Kunal Kamra vs Shinde Sena: Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra is again involved in controversy over his ‘offensive’ joke about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The workers of Shiv Sena (Shinde), the faction of the party that Eknath Shinde heads, allegedly ransacked the auditorium at the Unicontinental Mumbai hotel in Mumbai’s Khar demanding police action against Kunal Kamra after he apparently called Shinde a ‘Gaddar’ (Traitor) in one of his recent performances in Mumbai.
The remark has stirred a political storm, with Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Milind Deora describing Kamra’s jokes as reeking of ‘classist arrogance’. Priyanka Chaturvedi, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT)—the other faction of the party—taunted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with a ‘proud’ alliance partner jibe.
Fadnavis, the chief minister, also holds the Home Minister portfolio in the Mahayuti government of Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena (Shinde)-NCP.
Rahat Indori’s ‘Sarkar Chor Hai’ Amid the raging controversy, some users on social media shared an old clip of a poetry recital by the famous Urdu poet, late Rahat Indori. The 2007 performance was from one of the Mushaira that Indori participated in Housten, United States.
At the Mushaira – a video of which is available on YouTube – Urdu poet Rahat Indori recollects an incident from the Emergency (src975-src977).
Indori says that in one of the Mushaira at Ref Fort, he had declared: “Sarkar chor hai (The government is a thief).” The next morning, Indori says, he was summoned by a local police station, where the officer asked him: “Did you say last night the government is a thief?” “Yes,” replied Indori, “but I didn’t say which government — whether of India or Pakistan or the US.” The police officer responded: “You think, we are fools, do you think we don’t know which government is thief.”
The incident perhaps refers to the fact that Kamra, in his performance, did not name Shinde, but there were enough references for one to think about who he was actually targeting.
Indori, who died in 2020 of COVID-src9, had been often cited for his politically-charged couplets. Last year, Diljit Dosanjh cited Indori’s famous Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustaan Thodi Hai.” poem during his Dil-Luminati Indore concert after the show faced protests from Bajrang Dal over reports that the gig would involve the serving of alcohol and meat.
Responding to the protests, the Ikk Kudi singer recited verses by legendary Rahat Indori Saheb during his concert and said, “Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustaan Thodi Hai.”
Sarkar chor hai (The government is a thief).
Kunal Kamra, as seen in the video of his performance a few days ago, uses a modified version of a Hindi song from the Shahrukh Khan movie ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’. The video is now viral on social media, with Shinde’s rival politicians sharing it too. Some supporters have shared Rahat Indori’s 2007 clip and Kunal Kamra’s clip.
As things stand, the organisers have announced to shut hosting events for now after the vandalism. Incidentally, the same venue had hosted India’s Got Latent – another controversial comedy show involving Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia.
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