"Today it was a Marlboro Light": Vir Das takes dig at Mumbai's air pollution
Mar 01, 2025
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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 1 : Stand-up comedian and actor Vir Das, who has never shied away from talking about social issues, recently took a dig at Mumbai's worsening air pollution while humorously comparing breathing in the city to "smoking a cigarette."
Das took to his Instagram account to share a post that read, "I'll smoke a cigarette socially, maybe fifteen days a year. The remaining days, I'm a breathing Mumbaikar. Same taste. Today Mumbai was a Marlboro Light."
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGpGzIiIHzE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
However, this is not the first time the stand-up comedian has raised concerns about the city's Air Quality Index.
Just last month, Das shared a long note about how pollution is becoming a major issue for everyone and pointed out that if strict action is not taken soon, future generations will suffer.
"Unless something drastic is done, the legacy of each government is going to be the pollution they let us live in. This point will probably be taken up when we realise the long-term effects it had on the generation just born, and those in old age too. Right now, it feels like new pollution, doesn't it? And if we think it's unrealistic, they'd let us live like that for a decade," read his Instagram post.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFy3i_kI0pC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
"Some drastic policy decisions need to happen. Goes without saying that the decisions will make us hugely unhappy in the interim. We will moan like we did when we got new airports and new bridges, but it will eventually be worth it. I'm just saying it's 7:30 a.m., and the AQI is 170. At this time, there are kids going to school and old people on walks. Air isn't political, air doesn't care about your income status, air isn't religious, air isn't patriotic, air doesn't vote. If there's one thing worth fixing, it's the air," he added.