Vir Das, the
Indian comedian who delivered a poignant monologue at Washington’s Kennedy
Centre recently and whose video has become a social media sensation, has found
admirers and critics alike. But now, the stand-up comic has landed in a bit of
a legal soup. A Mumbai-based lawyer named Ashutosh Dubey has filed a complaint
against the comic for parts of the monologue that the complainant found
offensive.

Also Read | Complaint filed against comedian Vir Das for ‘insulting India’

One particular
line from the monologue that has drawn the ire from many on social media goes: “I
come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during
the night.” The comment was found to be offensive my several Indian social
media users and some said that Vir Das’s portrayal of India only serves to
perpetuate Western stereotypes about the country and its people.

Also Read | Kangana Ranaut wants action against Vir Das over his ‘I come from two Indias’ video

Following a social
media storm over the monologue, Vir Das issued a clarification stating that his
intention in delivering the monologue was to remind people that the country,
despite its issues, was great. “I take pride in my country, and I carry that
pride across the world. To me, a room full of people anywhere in the world,
giving India an ovation is pure love,” Das wrote in his clarification. You can
read the full text of clarification here:

While, Vir Das is
the most recent example of an Indian comic’s joke landing the comic in trouble,
he is not by far the only one. Here is a list of other comics who have had
run-ins with the law recently.

Also Read | ‘Don’t be fooled’: Vir Das issues clarification on monologue about India

Munawar Faruqui

This comic from
Gujarat landed in big trouble with the police after he was arrested by the
police for allegedly cracking a joke on Hindu deities as well as Union Home
Minister Amit Shah. However, police later said that no video could be found of
Faruqui making the alleged comments.

Also Read | ‘Two Indias’: Watch Vir Das’ poignant take on duality of Indian-ness

Kunal Kamra

Comedian Kunal
Kamra’s run-in with law have by now become regular fare. His comments on India’s
apex court landed him in serious hot water some time ago. Kamra also wrote a
letter to Attorney General of India KK Venugopal, in which he stated, “My view
hasn’t changed because the silence of the Supreme Court of India on matters of
other’s personal liberty cannot go uncriticised. I don’t intend to retract my
tweets or apologise for them.”

Tanmay Bhat

For Tanmay Bhat, his
Snapchat filters have landed him in more trouble than his jokes. Bhat’s tweet
of a meme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a dog filter on Snapchat led to
an FIR being registered against him under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC
and Section 67 of the IT Act.