Actor-comedian Vir Das took a trip down memory lane by sharing a video on Instagram on Thursday. The clip was from a speech that he gave at Knox College in 2018 when he was bestowed with an honourary doctorate - which, in his own words, made him the only Indian doctor with no credibility. Vir Das was the first Indian comedian to receive this recognition for his accomplishments in the field of performing arts. The Go Goa Gone star shared a video his 2018 speech titled “Be Stupid.” In the speech, Mr Das, who is an alumnus of Knox College, shared his experience as a student at the institute. He said, “I came to Knox from India in the year 1999, I came here to study economics—or at least that's what I told the lady at the American Embassy.”
Explaining that he would try to share some “good advice” as he was there to give the students a graduation speech, he added, “ But I am going to try to give you some good advice, just so we can say that technically I gave you a graduation speech, okay? So ... Good advice: be kind, pay taxes, save a bit, travel a lot, respect your elders, check the stove…”
In his speech, Vir Das asked students to “be stupid”, explaining that this would give them the courage to pursue something that society thinks is a ridiculous idea. He said, among other things, “I'm stupid, this is stupid, you're stupid. God, you're so stupid. And that's why this is so wonderful. That's my message to you today. Be stupid, just once, really often. Because when you embrace the stupidity in your life, you really live.”
Sharing the video, he wrote, “On this day, 3 years ago, I gave this speech at Knox College, my alma mater, and got a Hon. Doctorate. Sharing because well... throwback Thursday.”
Watch the video here:
A fan named Ankit Chourasia commented, “Man you are a genius. Never doubted that for a second.” Another admirer, Tanisha Prabhu, wrote, “Vir, you're so good. You're literally the best. That was weirdly motivational. Thanks...” Another fan, Ariya Joseph, said, “Worth the 20 mins watch. Loved every bit.” Jaydeep Paneliya had to say, “Man, this speech has made me your fan.” For the unversed, Vir Das was also the first alumnus since 1971 to take the dais as the commencement speaker. Other notable commencement speakers at Knox College in the recent past include actress Eva Longoria, former US Presidents Barack Obama and William Clinton respectively, journalist William Whitaker, American poet Natasha Trethewey to name a few.
Vir Das is known for his roles in films such as Delhi Belly, Go Goa Gone to name a few. He was also seen in the Netflix series Hasmukh.
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