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Comedian Vir Das said that all art comes from a pure place and that no creator thinks about plaudits or brickbats when theyre making something. Das has been at thecentreof a storm after the release of a video on his YouTube channel, in which he spoke about coming from two Indias.

In an interview on the sidelines of his International Emmy nomination, he told NDTV that he doesnt think the iron fist of censorship will strike down on artists more strongly in the future. He said, Any type of art, whether its poetry or writing or acting or comedy, it comes from a pure place. And good artists are able to exhibit that purity in the simplest way possible. Then, you either get a response that people like it or you get a response that people dont like it. I dont know any good artists that are thinking about the response while theyre creating.

Asked why partnering with a global platform is an option that he has taken even though he has his own YouTube channel where he isnt bound by any restrictions, the comedian said, Theres no censorship for me on Netflix. They just say, Make people laugh, and I do. Thats the only expectation weve ever had with each other. What Im proud of withour work with each other is, as comedian grow, youre always worried that special after special after special shouldnt look like same guy, fancier suit, bigger room. Thats the wrong journey for an artist to take. In fact, weve gone in the opposite direction. We started with a stadium, then we went to America, and then we came back to India and just sat on a doorstep. We brought humility into comedy, and I enjoyed taking our culture to the world.

In his now-viral two Indias video, the comedian highlighted the duality of the country, with one observation about violence against women attracting the ire of not just certain politicians, but also actor Kangana Ranaut.Daslater urged audiences to watch the clip in its entirety, and not fall prey to edited versions.

Das called the video his love letter to India. I have made my country laugh for 10 years now. I have devoted my life to writing about my country. We are here at the Emmys because I wrote a love letter to my country. As long as I am able to do my comedy, I want to keep writing love letters to my country, Das said previously.

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Vir Das doesnt think censorship will get worse, says art comes from a pure place - The Indian Express

Stand-up comedian, Vir Das' show, 'Vir Das: For India', has been nominated for an International Emmy in 2021, and he is ecstatic.

In an interview with India Today, the comedian talked about his kind of comedy, censorship, and more; only days after making waves for his 'Two Indias' monologue, which many criticised for "insulting" India while others praised for being "brave."

"I amhere to do my job and will continue. I wont stop. My job is to make people laugh and if you dont find it funny, dont laugh, says Das.

Speaking about his 'Two India' monologue, he says, "I was just doing a show. We were full, and it was my audience and I wrote a piece...I don't think you ever hope to start a conversation. I think you just hope to make people laugh in the room. Any Indian with a sense of humour, who enjoys satire, and watches my entire video will know that's what happened in my video and will feel love and feel amazing."

Coming to the challenges faced by comedians, he comments that "Comedians face challenges anywhere right now. For me the challenge is everything changes so fast, how do you write the new joke. Attention span changes so fast, news changes so fast. How do keep writing jokes to keep up with it? It doesn't matter if I am at Madison Square Garden, Wankhede Stadium, or at your dining table, the expectation is the same from a comedian, make me laugh, make me feel good. It doesn't matter if he's a big or small comedian."

Coming to censorship, Das says "I hope no one ever has to think so much about cracking jokes. They are just jokes. I have tremendous respect for everyone and all kinds of feedback. If you find my jokes funny, I appreciate you, if you don't find my jokes funny, I appreciate you. If you don't find my jokes funny, I hope you find something (else) so funny that you fall off your chair laughing. And I hope that you post about the things you love, so we all can watch it.I have been fortunate enough to not experience it [censorship]. I have done three comedy specials with Netflix and the only conversation we had is 'go make people laugh' and I am like 'okay'."

On the Emmy front, Das says "I don't expect to be served dinner on most nights. So I am very excited to be nominated for Indian comedy. We did one Netflix show with one guy sitting in front of a blue door and then to get an Emmy nomination along with these other shows that have a $2-3 million budget! Apna darwaza toh Rs 10,000 ka that."

The 49th International Emmy Awards were held on Monday, November 22 in New York City.

Excerpt from:
Vir Das Opens Up On The 'Two Indias' Monologue, Censorship, And His Emmy Nomination - Outlook India

I CONSIDER MYSELF to be like a mosquito, says Bob Elvis, a musician, from his studio in downtown Kinshasa, the sprawling capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I may be small but I can annoy you all night long, by singing, biting and not leaving you alone.

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Mr Elviss latest rap song, Letter to Ya Tshitshi, has rankled the president of Congo, Flix Tshisekedi, so much that it was banned days after being released. The song addresses tienne Tshisekedi, the presidents dead father, a firebrand opposition leader, by his nickname. It laments his sons incompetence.

In the video, Mr Elvis raps to a photo of Mr Tshisekedi senior, surrounded by flickering candles. He repeats the refrain since you left and describes the countrys woes, from the scarcity of clean water to the abundance of corruption, electoral fraud and conflict. Since you left, war in the east goes on, he raps. We are fighting for the rule of law.

The Censorship Commission banned another six of Mr Elviss songs as well as a track called What we have not done by MPR, a hip-hop group. This song is about the failings of every Congolese president since independence. The ban on MPRs track was rescinded a day later when fans kicked up a fuss.

Mr Elvis has not been so lucky. Broadcasters that play his forbidden tracks risk having their licences revoked. Other musicians have been targeted, too. A rapper from southern Congo, Sbastien Lumbwe, known as Infrapa, fled the country two weeks ago after being harassed by officials over his songs, which poke the government. It is part of a pattern of shrinking civic space, says Jean-Mobert Senga of Amnesty International, a watchdog. It goes against President Tshisekedis commitment to respect human rights.

The legal authority to ban the songs comes from a decree issued by a crooked dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, 54 years ago. The current presidents father, were he still alive, would be appalled. He spent much of his life campaigning against Mobutus champagne-gargling tyranny. Now his son is using the kleptocrats diktat to stifle dissidents of his fathers sort, albeit funkier.

Still, the Congolese government has not yet figured out how to make censorship effective in an age of social media. Although Mr Elvis says he is incensed by the ban, he is probably quite pleased about the buzz it has created. Letter to Ya Tshitshi has received more than four times as many hits on YouTube as some of his other recent tracks. It sounds tinnier played out of mobile phones than on the radio, but at least it is not a flop. Unlike the government that banned it.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Zapping the rap"

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Congo's government has banned songs that annoy it - The Economist

Russias censorship agency (Roskomnadzor) threatened to block the website of the investigative journalism outlet iStories over a report on Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezovs connections in the waste removal industry.

According to iStories editor-in-chief Roman Anin, Roskomnadzor attributed its actions to the fact that the investigation was prepared jointly with Proekt, an investigative outlet the Russian authorities outlawed as an undesirable organization in July 2021. The censorship agency demanded that iStories take down the report within 24 hours.

Anin added that he made the decision to delete the investigation, in order to prevent the authorities from blocking all [iStories] articles both past and present. The editor-in-chief also apologized to the outlets readers for having been forced to obey the censors demands and promised that the article would soon be restored.

The iStories investigation, titled How Sergey Chemezovs people got the garbage business for cheap, was published in September 2020. It uncovered that the largest companies that benefited from Russias garbage reform were actually sold to Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezovs trusted associates for next to nothing.

We wont give up Because youre with us

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Russian censor threatens to block iStories over joint investigation with outlawed Proekt - Meduza

Filmmaker Danish Aslams Aslams recent web show The Reunion: Chal Chalein Apne Ghar was released on the YouTube Channel of Zoom Studios. The show tells the story of a dysfunctional family coming back under one roof. Talking about the new show Aslam says, The idea was presented to me by Zoom and Shiny Shetty (writer). I really loved the idea and worked on it. Shiny and I developed the screenplay and dialogues."

Featuring Lillete Dubey, Kashmira Irani, Prabal Panjabi, KK Raina among others, Aslam feels that the definition of a family has changed in recent years, A Dysfunctional family is the new normal. The emotional dynamics between parents and their children have changed drastically due to jobs and other factors. These things exist in reality and for me, as a filmmaker that is the exciting part. Dysfunctional families and dysfunctional relationships are something that I particularly enjoy a lot. Its something Ive explored in a couple of my previous shows as well."

The show was shot in an unconventional location of Odisha which according to the filmmaker was also a blessing in disguise, It was tough to shoot as we had to follow all the necessary protocols due to the ongoing pandemic. We had a start to finish schedule in Odisha. We also got lucky that the cases in Odisha were low, unlike Mumbai where everything was locked up. We shot in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Puri. We also shot in a house at Dalijoda in the middle of nowhere. Once we created that bubble everything was sorted."

Aslam made his first web series Its Not That Simple with Swara Bhasker in 2016 when the concept of OTT was still at a nascent stage. Since then he has successfully made a web series like Flesh and more recently his short film was part of the anthology Feels Like Ishq which received a lot of appreciation. The director feels that streaming platforms have given opportunities to many new talents, One of the biggest positives to come out of OTT as a medium is that actors are now recognised for their talent and not just this ephemeral thing called star power. The streaming platform has allowed a lot of writers, directors, and filmmakers to tell the stories in a particular way. It is no longer about superstars or box office collections. If you have a good story people will appreciate that."

As a director, Aslam made his debut in 2010 with Break Ke Baad featuring Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone. Since then he has dabbled with all mediums including televisions and web series. Personally I have grown a lot. Professionally, it has been a great learning experience," he says adding, I like the fact that I can now tell stories in different mediums. I can tell stories in 90 minutes or make it into a full-length feature film. And I can also tell stories in an episodic format. I didnt use to write when I started my first movie, I just had the outline and the rest was done by Renuka Kunzru. With this series, Ive worked on the story. I co-wrote the screenplay, and I co-wrote the dialogue as well. So I think thats another evolution that happened."

In the last few months, one of the debates that has picked up in the industry is whether OTT platforms should be subjected to censorship. Aslam says he is against the idea of censorship and feels that the audience is mature enough to select what they want to watch, If you dont want to see something because it offends you, please dont watch it. I am totally against the idea of censorship. I believe there should be no censorship regardless of the medium. Films and series can be age certified and classified but a free and democratic country should let its adult citizens decide what they would like to watch or not watch in a theatre, or on their phones and computers. The choice must belong to the audience."

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Danish Aslam Says There Should Be No Censorship Regardless of Medium: 'Choice Must Belong to Audience' - News18