Police complaints were filed against stand-up comic Vir Das in Mumbai and Delhi as the sharp debate on his video 'I come from two Indias' on Wednesday mirrored the polarity of the monologue itself with celebs, politicians and a host of others speaking out.
The well-known satirist, who has issued a statement saying his comments weren't intended to insult the country, found backing from Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra as well as Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor.
However, their fellow politician Abhishek Manu Singhvi criticised him for 'vilifying the nation' and actor Kangana Ranaut stepped in too to demand strict action against the comedian.
As a host of others aired their views on social media and elsewhere, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), a film body that claims to have have over 2.5 lakh registered members, said its members won't work with Das unless he issues a public apology.
"...there is no other solution. FWICE members won't work with him. We will also request producers to not work with him in any capacity -- on a series or a film -- until this issue is resolved," FWICE president B N Tiwari told PTI.
Moving from just polemics, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party vice president Aditya Jha from Delhi and Mumbai lawyer Ashutosh J Dubey went to the police with their complaints.
While Jha alleged that Das made 'derogatory' statements at an international platform with an intention to malign the country's image, Dubey also held him responsible 'for defaming and spoiling the image of India in the USA, which is inflammatory'.
No first information reports (FIRs) have been filed as yet.
Das, who is in the United States right now, on Monday uploaded a six-minute video on YouTube titled 'I come from two Indias'. It is part of his recent performance at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC.
The Mumbai-based artiste, who has also dabbled in cinema, touched on various topics in the clip, including the farm protests, the battle against Covid, the duality in response to women, particularly rape, and the crackdown on comedians.
As the issue gathered steam, senior Congress leader Sibal on Wednesday tweeted that none can doubt that there are two Indias.
'Just that we don't want an Indian to tell the world about it. We are intolerant and hypocritical,' he tweeted.
Tharoor praised Das as a stand-up comedian who knows that the real meaning of the term 'stand up' is not physical but moral.
Das spoke for millions in the six-minute take on the 'Two Indias' he hails from and stands up for, he said on Twitter Tuesday night.
Tagging a tweet by a person who said he has filed a complaint against Das with Mumbai police, Tharoor said, 'We know which India this comes from.'
TMC MP Moitra also backed the comedian, thanking him for speaking truth about 'Two Indias'.
'Reactions also from 2 Indias -- one having a laugh & other filing complaints with police!' she tweeted.
There were also some voices of support from the Hindi film industry with filmmaker Hansal Mehta and actor-producer Pooja Bhatt hailing the comedian for his courage.
'I was moved by this @virdas. I come from an India where it needs courage for a Vir Das to say this, I come from an India where many admire this courage, yet choose to remain silent,' the director said, sharing the comedian's stand up clip.
Bhatt responded to Mehta, saying, 'You said it Hansal. I was not amused as much as I was moved-more by the audience that cheered with their heart for the India that chooses love over hate & shows great dignity & decency in the face of suffering & despair. One that can unashamedly cry for itself yet laugh at itself.'
There were plenty of voices on the other side too, reflecting the deep schisms in the discourse.
Congress leader Singhvi hit out at Das, saying that 'generalising the evils of a few individuals and vilifying the nation as a whole in front of the world is just not done'.
'The people who painted India in front of the west as a nation of saperas and luteras during the colonial rule have not ceased to exist,' the Rajya Sabha MP said on Twitter using the hashtag 'VirDas'.
Actor Ranaut, known for her often incendiary comments and facing a backlash for her comment that India's Independence was 'bheekh', said Das' remarks were 'soft terrorism'.
'When you generalise all Indian men as gang rapists it gives rise and encouragement to racism and bullying against Indians all over the world,' she said, comparing Das' remarks to Winston Churchill's infamous comments after the Bengal famine.
'He blamed Indians sex drive/fertility for the death millions because of hunger... Such creative work targeting an entire race is soft terrorism... strict action must be taken against such criminals,' Ranaut posted on her Insta stories while tagging Das.
Sharing her views, Delhi BJP spokesperson Aditya Jha lodged a complaint at the New Delhi district police station against the 'derogatory' statements.
"We have received a complaint in this regard and it is being inquired," Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said, adding that no FIR has been registered yet.
Lawyer Dubey, whose Twitter bio says that he is the legal advisor of BJP-Maharashtra Palghar district, posted that he has filed a complaint against the comedian with the Mumbai Police.
Dubey also criticised Tharoor for supporting Das and shared a tweet by BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who hailed Dubey for using 'constitutional measures to stop hate against India'.
A section on Twitter posted clips and pictures from his monologue, many picking on what he said about women -- 'I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during the night'.
During his monologue on Monday, Das had predicted he would be accused of 'airing their dirty laundry'.
On Tuesday, he issued a clarification, saying his intention was to serve a reminder that the country, despite its issues, was 'great'.
'Please do not be fooled by edited snippets. People cheer for India with hope, not hate. People clap for India with respect, not malice. You cannot sell tickets, earn applause, or represent great people with negativity, only with pride. I take pride in my country, and I carry that pride across the world,' Das said.
The 42-year-old said his video is a satire about the duality of two very separate Indias that do different things.
'Like any nation has light and dark, good and evil within it. None of this is a secret. The video appeals for us to never forget that we are great. To never stop focusing on what makes us great.'
In November last year, Das said he had received over 14 legal notices in 2020 itself.
' I've had 30 policemen show up at a show in Delhi, police show up in Jaipur, one Delhi high court hearing this year, about 200 death threats with the rest of the comedy community in that famous week,' he had said on Twitter.
Das is also not alone in his community of stand-up comics and comedians to face trouble.
Most recently, Munawar Faruqui's stand up show in Goa was cancelled following threats from a Hindu right wing organisation.
Before that, his shows were cancelled in Raipur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Mumbai. And in January, he was arrested in Indore following a complaint.
Kunal Kamra has been another stand-up comic to land in trouble for his politically sharp satire.
He faced a contempt of court proceeding from the Supreme Court of India for his tweets against judges and judiciary in November last year.
Comedians Agrima Joshua and Tanmay Bhatt have also faced threats and complaints for their comments and performances.
