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Through the sheer force of population, India’s numbers are boosting their stand-up comedians to become among the most popular on YouTube. But none of them are as thoroughly Indian nor as thoroughly global as Vir Das, and he has the International Emmy award to prove it.
But that award and his collection of five Netflix specials only get Das so far in remaining in the good graces of his audiences, or the Indian government and law enforcement, for that matter.
Vir Das has come a long way from that first Netflix special in 2017 (when he also sat down with me in NYC for my podcast), and his audiences are full, attentive and boisterous with their laughter and applause this summer at Pleasance’s King Dome. Since he last played the Fringe, Das tells this audience he has gone from being seen as a terrorizer in his homeland to being a global Emmy winner. So, now what? Can he still play the fool?
He certainly can make some seemingly foolish decisions, whether it’s ambling up into the aisle to speak to us with the lights up in a serious tone for several minutes midway through the hour, or whether it’s recounting for us his wisecracks with police officers back in India. What makes Das stand out from the rest of his peers, ultimately, is not just his inquisitiveness and insight, but also his ability to stay so attuned to what’s happening now that he can slip in references to “Hawk Tuah” and “Looking for a man in finance” without it feeling like a desperate stretch. No. Das has his fingers on the pulse.
And for as much as his show is about playing The Fool, his hour’s theme offers much sager advice: “Silence is happiness and happiness is silence.”
Vir Das “The Fool” plays at Pleasance Dome during the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe
