Vir to present funny view of Indian history

Actor Vir Das has rewritten history, but with a comic touch.

Mumbai: Actor and stand up comedian Vir Das has rewritten history, but with a comic touch. His forthcoming show, called ‘History Of India – VIRitten’, is set to tickle the funny bone of the audience with a journey from ancient times to modern day.

"For this show I`ve written the history of India through stand up comedy. It`s chronologically written major events in history through stand up comedy from Mohenjodaro and Harappa to the present times," Vir told reporters. "I`ve always been a history buff, I`ve always enjoyed seeing History Channel. So I just started taking down notes on history. I also did a big tour last year called `Walking On Broken Das` and I knew that my next show must be on a much grander scale, so that`s how I decided on this show. Have been writing about it for a year now," he added. The show, which is an Ashvin Gidwani Productions`, will be staged Sunday at the Sophia Bhabha Auditorium. The show takes a look at India`s rich history, like the dressing style of the Mughal kings, how the British won India through violent use of flags and how the Lodhi dynasty`s greatest victory was a flower-garden. However, it was not an easy task to put it together. "It`s a lot of reading and writing. We comedians are not the most academic people in the world. I got into comedy so that I wouldn`t have to study, but for this I had to read a lot of history books and do a lot of research so that was pretty tough," explained the 31-year-old. But isn`t he scared that he might offend people because the subject matter this time involves the history of the country? "I always offend a few people who come for my shows, history or no history. There are always people who forget that they are coming for a comedy show and take offence. But the shows are just for entertainment. "This show too is entertainment and is all about the celebration of India. I`m a very patriotic person. I love my country and won`t do anything derogatory," revealed Vir. "One in 2,000 people do get offended. They don`t create a scene but they write about it, I`ll get an email etc, but I trust in my content and I trust in my audience. If 99.9 per cent of my audience is having a good time then that`s good enough for me," he added. Vir, who has performed shows like ‘HAMateur Night’, ‘Weirdass’, `Ek Rahen Bir’ and ‘Brown Men Can`t Hump’ among others has studied acting and has been part of films like ‘Badmaash Company’, ‘Love Aaj Kal’ and ‘Mumbai Salsa’. Next he will be seen in Aamir Khan`s production venture ‘Delhi Belly’. "In the film I`ll be playing an important role with Imran Khan. I`m quite excited about it. I also have have two more films but can`t divulge any details about it just yet," said Vir. IANS