Kunal Kamra
A team of Khar police station officials arrived at Kunal Kamra’s Mumbai house, his parents said, with a notice, asking the comedian to come and be questioned
Mumbai Police are probing whether Kunal Kamra’s Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde-targeting jokes were a conspiracy and whether the comedian was paid or assisted in any other way to ridicule the Maharashtra Chief Minister, sources have informed.
A police party from Khar police station visited Kunal Kamra’s home in Mumbai, where his parents allege, with a summons, asking the comedian to appear for questioning in the cases filed against him. Since the comic is believed to have shifted out of the state, a summons has also been issued to his WhatsApp number. Kamra has a number of charges filed against him, including defamation and statements leading to public mischief.
Mumbai police sources say they are also attempting to verify if money or assistance of any kind was provided to Kunal to target Eknath Shinde. Police are also investigating if anyone assisted the comedian in coming up with the lines quoted against the Sena chief. Police have said that the phone and other gadgets of Kunal Kamra could be searched as part of the probe.
In a performance shot at Mumbai’s Habitat studio, Kunal Kamra targeted Mr Shinde with a parody of ‘Bholi Si Surat’, a hit number from the 1997 blockbuster Dil To Pagal Hai. He applied the ‘gaddar’ (traitor) epithet to the Shiv Sena leader who had defected from Uddhav Thackeray in 2022, toppling his government and dividing the party.
Enraged by the remarks, Shiv Sena workers attacked the studio, which is one of the most sought-after places for stand-up comedy performances. Mr Shinde has said he did not agree with the attack, but explained party workers’ sentiments and said, “every action has a reaction”. He has also asked who had given Kunal Kamra “supari” to attack him.
Apart from the act of vandalism, the studio had also been targeted with a demolition exercise by civic authorities for violating building laws. The studio in a statement announced that it had decided to close down temporarily and stated that it was not involved in the content of performers’ shows.
“We have never been involved with the content played by any Artist, but due to the latest incidents, we have reconsidered how we always get blamed and targeted every single time as if we are some sort of a proxy for the performer,” it stated. In a late-night statement yesterday, Kunal Kamra left no ambiguity in stating that the studio or any political party was not liable for his statements. “An entertainment space is a platform. A space for any kind of show.
Habitat (or any other space) isn’t liable for my comedy, nor do they have control or authority over what I do or say. Neither does any political party. Suing a space for the words of a comedian is as useless as tipping over a lorry full of tomatoes, because you didn’t like the butter chicken you were given,” he posted on X.
He claimed that he is not intimidated by the mob and will not hide. The comic had stated that he was ready to cooperate with courts and police. “But will the law be applied equally and fairly to the people who’ve made the choice that they’re going to use vandalism to retaliate against feeling offended by a joke? And to the unelected members of the BMC who have descended to Habitat this morning, suddenly, and dismantled the place by hammering it down?” he questioned.
The Opposition has come to the defense of the comic and attacked the Maharashtra government for going after him. Former boss Uddhav Thackeray of Mr Shinde said that Kunal Kamra spoke the truth. “It was not a satire. Those who steal are ‘gaddar’. There is no ‘freedom of expression’ when it comes to traitors,” Sena (UBT) chief has stated.
