Cut to 2025, and Raina realises that “Jantha” is indeed fickle. On February 12, he posted: “Everything that is happening has been too much for me to handle. I have removed all India’s Got Latent videos from my channel….”
If you have accessed your social media or watched primetime news in the last few days, you are familiar with what made Raina do an about-turn. For the lucky ones who haven’t, here’s what happened: popular podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia , famously known as BeerBiceps, decided to throw his carefully cultivated “good-boy” image into the burner on Raina’s show India’s Got Latent. And his medium of choice? The classic “would you rather” question: “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life, or join in once and stop it forever?”
The Latent felt the heat. The episode was aired on February 9, and the backlash started the day after. FIRs were filed against Raina, Allahbadia and another panellist, Apoorva Mukhija. Nearly 40 people, from episode 1 to 6, have been booked by the Mumbai Cyber Cell. News panels debated on programmes “corrupting youth” and stronger social media rules. Mukesh Khanna aka Shaktimaan wanted an Ashleel Control Board.
On Valentine’s Day, Allahbadia approached the Supreme Court, seeking the clubbing of multiple FIRs filed against him.
LAST LAUGH
Comedian Azeem Banatwalla took to Instagram stories on Friday to announce his decision to cancel his Sunday show “Fake News” at The Habitat in Mumbai to avoid audiences having to deal with troublemakers around the venue.“We are usually just soft targets in a slow news cycle. Edgy humour survives in India on the fringes,” he told ET. “It is only when it is brought into the mainstream like India’s Got Latent or AIB Knockout—and reaches people who don’t understand the concept around it — that these problems occur.” Banatwalla, like all comedians, is no stranger to controversies, mean comments and even sinister threats. He adds, “The issue with India’s Got Latent has nothing to do with sentiments of people getting hurt. It’s just diversion tactics of news media sensationalising minor offences to draw attention away from the fact that our economy is tanking, our air is toxic and people who actually say incendiary things are being given a free pass.”
Comedians are taking it as just another day. Daniel Fernandes, again familiar with outrage, says, “Offence in Indian comedy is like seasonal flu. Every six months, a certain section of folks online (who aren’t even the target audience of most of our work) will stir up the outrage pot. All of us have just accepted it as occupational hazard.”
The Indian stand-up comedy scene owes much of its initial momentum to the digital revolution. In his 2022 Netflix special Landing, Vir Das slammed the American newspapers that came up with headlines like, “Why doesn’t Indian comedy push the envelope?” To this, Das said, “Because we looked inside the envelope…. There are court dates in it.”
Comedian Punit Pania tells ET, “India wasn’t ready 10 years back either, so it is up to the artist to push the proverbial envelope. Of course, in this particular case, people will argue—is it even art? I would argue—is it even comedy?” He says such content is enabled by two factors: one, the algorithm (that pushes such content), and second, the censorship. He adds, “The censorship leaves nothing of relevance to talk about. Even if you question social issues—the very basic ones—you are labelled antinational, anti-establishment, whatever is the new term in town. So all that is left is that you can insult each other.”
Cartoonist Rachita Taneja (@ SanitaryPanelson on Instagram) tells ET: “I think we as a country need to be able to tell the difference between a crass joke and a harmful one. While Allahbadia’s attempt at a joke was terribly unfunny, and offensive to some, who is it materially harming? Instead, we need to focus on how hate speeches against minorities jumped 74% in India in 2024, peaking during the elections, according to a recent report by India Hate Lab.” Taneja, who won the 2024 Kofi Annan Courage in Cartooning Award, adds, “Action against inconsequential jokes is a way to continue to create an environment where the government can go after you, even if you haven’t done anything illegal.”
While the backlash is expected, Instagram satirist known as Dr Medusa says taking offence at something is a power move. “Power in our society is maintained by various means—the patriarchal family structure, the caste system and the religious majority are the top three power groups. A roast format is simply not possible here because of the extreme inequality between each one of us. I recently came across the term ‘uncle-ocracy’. We are an uncleocracy. Fun is prohibited . ” Says Pania: “We are too dependent on our identity, which we draw from culture or religion. We are not individualistic and hence anything that is even slightly biting is taken to heart.”
SENSE & CENSORSHIP
Brands, personal or otherwise, have to be careful (even paranoid) in the hyperconnected world, says brand-strategy expert Harish Bijoor. He says, “Your consumers and even non-consumers are waiting to catch you off guard. There is vicarious pleasure in that pursuit. Being cautious is a brand imperative.” Embracing western formats like roasts can backfire and the only comfort, he says, is that public memory is proverbially short.
For comedians, self-censorship is par for the course, says Pania. “All comedians censor themselves. One censorship is on the page. But the other censorship, which is bigger, is in your mind. And that censorship is growing by the day.”
Banatwalla views the restrictions as a challenge. He says, “It’s a test of my skill to dance around the boundaries while being able to make the point I want to.”
Fernandes says, “There is an incredibly large market outside of these flagbearers of morality who love a wide range of comedy genres. What is needed is for every citizen in this country to be allowed to exercise their agency. If it is not for you, don’t watch it!”
That the audience was lapping up India’s Got Latent is proven by the viewership numbers, which touched 4 0 million views. Banatwalla says, “The fact that a show like India’s Got Latent got the numbers that it did suggests that a lot of the Indian audience is ready to watch roasts, sex jokes and general ‘crass’ humour than, say, when the AIB Knockout happened.” What can be debated, he says, is whether people with a large following and those who become role models should be more responsible with their content. “The larger worry is that freedom of speech in general will be muzzled using ‘sanskaar’ as an excuse.”
What this means for standup scene, says Pania, is hard to predict. “With the AIB Roast, the immediate fallout was very dire. But, eventually, comedy in general has got more attention.”
In 2022, comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: “Everyone is allowed to offend and everyone is allowed to be offended. It’s a good system.” So: “Would you rather listen to unfiltered comedy every day for the rest of your life, or agitate over a nonjoke once and stop it forever?”
