Vir Das explains why film awards in India rarely host ‘Gervais or Conan-style’
Vir Das shared that roast-style hosting like Ricky Gervais or Conan O’Brien at international award shows rarely works in India. He said that star egos and the power dynamics of the industry make it difficult for comedians to openly joke about top actors.
Comedian and actor Vir Das shares his thoughts on why Indian film awards rarely have the kind of edgy, roast-style hosting often seen at international ceremonies. The comedian explained that the star power and ego dynamics in the Indian film industry make it difficult to play such formats.
In his latest Instagram post, Veer reflected on his experience of writing scripts for Indian award shows for many years and explained why the comedian-led roast style similar to the Oscars is not easily possible in India.
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He wrote, “Why doesn’t India host major film awards Gervais or even Conan style? Well, as a man who scripted several Indian awards for five years.”
Explaining further, he said that the concept of comedians hosting international award ceremonies works because humor often targets powerful figures in a playful way.
He wrote, “Here’s why. The purpose of hosting the Oscars or film awards and hiring comedians to entertain is that for one night, a clown will humanize the world’s most beautiful chosen people as they are already being celebrated. Then any joke becomes a kickass joke.”
Weir explained that in India, the power dynamics between stars and comedians can make this kind of humor difficult.
He wrote, “Here, star egos will not take jokes from anyone other than their own level. Ironically, the bigger the star hosting, the trickier it will be. Because there are three people at that level. So, a huge star hosting works for the people in the room, but is not always fun for the people watching. Simply because the power imbalance is off.”
On the work front, Veer Das was Last seen in the film Mubarak Patel. This project marked his debut as a director.