NEW DELHI: Amidst the row over his recent stand-up show in which he joked about Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and other politicians, Kunal Kamra on Tuesday shared a video taking an apparent dig at Shiv Sena workers who vandalised the studio where he had performed.
Sharing a video in which Kamra can be seen singing a song ‘Hum Honge Kangaal‘, he inserted the clips of Shinde’s Shiv Sena workers vandalising the studio where the stand-up comedian shot the video.
The video also shows Shiv Sena workers protesting and burning Kunal Kamra’s effigies. The lyrics of the released song read, “Hum honge kangaal, hum honge kangaal ek din. Mann mein andhvishwas, desh ka satyanaash, hum honge kangaal ek din.”
The duration of the video shared by Kamra is approximately one minute and it is part of the recent stand-up video released by him on YouTube.
The Shiv Sena workers vandalised the Habitat centre in Mumbai after Kamra’s remarks about Eknath Shinde in the video released on Sunday. In the video, Kamra performed a parody of a popular Hindi song from the film “Dil Toh Pagal Hai,” apparently referring to Shinde as a “gaddar” (traitor). He also made jokes about recent political developments in Maharashtra, including the Shiv Sena and NCP splits.
Later, on Monday the Mumbai Police arrested 12 people for vandalising the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, where standup artist Kunal Kamra performed his recent show for YouTube ‘Naya Bharat‘.
Moreover, Kamra released a statement on his official social media handle on Monday and said that he would not ‘apologise’ for his act.
“An entertainment venue is merely a platform. A space for all sorts of shows. Habitat (or any other venue) is not responsible for my comedy, nor does it have any power or control over what I say or do. Neither does any political party. Attacking a venue for a comedian’s words is as senseless as overturning a lorry carrying tomatoes, because you didn’t like the butter chicken you were served”, Kunal Kamra’s statement read.
“Our right to freedom of speech and expression is not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich even though today’s media would have us believe otherwise. Your inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure does not change the nature of my right. As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system”, Kunal Kamra’s statement added.
