Stand-up comedian Vir Das re-writes the serious facts of Indian history with a dash of humour in his latest show History of India —Viritten, which was staged at Siri Fort Auditorium in the city recently.
Through this Ashwin Gidwani production, Vir tickled the funny bone of the audience and took them on a historical trip.
He revisited all the major historical events from the writing of the vedas to the Mughal period to the freedom movement and the latest Commonwealth Games and Obama visit.
The show sneaked peek at India’s rich history, like the questionable dressing style of the Mughal kings, to Vasco da Gama’s visit to Kolkata, instead of Calicut and his funny conversation with a Bengali.
Also though everyone knows Akbar built the Buland Darwaza, but the show informs people what made him get up and decide to build a giant door without a room?
Talking about the show, Vir claims this to be his toughest show so far. “It’s a back-to-school kind of experience. Though I’m a history buff and love watching History channels, I took up comedy so that I don’t have to study anymore. But this show made me do a lot of reading, writing and research work. I spent two years writing the show,” he says.
He later threw some light on the history of Bollywood. and said that tracks like Jumaa Chumma and Tutak Tutak Tuitya resulted in a hike in the cases of rapes and molestation during those days.
The show gave a true historical experience, with facts fused with fiction and satire. It informed us how Mahatama Gandhi was a man with great sense of humour, threw light on Indira Gandhi’s cordial letters to J.P. Narayan and narrated fun chats between Nehru and B.R Ambedkar while preparing the Constitution of India.
The show ended on an optimistic note with Obama visit and his ‘Yes, We Can’, speech.
On being asked, whether sounding unpatriotic worries him, he says, “I love the country’s heritage and culture. When today, it is very easy to go India-bashing on Twitter or elsewhere, my show’s underlying tone is optimism. We talk about our democracy, we make fun of our country and politicians in private, then why not in public.”
He futher adds, “To be honest, I thought I will be assassinated after the show, but it’s great to see the that Indians have finally learnt to laugh on themselves, without taking it too personally. We so far haven’t run into any oppositions,” he sums up.
The show History of India, which was a huge hit in Delhi and Mumbai, will also be staged in all major cities as well.