Following a complaint from a producer, the Mumbai Police have registered a FIR against stand-up comedian Vir Das, two other people, and online streaming platform Netflix on charges of copyright rules violation, an official said on Tuesday. In his police complaint, noted theatre producer Ashvin Gidwani stated that in October 2010, his company signed a contract with Vir to produce a show.
When Gidwani saw a promo for Vir Das’ new show on Netflix in January 2020, the producer realised that some content had allegedly been copied from the previous show (from 2010) with a few changes, according to a Cuffe Parade police station official. According to the official, a case was filed on November 4 against Das, two other people, and the Netflix service under relevant provisions of the Copyright Act based on Gidwani’s complaint. So far, no arrests have been made, he said, adding that the case is being investigated.
On Monday, the right-wing ‘Hindu Janajagruti Samiti’ petitioned Bengaluru police for the cancellation of Vir Das’s show, claiming that it would offend Hindu religious sentiments and cast a negative light on India. Last year, police filed complaints against Das for one of his videos, prompting the comedian to issue a statement claiming that his comments were not intended to offend the country.