Important for people to make the jokes they want to: American actor Kal Penn

Penn, during an interview on February 2, also spoke about the thriving stand up culture in India. He said even though he doesn't always agree with some of the stand-up comedians, he will "defend their right to say it".

Jaipur: If you don't like something, you can turn it off, says Hollywood star Kal Penn, who believes art is subjective by nature and it is important for people to have a platform to be able to say what they want to.

In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of the recently concluded Jaipur Literature Festival, "The Namesake" actor said he is from the school of thought that people should be free to share their ideas.

"It doesn't bother me if you're sharing an idea that I vehemently might disagree with. I think that's healthy in any democracy. We should be able to have those debates and those conversations," the actor said.

"If you don't like something, you can turn it off. There's stuff that I watched, I'm like, I don't love this. Maybe I don't love the message, or maybe I just don't love the art itself, and you can change the channel, or you can turn off the TV," the 47-year-old said.

YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, on Monday found himself in soup as his comment on parents and sex on comedian Samay Raina's YouTube reality show 'India's Got Latent' went viral on social media.

Allahbadia later apologised for his "lapse in judgement" and also said he had asked the show creators to remove the controversial segment.

It was not the first time a comedian faced backlash for their jokes or comments.

In 2017, comedian Kunal Kamra faced death threats for his satire on Indian nationalism and the government.

In 2021, comedian Munawwar Faruqui was arrested for allegedly making jokes about Hindu gods during a comedy show.

Penn, during his PTI interview on February 2, also spoke about the thriving stand up culture in India. He said even though he doesn't always agree with some of the stand-up comedians, he will "defend their right to say it".

"I always hope that whatever the jokes are, whatever the content is, we don't always have to agree with what stand-up comedians or any artists are saying, but it's important for people to have a platform to at least make the jokes that they want to make or say what they want to say," he said.

"There are a lot of controversies in the US too. It's like, 'Hey, can you believe what that person said?' I'm like, 'No, I can't, but I'll still defend their right to say it'. Because it's important for people to have the freedom to do that," the actor-writer said.

An admirer of Indian comedians Zakir Khan, Vir Das and Manan Desai, Penn said he has been trying to learn the art form of stand-up comedy.

"The Indian stand-up scene is amazing. I mean, I don't do stand-up comedy, but I'm learning because it's an art form that I'm suddenly at 47 fascinated by, which is crazy, right? Most people start in their 20s, and then they become actors or whatever through stand-up, and I'm sort of doing the opposite," he said.