Comedian Vir Das upset after police interrupt live show in New Delhi

The Indian stand-up comic and actor was interrupted midway through the New Delhi show and was told a complaint had been filed against him for ridiculing former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam.

Vir Das has posted an account of the incident on his Facebook page. Courtesy Ashvin Gidwani Productions

Indian comedian Vir Das is not happy. His stand-up show in New Delhi on April 25 was disrupted by police after a complaint was filed against him for poking fun at APJ Abdul Kalam, a former Indian president. Das, 35, was performing his new sketch UnbelievabLISH as part of his Unbelievable Tour at the Siri Fort Auditorium when he was interrupted.

Das responded on April 26 with open letter on his official Facebook page:

“Last Night, while I was on stage at the ?#?UnbelievableTour? The police showed up and what happened was upsetting and wrong.

“My new show UnbelievabLISH is a show about truth & outrageous fiction. In one bit, I tell a story about how I performed for the man I consider to be India’s coolest president ever – Dr Abdul Kalam.

“We are now at interval in Siri Fort, and an intellectual gentleman has walked into my green room and said ‘Excuse me….you CANNOT talk about Kalam’... Second half of my show begins and somewhere 20 mins into it, policemen have begun showing up to Siri Fort.

“I am on stage and I can see policemen backstage, in the control room, and with my crew. My crew is being questioned by police as the show is going on, they are all taken away from their event duties.”

Das added that police informed him that footage from the show would be examined and the complaint would have to be addressed.

Das said his crew tried to persuade him to leave, but he refused.

“I’ve done nothing wrong, let me talk to the police, it will be fine. Eventually the cops leave saying that the complaint will have to be addressed, they will be reviewing my comedy footage, and I’m preparing myself for that process,” he wrote.

In a later post, the comedian thanked his fans for their support: “I’ve got 14 cities to go, I’m aware of what my tickets cost, how many other options the audience have, what they gave up over the weekend or coming weekends to come see this show. And I always always always want to make sure they feel like this was the right choice.”