"Tremendously honoured and excited!” — Comedian and actor Vir Das becomes the first Indian ever to host at the International Emmy Awards

On September 11, 2024, comedian, actor, and musician Vir Das announced via Instagram that he is all set to host this year's International Emmy Awards scheduled for airing on Monday, November 25.

He shared two photographs on his social media account, one from the International Emmy Awards' official page and the other a screengrab from a Deadline article that confirmed his hosting responsibilities for this year's International Emmys.

Sharing these two photographs, Vir Das wrote:

"Thanks to your support, an Indian Emmy Host 🇮🇳. I can’t wait to host the @iemmys this year! Crazy. Thank you for having me. Tremendously honoured and excited!"

After the post went up, friends, fans, and colleagues filled the comments with praise and congratulatory messages.

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Vir Das is the first Indian host for the International Emmy Awards

In a season of many firsts for the Indians, renowned public figure Vir Das has become the first Indian host for the upcoming International Emmy Awards.

In 2021 Das was nominated for the International Emmy Awards in the Best Comedy category but failed to register a win for his special, Vir Das: For India. However, in 2023, at the same event, he was able to take home the award for Best Comedy for his special Vir Das: Landing.

Before the International Emmys came into play Das had already created a niche audience for himself internationally partly owing to his stand-up routines for which he travelled worldwide and partly owing to his appearances in international projects.

In one of his firsts, Das appeared as part of the main cast of the 2019 American action comedy-drama television series, Whiskey Cavalier where he played the role of Jai Datta. In 2022 Das was featured in the American comedy film The Bubble where he played the role of Ronjon.

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A closer look at Vir Das' career spanning several years

Das has built a diverse career as a comedian, actor, and musician. He began with stand-up comedy across India, then moved to TV, hosting various talk shows and segments with a fresh approach. His breakthrough came with the sports comedy show Cricket Firsts on Zee Sports, where his unique reporting style gained recognition.

From roughly around 2006 onwards, Das began appearing in small roles in films, both in India and internationally. One of the first appearances he made on screen was in Vipul Shah's 2007 film Namastey London where he appeared as one of Katrina Kaif's character's prospective grooms.

Das appeared in several Bollywood films such as Badmaash Company (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), Go Goa Gone (2013), and Mastizaade (2016).

He made his Hollywood film debut in 2022 with Judd Apatow's The Bubble. He was last seen in the 2024 Amazon Prime Video television series Call Me Bae.

On television, his most prominent work remains David Hemingson's Whiskey Cavalier. His other notable appearances include featuring on Conan, the late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien and ABC's Fresh Off the Boat. The latter gained him significant recognition with talks of a Fresh Off the Boat spinoff/reboot with Das in the lead starting to gain momentum.

Das made history as one of the first Indian comedians to have a Netflix special with Abroad Understanding in 2017, earning him wide praise. Since then, he’s released several popular stand-up specials on the platform, including Losing It (2018), For India (2020), Vir Das: Outside In (2020), and Vir Das: Landing (2022).

In addition to comedy, Das is also a musician and the lead singer of the comedy-rock band Alien Chutney. He often incorporates music into his comedy shows, occasionally performing songs during his sets.

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Vir Das is reported to be currently working with Andy Samberg and CBS Studios in developing and potentially starring in a new comedy project.