NEW DELHI: Comedian Vir Das had unexpected guests at his show in the capital’s Siri Fort auditorium on Saturday. In his Facebook post, Das alleged that a swarm of cops entered the venue, and even went backstage while the show was on—all after an individual took offence to a joke about former President A P J Abdul Kalam .

Das described the joke in question as a tribute in his post. “In one bit, I tell a story about how I performed for the man I consider to be India’s coolest president ever—Dr Abdul Kalam. My tribute goes into an outrageous sketch about how Kalam hosts MTV cribs, has swag and defends himself against a fictitious lesbian assault. It’s stupid, immature, I take full ownership of it and I think it is funny,” he writes.

Das details how an individual approached him in the green room during the interval of the show, telling him that he “cannot” crack jokes about Kalam. What Das casually dismissed at the moment for lack of time was the beginning of something bigger.

He writes in his Facebook post: “Second half of my show begins and somewhere 20 min into it, policemen have begun showing up to (sic) Siri Fort. I am on stage and I can see policemen backstage, in the control room, and with my crew. My crew is being questioned by police as the show is going on, they are all taken away from their event duties. Trying to explain to them that it’s a comedy show, which the police have now begun recording for investigation purposes on phones. To their credit, they are just doing their job… investigating a complaint filed. And more than an investigation ‘Humare pass kissi ka phone aaya tha’ seems to be the consensus. Clearly, someone with influence was called who then made this call.”

With an intimidated staff and cops all over the venue, Das writes that he chose to end his show quickly, rushing through the last bits to wrap it up before time. The police had also begun to object to his show “running overtime,” says the post.

A senior police official told TOI there was no complaint filed in this matter at Hauz Khas police station under jurisdiction of which Siri Fort auditorium falls. Das' ordeal comes at a time when comedy troupe AIB’s hounding from different groups over their ‘Roast’ is still fresh on everyone’s minds. There were police complaints of obscenity lodged against them in Maharashtra, while they were pressured into cancelling some of their subsequent shows. On the other hand, comedy acts in general have seen various run-ins with the authorities in the country in recent times. Soon after the AIB Roast imbroglio, international comedy legend Jerry Sienfeld could not perform in Mumbai. Reason? The police objected to the lack parking space at the venue.

When contacted, Das declined to comment on the developments. “There are more important things than a few cops showing up at my show. We are currently busy with organizing relief for Nepal,” says Das, who is touring the country with his show. As for the pressure tactics, he wrote in his over 1,100-word post, “The fact that you can use influence to shut down or intimidate any artist or art form that you may not personally agree with is scary. But the fact that the police will back you up without any consequences is a slippery slope and a tool that’s prime for misuse.”