Vir Das' new special Inside Out puts a smile on your face

Vir Das

Does the lockdown make you a better artist? If Vir Das' new comedy special is anything to go by, he is certainly a more perceptive comic during the lockdown. There is something poignant about his new special - Inside Out. Laced with a lingering melancholic feeling as we watch him, day after day wearing his headphones to deliver the laughs on Zoom, the show chronicles the lives of people who are craving for a judicious serving of humour. Some of them tune in from the breakfast table, some even from their toilets but Das never ceases to make the most grim times like these funny. It also can be seen as a piece on his reinvention as he delivers his most intimate work so far. We get a peek into his life, his books, his dog Watson makes an appearance and his headspace which is oscillating between hope and despair.

There are a few heartbreaking stories strewn strategically across its 50 minutes' run time - of lovers separated by thousands of kilometres, a young man's dream of studying at a premier American University kept on hold, of a father waiting to dine with his daughter, a nurse after a long shift discussing what her work has been lately. Vir asks everyone the same question, "What's the first thing you're going to do when the world reopens?". The answers evoke plenty of laughs. At one point, a kid says innocently - "He wants some ice cream." The sheer horror of the last 6 months chronicled so simply and beautifully, Vir's special is less about the jabs and more about the overarching feeling (even the theme of this show) as Vir puts it - "That's the thing about the entire world going through the same thing at the same time. I guess it's special."

This special mirrors the very fact that artists are unstoppable even in the worst of circumstances. They are tenacious and their voice can bring joy to the lives of millions. The privileged ones of us during the lockdown have spent a considerable amount of time binge-watching shows. So while we do that, here's a show that asks to put your privilege of sitting comfortably and watching a series when the world around is crumbling due to the pressures of the ongoing pandemic, to some good use. Do some charity along the way.

And as for Vir Das, he won hearts when the young boy had this look of pure joy on his way when he got his ice cream.

Also read: Vir Das on creating series from his lockdown videos: Novel alternative, for now

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