“Trendsetter, league of my own.” These lyrics by Connor Price truly describe India’s busiest comedian aka Vir Das. We say that because the comedian dropped his latest and most experimental special yet, titled Fool Volume, on Netflix today. It’s got the regular Vir Das gamut of clever word play, social and political commentary and masterful storytelling. But there are things that set this one apart from his previous work.

For starters, it was shot in three cities—Mumbai, London and New York—making it a truly global special. The three performances are cut in an incredibly immersive way (more on that later), giving it a cinematic feel. Das has managed to capture the energy of the three diverse rooms in a bottle and serve it up in this taut hour. He’s candid. He’s honest. And most importantly he’s funny. If we haven’t already convinced you to cancel that Friday plan and stay in to watch Fool Volume, here are five things that we enjoyed deeply from the comedian’s latest.

This Is How A Special Should Look

Everything Das puts out always looks spectacular. The synergy of the location, visual elements, decor and stage design works seamlessly to create a grand viewing experience—whether it’s from the comfort of your couch, in an intimate comedy club or a massive arena. Fool Volume is no different. Shot in three different locations—the NSCI Dome in Mumbai, a gorgeous church in London and the iconic Comedy Cellar in New York—the hour see-saws between grandeur and quaintness visually.

The edit also adds to the special’s experimental nature. Cutting between the three performances, there’s a tangible shift in the energy and performance which adds a rhythm to the viewing experience. The Mumbai segment is electric with 12,000 fans roaring as Das rattles off his punchlines. The London leg feels more introspective. And New York’s grunge energy ties a neat little bow on this rollercoaster.

The Spontaneity

Comedians go out on the road with their special for years before taping it for an online release. Somewhere in that process, the novelty of the experience can be lost. You can feel the “performance” aspect of it all. But Das did something different with this one, and not by choice. Six weeks before his performances in London and Mumbai, Das lost his voice. “My voice wasn’t sore, it was just gone,” he tells the audience in New York. And in those six weeks, Das rewrote the special to highlight this silence that was forced upon him.

It was a bold move and it worked in his favour. It added a sense of now to the hour. The anxious energy that Das felt six weeks before “the biggest show of his career” lingers in this performance. It feels like the comedian is genuinely processing all the emotions he went through at the time on stage with us. There’s a cathartic energy, one that is not easy to fake. It’s raw and real.

He’s Not Holding Back Any Punches

Becoming the headline of the day has become a very real fear for Indian comedians. Nobody would want to prioritise court dates over stage time. So we don’t blame them for erring on the side of caution. But Das—who has faced his fair share of backlash—isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade. When he’s calling out England’s colonial past, India’s sketchy politics or racism in the world, he’s doing it head-on. There’s no cheeky word play masquerading as political humour. He’s dropping names and being honest, all while being funny as hell. It’s good to know that Das still has some fight left in him. He’s not thrown in the towel just yet.

He Knows How To Play The Devil’s Advocate To Perfection

I’m going to go ahead and make a bold statement—racism is bad. It leads to hate crimes, riots, inequality and a myriad of other horrible things. But Das has managed to find a silver lining to this extremely dark cloud. In one of the most enjoyable sections of the special, Das makes an argument in favour of racism, rattling off a few wonderful things that have come out of it. He also recounts a personal experience when he was treated differently because of his ethnicity. But even then, he manages to empathise with the offender. It’s a tool he uses to demonstrate the irrational, illogical and absurd nature of bigotry. There are more instances of him playing the contrarian throughout Fool Volume. But we’ll let you discover those for yourself.

The Use Of Light

I love it when comedians use props to elevate their performances. Neal Brennan used physical blocks to represent his mental health struggles on his Netflix special Blocks. Dave Attell pulled out a recorder on Hot Cross Buns. Das himself has used sand during a bit on his International Emmy-award-winning special Landing. On Fool Volume, Das has a light bulb on stage. He uses it in various ways—to simply depict an idea popping into his head, sometimes to paint an elaborate picture about basking in the morning sun’s warmth or to emphasise hope being injected into his life. It’s a masterclass in how to elevate your performance with subtlety.

In addition to that, there’s a section where Das cuts out all the lights. His voice echoes in complete darkness, stripping away the physicality of his performance. It’s a strong bit, one that makes you look inwards. And no Vir Das special is complete without a bit of introspection, is it?