Vir Das opens up on why comedians can't roast Bollywood stars at award shows

Vir Das shared why roast-style hosting like Ricky Gervais or Conan O'Brien at international award shows rarely works in India. He said star egos and industry power dynamics make it difficult for comedians to openly joke about top actors.

Comedian and actor Vir Das has shared his thoughts on why Indian film awards rarely feature the kind of sharp, roast-style hosting often seen at international ceremonies. The comedian explained that the dynamics of star power and ego in the Indian film industry make such formats difficult to pull off.

In his latest Instagram post, Vir reflected on his experience writing scripts for Indian award shows for several years and why a comedian-led roast style, similar to those seen at the Oscars, is not easily possible in India.

He wrote, "Why doesn't India do a Gervais or even a Conan style hosting of a major film awards? Well, as someone who wrote the script for many Indian awards for five years (sic)."

A post shared by Vir Das (@virdas)

Explaining further, he added that the concept of comedians hosting international award ceremonies works because the humour often targets powerful figures in a playful way.

He wrote, "Here's why. The point of having comedians host and roast the Oscars or film awards is that for a night, a jester would humanise the most beautiful chosen people in the world, since they were being celebrated already. That's when any joke is a punch up (sic)."