Vir Das – Keynote Speaker

It was at Knox College, Illinois, that Vir first explored stand-up comedy with his first (1-1/2 hour) special, Brown Men Can’t Hump, which debuted in Knox’s Harbach Theatre. He received a Richter Scholarship for Theatre and later went on to win the Colton Performance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting from Knox.

Vir returned to India in April 2003 and since then has performed over 100 comedy shows in all the major cities. He has debuted six (1.5 hour) comedy specials written, directed by and starring him at the India Habitat center to audiences of over 900 a night. These include Brown Men Can’t Hump, Not for Members Only, Bored of The Things!, Who Let the Das Out?, Son of a Switch! and VIRagra. Every one of these shows has sold out within a matter of days.

Vir started his career on TV when he hosted two TV shows on Zoom Channel. The first one was Is Route Ki Sabhin Linein Maast Hain where he was an agony uncle. The second was his own stand-up comedy late night show Ek Rahin Vir. Although early for their time, they got noticed and put Vir on the comedic map in India. Vir has also hosted Top Drive getaway for Star World. Additionally, Vir is the host of News on the Loose, his own news comedy show on CNBC-TV18. The show is a huge hit amongst Indian audiences for its fearless brand of intelligent comedy.

The Indian Express has called him ‘a comedian to watch out for’ and ‘India’s Answer to Jay Leno’. The Hindustan Times calls him ‘simply hysterical’. Delhi Times has listed him as one of Delhi’s Top Ten Dream Men. The Pioneer has called him ‘The Funniest Kid in India’. Verve has called him ‘India’s only true comic’.

Vir has approximately 35 plays, over 100 stand-up comedy shows, 8 TV shows, 2 movies and 6 comedy specials behind him. He is writing comedic columns for Femina, Maxim, Exotica, DNA and Tehelka.