Kol stand-up comedians take Allahbadia row in their stride
Times of India | 12 March 2025
123456 Kolkata: After YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia and three others appeared before the National Commission for Women and tendered their unequivocal apology for their contentious remarks on ‘India's Got Latent', most of the city organisers and performers insist that the Allahbadia incident has not triggered any knee-jerk reaction.
Currently, some 20 stand-up comics perform regularly at various comedy clubs in the city.
"We have consistently been exceedingly mindful of the discourse and content shared during a stand-up comedy performance. As we all recognise, it's rather unpredictable to gauge for any of us what shall cause distress and what shall bring solace after a jest is delivered. Nevertheless, it remains the collective responsibility of both the artists and audience to maintain an amiable and comfortable atmosphere," said Anyaman Majumdar, co-founder and chief comedy officer at Calcutta Comedy Company.
Stand-up comic Ankita Ghosh said a lot of her comedy is deemed "sexual" as her big punchlines are often innuendos. "However, that doesn't mean I talk about sex, necessarily. Sex often comes as an analogy rather than direct reference. About parents, my takes are all about the nuances of my relationship with them in the context of south Asian parenting." The problem with Allahbadia's incident, she said, was the "directness as opposed to being suggestive". "In the following weeks we have seen multiple comics using the same premise, delivering smart, alluding jokes," Ghosh added. She is convinced that this apology will not make her rewrite her scripts. "I don't think I need to tweak anything as long as I can keep my style of writing innuendos and not directly offensive imagery," she said.
Comedian Surya Singh said he has always written jokes while considering numerous factors to ensure the content neither disrespects nor causes distress to anyone. Yet, it is difficult for performers to ascertain the sensitivity of the audience. "This artistic expression remains highly subjective, open to varied interpretations, and our audience is remarkably diverse in all aspects — one cannot predict what might offend them or how they shall perceive the humour. Hence, both performers and spectators share the responsibility to maintain this art form's harmless nature; we neither aim to spark revolution nor create disruption," Singh said. He underlines that the sole purpose is to evoke laughter. "So, comedians ought to produce content that generates joy without making anyone feel disrespected or diminished," Singh added.
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