Comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself in the middle of a controversy, this time due to remarks made about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a stand-up performance. In his show, Kamra referred to Shinde as a “gaddar” (traitor) while singing a parody of the song ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’. His joke highlighted the political changes in Maharashtra, where major parties like Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have split into different factions. Kamra joked, “Shiv Sena first came out of the BJP, then Shiv Sena came out of Shiv Sena. NCP came out of NCP, they gave nine buttons to one voter… everyone got confused.” The video of his performance quickly went viral on social media, drawing mixed reactions from the public.
Backlash and vandalism
Many supporters of Shinde were angered by Kamra’s remarks. In response, members of Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena vandalised The Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai, where Kamra had performed. The police have launched an investigation into both Kamra’s performance for potential defamation and the damage caused by party workers. Despite the backlash, Kamra did not back down. He posted a picture of himself holding the Indian Constitution on Instagram, captioning it: “The only way forward.”
Old video of Kamra resurfaces
As this controversy unfolded, an old video of Kamra resurfaced, adding more fuel to the fire. The clip is from his talk show ‘Shut Up Ya Kunal‘, in which he appeared with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut. This episode was recorded in 2020, shortly after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished actress Kangana Ranaut’s Bandra bungalow. During the show, Kamra supported the demolition and even posed with Raut alongside toy bulldozers, seemingly mocking Kangana.
Accusations of hypocrisy
After this old video went viral, many social media users called Kamra a hypocrite. They pointed out that while he had supported the demolition of Kangana’s bungalow, he was now speaking about freedom of speech after the attack on The Habitat Comedy Club. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut showed support for Kamra, sharing his video with the caption, “Kunal ki kamal, Jai Maharashtra.”
