Losing It

Vir Das spent years establishing himself as a massive star in India before trying to conquer the global comedy market. For his second Netflix outing, he shifts away from the split-continent, stadium-sized grandiosity of his debut and pulls his focus into a smaller, more direct stage show. He spends a significant chunk of the performance physically acting out scenes from the Ramayana, miming the epic’s heroes to avoid being accused of heresy, and pitching ‘Chris-Lam,’ a combined religion designed to bring about world peace.

Filmed at the Regency Theatre in San Francisco, the 2018 special catches Das at a transitional moment in his career, just as he was securing roles on American television while maintaining his status in Bollywood. He uses the set to look back at his own missteps, including starring in a poorly received Indian sex comedy and dealing with a severe bout of appendicitis under the care of two Sikh surgeons. The hour also traces his childhood in Nigeria and his early days as an immigrant in the United States, culminating in a reflective story about working as a Chicago dishwasher and receiving a life-altering $350 tip.

Reviews for the special were generally warm, though some critics felt his more philosophical rants occasionally leaned toward the preachy tone of a TED Talk. While some international critics felt the transitions occasionally stumbled, the set succeeded as an intimate look at a comedian trying to define his identity for a global audience.