward for presenting a nuanced satirical speech on irony because we\u2019re a country that talks of educational policies from a ministry that openly accepts leaders who believe education is elitist and overrated. Either this comes from a genuine lack of material for jokes or more woefully, from a space of young romance, conviction and heartfelt optimism about love being unconditional\u2014with warts et al. Wistfully, Vir speaks of the two diametrically opposite halves of this India like a mature man who embraces all facets of a whole.\n\n

Wistfully, Vir speaks of the two diametrically opposite halves of this India like a mature man who embraces all facets of a whole.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nHe comes from an India that praises Kangana Ranaut\u2019s years of venom as freedom of expression, yet it cannot handle a 6-minute assessment of the country\u2019s current affairs. He comes from an India that is offended by his gangrape at night comment but issues rape and death threats to his family in the day.\u00a0 Vir is every one of us but he\u2019s also none of us. After all, he comes from an India that can threaten his existence, but also and India that believes everything he said, was well within his rights.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[1284,11466,5743,11467],"class_list":["post-7466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pov","tag-kangana-ranaut","tag-two-indias","tag-vir-das","tag-vir-das-monologue"],"yoast_head":"\nLike Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lakshmi Govindrajan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lakshmi Govindrajan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lakshmi Govindrajan\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb\"},\"headline\":\"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466\"},\"wordCount\":917,\"keywords\":[\"Kangana Ranaut\",\"Two Indias\",\"vir das\",\"Vir Das Monologue\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466\",\"name\":\"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb\"},\"description\":\"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7466#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb\",\"name\":\"Lakshmi Govindrajan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lakshmi Govindrajan\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=445\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees","description":"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees","og_description":"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00","author":"Lakshmi Govindrajan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees","twitter_description":"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lakshmi Govindrajan","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466"},"author":{"name":"Lakshmi Govindrajan","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb"},"headline":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees","datePublished":"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466"},"wordCount":917,"keywords":["Kangana Ranaut","Two Indias","vir das","Vir Das Monologue"],"articleSection":["POV"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466","name":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-07-20T03:24:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb"},"description":"Vir Das has made the culpable mistake of saying out loud, what he felt. But like Kangana Ranaut, however fictional or provocative, Das must be allowed the right to believe in the India that he sees.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7466#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Like Kangana, Vir Das should be allowed the right to believe in the India he sees"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/652dcb3e2dba66f39f91cd65222f53eb","name":"Lakshmi Govindrajan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fcac441b661c3343f664644c63467b0f009b80c08c25c3377938dedfc5611dbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lakshmi Govindrajan"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=445"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}