International Emmy Awards: Vir Das's nod to Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar dialogue is both inspirational and hilarious, watch

Vir Das

Actor-comedian Vir Das became the first Indian to host the International Emmy Awards. This was his third time at the award ceremony. The first time he attended as a nominee, the second year he won for his stand-up special Landing and in the third year he came back as the host, making history. "The next year I will be the tropohy," he joked in his opening monologue at the awards. He had the audience in splits with his wise cracks as he touched upon topics like US elections, Elon Musk, being Indian, diversity, Will Smith's controversial slap and much more.

Vir Das shares his opening monologue

On Thursday, the comedian shared the video of his opening monologue from International Emmy Awards 2024. "It is very good to be here completely legally. I'm not a citizen. It's a very quick visit, in and out. I was just here to vote. Before we start the show, I should say this humbly. I have an Indian accent and that tends to be tough depending on where I'm travelling to for some people. So if there's anything that I say tonight that you do not understand, I want you to feel free to just go to work tomorrow and ask your boss. And if your boss isn't Indian, your boss is boss. ," Vir said in his monologue.

He added, "Tonight is a celebration of the world. We tell the original diverse international stories that Hollywood remakes into cash cows with Kevin Hart and Liam Neeson. Some of you could be discovered tonight. This time next year, you could be in an American TV show. Maybe your name is Hatsuko or Sir Kill, but in America, you will play Guy, Joe. And if you're Indian, Raj. It's the only name Americans know. I have been offered doctor Raj, lawyer Raj, banker Raj, engineer Raj. I once got offered a guy from England named British Raj. I didn't take the part."

Vir Das gives a nod to Hindi film Baazigar

How can Vir Das be there up on the international platform and not have atleast one Bollywood reference. While giving out an inspirational message to all the nominess in the audience, he referenced the popular line from Baazigar that stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. "We are from across the world. What do we have in common? All of you have dealt with the amazing rejection that it takes to be an artist in the world. We are rejected way more than we are accepted. So tonight, I ask we accept each other in this room. There is a line from a Hindi movie that I love that says, 'Haar ke jeetne waale ko Baazigar kehte hai' and that means essentially that to learn to conquer loss is the greatest victory of all. And that is you tonight."

He almost immediately gives it a hilarious twist and adds, "The guy who says that in the movie goes on to brutally murder four people. And that could be you later tonight at the after party. I only ask that you murder within your category".

Vir Das takes dig at Will Smith

Further, Vir also took a jibe at Will Smith's infamous Oscar slap incident at the Oscars and the US government over sanctions. The US has imposed sanctions on a host of countries, including Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, after the Ukraine war broke out.

"Who does Will Smith have to slap tonight for us to get some eyeballs, guys? I'm kidding. We're foreigners. You can't slap foreigners with anything but sanctions. Sorry, tariffs. Before I go on, a little bit of housekeeping. I've been asked to let you know that should you win an award tonight, you only have 30 seconds on this stage, and that is more than enough time to congratulate the people that you love, if not pleasure them," he said.