Response to comedy is a matter of individual reflection and one’s viewpoints to laugh or not must not be imposed on others
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Some time back, a joke triggered an argument on a WhatsApp group. Soon enough, two opposing groups came to be. One group of people rose in defense of the person who had posted the joke. The other started speaking up in support of the one who had raised an objection.
Personally, I found nothing wrong with the joke. It was a rather innocuous share. A joke is a joke. Period. If you want to dig deeper into a joke then you are not on the right group, or not in the right frame of mind, or both. My problem is with the thin-skinned phenomenon that is taking our country by storm.
Founded by Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat around 2012, and later joined by Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya, All India Bakchod (AIB) is an adult comedy group based in Mumbai. The youth, in their twenties, started off with stand-up comedy shows and their YouTube channel gained immense online popularity. AIB optimized its online presence recently. A Snapchat video mocking Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkaruploaded by Tanmay Bhat got hyperbolic attention.
Having seen AIB videos in the past, I know their work is full of expletives and jokes that care a damn about anything other than making the point (if at all) they want to make. Disapprove them you may, but the fact remains that such is the way majority of Indian youth interact amongst themselves. Some find the AIB videos funny, some find them vulgar. The video in question has since been retracted from YouTube and if one were to just go by its transcript, it does seem in bad taste. But, that is besides the issue. The point is how and why, we as a people are taking humour so seriously in recent times. If their name is anything to go by, AIB is begging people to buck up and stomach a laugh for what it is: a laugh.
Can the enlightened ones please leave intellectual cudding aside and loosen up, a wee bit? Why so touchy?
The AIB founders are a bunch of youth who have turned comedy into a successful business. They have had the intellect to choose just the right medium to be able to say outrageous things and get away with it skipping on more jokes. The team made their television debut last year with On Air with AIB, a news comedy show. Jealous much because these young people are laughing their way to the bank without mincing words? One wonders if the problem of political parties is with the AIB jokes per say, or if the real beef is AIB’s online success and visibility which amplify the jokes that many others might be cracking or enjoying in the privacy of their homes.
Lata Mangeshkar’s only comment so far has been, “I don’t know who Tanmay Bhat is.” Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t commented yet. It is safe to assume that these two stalwarts are way beyond being bothered by the antics of a stand-up comedian. Bhat, in touch with reality as he usually is, perhaps knows this too well. It is taking things a bit too far, then, when demands are made to blank out the video, file police complaints and threaten with violence. The latter is not the sign of a constitutionally aware society.
It is not a sign of maturity when we elevate such issues into national limelight and spend precious energy in nit-picking comedy. There are many other “objectionable” comedies shown daily on national television and lapped up by masses without protest. Take for example, cross dressing in most comedy shows. The popularity of cross-dressing comedians who spew one sexist joke after the other evades me. Personally, I find such trends of making fun of a transgender/cross-dressing minority that is struggling to find space in the mainstream more harmful than joking about established personalities. But, the fact remains that such shows get huge TRP. Humour, then, is a matter of individual reflection and one’s viewpoints to laugh or not must not be imposed on others.
If there is a limit to freedom of expression, there should also be a limit to how seriously one takes oneself. Exaggerated ideas of self image, pride and prestige make us a tribe of thin-skinned people who are looking to grab every opportunity to feel offended. Making dislike known is fine and so is sorting it out on an individual platform with direct interaction with those who have offended us. What is scary, however, is that our country is producing collective tribes of thin-skinned people who whip up a mob psychology revolving around hurt and pride the first chance they get. We must learn to agree to disagree.
An article published on online portal Medianamatitled by Nikhil Pahwadiscusses in great detail the legal ramifications of freedom of speech. The article succinctly explains, with examples of court cases and Supreme Court rulings, how personal feelings of likes, dislikes, hurt and honour do not swell up in such an exaggerated extent as far as the constitution is concerned. If you can’t take a laugh, that problem needs to be sorted on an individual level. Making generic allegations and turning individual dislike into a collective petition of religious, community or national pride and honour is, well, funny.
