Tanmay Bhat’s Lata vs Sachin Civil War video that took a dig at Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar has snowballed into a controversy of sorts.
The MNS has already filed an FIR against the AIB stand-up comedian and has sworn to ban his shows in India.
I have already expressed my opinion on the video in my last 2 articles (10 secrets about Tanmay Bhat's Sachin-Lata insult, May 30),
But it’s also time to take viewpoints from across the board. Was the video funny? Or was it in bad taste? Have people overreacted to the story? I spoke to a mixed group – right from stand-up comedians to singers to writers of comedy shows.
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Raghu Ram, who had shared the stage with Tanmay during the AIB Roast in December 2014, backs the stand-up comedian. His opinion – Indians are too thin-skinned. “Taking offense is India’s national pastime. Offense is never given, it is taken. It is up to you whether you are offended or not. And just because you are offended, it doesn’t make you right. Back off!” he exclaims.
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Sorabh Pant, a member of the popular stand-up comedy group East India Comedy and a rival of Bhat’s AIB, too defends him. “Personally, I didn’t think the video is really funny. Having said that, I defend his right to say what he wants. One can’t say that you can’t joke about personalities. But in this case, I think the joke went too far.”
Which brings me to the actual point: When it comes to comedy, should one draw the line?
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“What do you mean draw lines?” fires TV celebrity Rajiv Laxman before adding, “Humour and comedy is not exclusive to India. The whole world has comedy shows, jokes and stand-up comedians. You want to be like the Taliban? If people go in bad taste, there should be another provision but not punitive or legal action.”
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Raj Shandilya, the former writer of Comedy Nights With Kapil, though is of the opinion that comedy is no laughing matter. One should exercise some amount of restraint when it comes to humour.
“We have shows like Comedy Circus, Laughter Challenge, Comedy Nights With Kapil and we enjoy that humour. But there’s also a way to present humour. Making a mockery of legends like Lataji and Sachin Tendulkar is not the way you present humour. He has crossed the limit.”
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Comedian Kiku Sharda, who was arrested for his mimicry of Dera Chief Guru Ram Rahim Singh, is averse to making a comment on this episode. A case of ‘Once bitten, twice shy’, he said, “People were making references to my episode. I don’t want to talk about it and get into trouble.”
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Singer Shaan, who is known to be close to Lataji, also feels that not everything can be passed off as ‘fun and jokes’.
“You can’t tell someone that you should die. Can I tell him that your mother is too old and that she should die? Will Tanmay Bhat find that funny? Can I say that you’re so fat that we can’t even hang you because the ceiling will break? Are these things funny?” he fumes.
Many who are defending Bhat’s video have a basic idea that they are resorting to – their ‘Freedom of Speech’. But is it as simple and fundamental as that?
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Producer Tanuj Garg, who could well be credited for bringing the video to everyone’s notice (he was the first one to tweet against it) believes that one can’t blatantly misuse the right to free speech.
“I am no prude, I am all for free speech. I was completely pro the Roast as well and enjoyed it thoroughly. But this kind of random and pointless lampooning of an icon’s physicality and suggestion of death is far from humorous. It is tacky and insensitive. Making disparaging remarks about a legend’s old age to garner eyeballs isn’t funny, it’s like going for the lowest hanging fruit,” he says.
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Many are of the opinion that he should apologise for his joke, which was in bad taste. But Ameya Khopkar, President of MNS Chitrapat Sena, wasn’t satisfied with that too.
At the time of going online, he said, “If Tanmay apologises, that’s not enough. He has to be arrested too.”
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Krishna Hegde, ex-MLA of Indian National Congress (Vile Parle), wants larger action. He said, “A bill should be moved that abusive content against Bharat Ratnas and the Father of our Nation will amount to unbailable offence with stringent punishment.”
And what about the man who finds himself at the centre of it all? Tanmay himself?
The ‘funny’ man posted a video on Snapchat, saying: For those of you who enjoyed the Sachin vs Lata Civil War video, can you just record and send me a video on this email ID please. I am going to try and use this opportunity to make a point about this situation.
Thumbnail Image Source: facebook/tanmaycomedy, dailybhaskar, india forums, youtube/eic & valleydreams