Not too far back, around the time the government of Goa began distributing LED bulbs as part of the Ujala/Jyotirnay schemes, a meme surfaced on facebook. The meme showed two men having a phone conversation about the LED bulbs. One asked the other if he received his quote of LED bulbs, to which the answer was yes. The next question was how good they were, to which the second man said that there was no power at home, so he couldn’t even use it. (P.S. It’s better in Konkani so we’ve attached the image to the story in print).
The two comedians were popular tiatrists John D’Silva and Comedian Selvy. D’Silva was incensed at the fact that his picture was used to fire a few shots at the government, on the poor state of electrical infrastructure in the state. He filed a case with the police against the man who created the meme, Prashant Parab.
Online, the debate raged on. Most people were taken aback by the popular comedian’s reaction. One person wrote, “John makes fun of anything and everything to make money. If that is justified then he should not have taken the post seriously.” Another said, “John D'Silva makes fun publicly of husbands who work abroad while their wives are 'enjoying' here. Should these husbands lynch him for making fun of them?” There were very few people on John’s side, perhaps many even refrained from saying anything for fear of a backlash from the larger section that supported Prashant Parab.
Even after a few days, people are still talking about it. If we had a section for comedian of the month, we would certainly give it to Prashant Parab for making us laugh out loud.
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PeopleSpeak
Let's examine the context instead of making broad statements. Firstly John D'Silva is a celebrity, a public figure and a comedian. He regularly makes fun of society and situations. For someone like him to be so thin-skinned is absurd. Secondly, John was not the target of the joke, the government was. Two comedians' faces were used to add some punch. Par for the course - I think. Thirdly, it is ok to be offended and express one's anger, but to make a police complaint about something so trivial is to cross a line.
Cecil Pinto, writer and businessman
Tiatrists criticise many people, from the government to even non-government. It’s very wrong on John D’Silva’s part. You cannot do what you want, but when someone else does it, you get upset. John also cannot say that he is not that type of tiatrist. A tiatrist is a tiatrist.
Bond Braganza, tiatrist
As a top comedian, John D’Silva occupies a special place in the hearts of tiatr lovers. I am surprised at the way he has overreacted. I see no intentional malice in Prashant Parab's action. In fact, Parab has given John respect as a celebrity by featuring him and Selvy in a lighter vein. John should realise such things are professional hazards when one is a celebrity. He has shown himself as intolerant to pranks.
Daniel F D’Souza, tiatr writer
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The #TGlife View
Across the world, celebrities are in the limelight and have their pictures used in memes. It’s part of being a celeb. John D’Silva cannot use one yardstick to judge himself as a comedian and another when someone uses his image for fun. This was not a matter of firing shots off someone else’s shoulders. It was a simple meme. No one should get offended by this. Of course, if it was insulting to a community or to a religion then it’s another matter altogether. In this case, John D’Silva is wrong.
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If you’re famous and people like you, or an expression, they’ll use you in memes. Wear it like a badge of honour. Just like these did.
