JOIN USThis was one Mumbai roast that was too crisp for comfort, singeing the sensibilities of the
morality crowd. And what happens in today’s India when something offends a section of people? Ban that something, arrest those responsible for that something and pass a law so that no one ever dares to repeat that something. Mind you, we are talking of
a nearly seven-decade-old democracy where there is what is known as “freedom of speech”.
A live comedy talk show, which pushed the limits of India’s popular culture, did the unthinkable. The show, a roast called All India Bakchod (AIB) Knockout, held in Mumbai freely lampooned anyone and everyone, used the most offensive language and made fun of all things possible. Political correctness was shoved out of the window. A paying audience of 4,000 including top film personalities was probably scandalised but nevertheless rolled over with laughter at the sheer gall and irreverence the roast master Karan Johar and his two film-star participants – Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh – exhibited on stage. The roast was advertised and the audience knew what they were in for, so there was no surprise in that sense. In a mature democracy, the matter would have ended there. But not so in India where the moral brigade is now breathlessly protesting, filing a police complaint and taking legal action against the show and its hosts. The reason: it caused offence.
The roast was a laughing matter, but not so the reaction of the moral brigade. The stentorian response is deeply disturbing as this is the latest in a series of incidents over the last few years when a section of spoilsports is bent upon sanitising public discourse, attempting to chain freedom of expression in the guise of reasonable restrictions and imposing a “Saudi-style” morality. The meaning of free speech is not speech that is controlled, within the bounds of set moral parameters, conformist and predictable. The essence of free speech is when it is used to jolt people from their comfort zones, makes fun of established norms and goes all out to come up with the most unexpected. In the process it may offend individuals, communities, beliefs etc. Those people who take offence easily should not go to such shows and switch off television when such programmes are telecast. If it is uploaded on YouTube, please do not visit that website or the section that contains the show. Instead, creating a ruckus in the name of morality, standing on the high pedestal of righteousness and proclaiming hurt does damage to hard-won freedoms. In the end, we end up diluting our own democracy.