Kunal Kamra has once again found himself in the spotlight. This time, for his satirical commentary on Maharashtra’s political landscape. During a stand-up performance, he mocked the shifting alliances and splits within major political parties like the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Referring to Eknath Shinde’s departure from Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership, Kamra quipped, “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.” He also performed a parody song to the tune of ‘Dil To Pagal Hai,’ indirectly labeling Shinde as a “gaddar” (traitor). The video went viral on social media, drawing widespread attention and reactions, and was followed by a lot of criticism from the political leaders.
Backlash, but Kamra says, “The only way forward.”
The supporters of Shinde were furious over the parody. In retaliation, party workers vandalized The Habitat comedy club, causing damage to the venue. The police launched an investigation, looking into both Kamra’s performance for possible defamation and the vandalism carried out by the party workers. Despite the backlash, Kamra did not step back. He shared a picture of himself holding the Indian Constitution on Instagram, with the caption, “The only way forward.”
When Kamra refused to apologise to Salman
But this is not the first time Kamra has gotten into such controversy; back in 2024, during one of his stand-up shows, Kamra made jokes about Salman Khan, mentioning the actor’s past legal troubles, including the 1998 blackbuck poaching case and the 2002 hit-and-run case. Many of Salman’s fans were angered by these jokes, leading to a huge backlash on social media.
Things escalated when reports suggested that Salman Khan was planning to take legal action against Kamra for defamation. Film critic Kamaal R. Khan (KRK) later shared a video of Kamra’s performance on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Responding to the news of a possible lawsuit, Kamra tweeted, “I am not a flying bird or a stationary footpath, and I don’t apologize for jokes anymore…”
