17 March,2026 12:29 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vir Das
Back in 2009, Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan had collaborated as hosts for the Filmfare Awards. The duo was a hit on stage as they entertained the audience. However, one moment from the night that still resurfaces often is when the hosts mocked Neil Nitin Mukesh's name. Neil was seated in the audience when the hosts pointed out how long his name is. Now, comedian Vir Das, who wrote the script for the 2009 awards, has revealed the truth behind the viral moment.
After the Oscars 2026 broadcast, Vir Das took to social media to explain why India does not have major comedians hosting awards like Conan O'Brien or Ricky Gervais. He noted that male star egos make roasting tricky on stage during award events. Reacting to his note, a netizen recalled the famous 2009 clip and wrote, "I remember Neil Nitin Mukesh getting offended when SRK (& Saif?) cracked a joke on his name."
Vir responded to the netizen and clarified that the moment was scripted and Neil was informed well in advance.
"Fun fact. We wrote that bit. It was supposed to come off as silly. Neil was in on the joke and it was scripted. Great sport. It worked in the room. But they added dramatic music underneath it and edited it like a TV serial, so everyone took it seriously," he wrote.
Vir Das is among the top comedians in India and has performed on global platforms. However, he said several factors prevent comedians from hosting awards in India.
"Why doesn't India do a Gervais or even a Conan-style hosting of a major film awards show? Well, as someone who wrote the script for many Indian awards for five years, here's why. The point of having comedians host and roast the Oscars or film awards is that, for a night, a jester would humanise the most celebrated people in the world. That's when any joke is a punch-up. Here, star egos won't take a joke from anyone not at their level. Ironically, the bigger the star who hosts, the trickier it's going to be. Because only a few people are at that level. So, a huge star hosting works for the people in the room, just not always for the audience watching, simply because the power imbalance is off," he said.
For the unaware, in 2009, Shah Rukh Khan had asked Neil about his three names. He jokingly said, "I have a question for Neil Nitin Mukesh. Tumhara naam hai Neil Nitin Mukesh, bhaiya surname kahan pe hai? Saare ke saare first names hain (Your name is Neil Nitin Mukesh - you have three names, but where is the surname)? Why don't you have a surname?"
To this, Neil responded wittily, "Sir, very kind question, thank you so much. But can I take the liberty of saying something?" After SRK gave him the go-ahead, Neil added, "That is an insult for me actually, I feel. My father is sitting here, and I think you guys just need to shut up. I'm sorry."
