Kunal Kamra 'defamatory' remarks row: Stand up comics and their brush with controversies

New Delhi: Comedian Kunal Kamra's latest video has kicked up a storm in the Maharashtra political circle, just over a month after YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's comments about parents and sex on comic Samay Raina's show "India's Got Latent" became a major controversy.

Kamra, known for his criticism of government and political leaders, is in the eye of the storm for his jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his new stand up.

But the Mumbai-born former advertising professional is not new to controversies. He and many comics have found themselves battling political pressure, police action, legal cases, and public criticism for their comments, videos or social media posts.

Here's recapping some of the controversies:

Kunal Kamra:

The list of Kamra's run-ins with authorities is long. Last year, Kamra made headlines for his jokes on Bollywood superstar Salman Khan when he took aim on the 1999 black buck hunting case and 2002 hit-and-run case. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal often finds a mention in the comics stand-up sets, including the recent one.

In 2020, at least eight people sued Kamra, who has been critical of the BJP, the judiciary and the larger government machinery in his shows. He also faced contempt of court case for his comments criticising the Supreme Court.

Kamra faced a ban on flying after he heckled TV anchor Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight. After civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted suggesting other airlines to follow suit, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir took a similar action.

Ranveer Allahbadia-Samay Raina:

Last month, Allahbadia courted trouble for his comments on parents and sex on Raina's popular web show "India's Got Latent". Allahbadia's remarks opened a can of worms with many calling out for a ban on his podcast and politicians, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and opposition leaders of the state, criticising him for exploiting freedom of speech.

The issue was also raised in Parliament where Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske called for a law to regulate social media. Multiple FIRs were filed against Allahbadia, Raina and others involved with the show. They were also summoned by the National Commission for Women (NCW).

Allahbadia has apologised twice for his remarks and Raina -- who deleted all episodes of "India's Got Latent" from YouTube -- has rescheduled his India comedy tour in the aftermath.

AIB:

In February 2015, the controversial roast event, AIB Knockout, by the comedy group, sparked a huge uproar, resulting in multiple FIRs against the group and the show's participants, including filmmaker Karan Johar and actors Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Alia Bhatt. The show was accused of being "vulgar, obscene, and pornographic".

Tanmay Bhat, one of the founding members of AIB, was again at the centre of a controversy in May 2016 when political parties, including the Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS, demanded action against him and the group for a mock conversation between Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar.

AIB faced another FIR in 2017 for a tweet that showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a Snapchat dog filter. The cases against AIB are pending in the Bombay High Court, said advocate Ashwin Thool, who appeared in the case in 2015.

Vir Das:

Celebrated comedian Vir Das faced a police complaint in 2021 after his show, I Come from Two Indias at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC. Das uploaded a six-minute clip from the monologue on YouTube that was critical of India in its fight against Covid-19, crime against women, and crackdown against comedians.

Munawar Faruqui:

Stand-up comedian and Bigg Boss 17 winner Munawar Faruqui was jailed for a month in Indore in January 2021 following accusations of making inappropriate jokes about Hindu deities and Home Minister Amit Shah during a stand-up show. Although he denied making the comments, the controversy sparked significant backlash, resulting in several show cancellations and a debate about freedom of speech in comedy.