Actor-comedian Vir Das had shared a video where a man, whom he identified as his neighbour, is seen threatening him and sneezing on him for reportedly not following social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a three minute-long video posted on Twitter on Sunday which now has been taken down by Das, the man was seen charging at the comedian, asking him to wear a mask, step inside his house and even forcefully sneezing on him.
Detailed Statement. pic.twitter.com/k9hWTW99JZ
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) May 24, 2020
Situation resolved for now. I’d like to thank the authorities, my landlord, our wonderful neighbours, bandra community, and the internet. We got a full night’s sleep last night, no ghosts.
Video now going down. My family and I thank you.
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) May 26, 2020
Explaining his side, the actor said he was helping his friend, who lives three houses away from him, by providing him dinner during the lockdown when the incident happened.
“I live on the ground floor. We’ve got a little sit out. At 10 pm a neighbour came by, because we had cooked dinner for them too. We do that with them and also some of the others within the complex. We gave him a chair fifteen feet away, fully socially distanced. My neighbour had a can of coke from his house, a mask on, which he had pulled down to have a smoke.
“I was on the outdoor sit out area of my house, neighbour was in the complex, fully socially distanced. Five minutes later, this happens. This man is not my landlord, he lives on the first floor of the annex building. He is upset because my landlord inherited the house I live in and he didn”t,” the Hansmukh actor said in the statement. Das said the man in the video does not own his doorstep, sit-out, or his house and he wondered if what the man did would qualify as harassment.
“I’m not sure if an old man threatening to assault me, or sneezing on me, or asking his dead parent to haunt me qualifies as harassment. But this is a little ridiculous.”
“And before this turns into him going to the media, as he has done before, and I’ve sat through it quietly… I”m not normally one for drama.. I”m sorry but this crossed the line. How’s your lockdown going?” he added.
On Monday morning, Das released another statement “after a crazy night of zero sleep” to express his gratitude and an apology to the people concerned.
About last night. pic.twitter.com/qllY0KK2xV
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) May 25, 2020
“We have tried polite conversation, legal notices, regarding these episodes before, telling him categorically we would post it, letting it go, everything. I finally posted it on my social media because if not, I knew he would do it yet again. Truthfully, I was just really angry last night. We took it quietly for eight months, and something different was needed,” he said.