Podcaster Ranbir Allahbadia's comments have stirred quite a bit of controversy. But was it really about his intentions, or is humour just often misunderstood?
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00:00Dark humour, satire, insult.
00:02These are among a few categories of humour used by comedians,
00:06but they often landed them in legal trouble as well.
00:08Comedy is not my forte.
00:10Now in YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's case,
00:12his question to a contestant on the show India's Got Latent didn't sit well with many.
00:16In a video which was later deleted,
00:18he asked whether they would rather watch their parents have sex for the rest of their life,
00:22or join them once and put a stop to it.
00:24His comments upset many people, both online and offline.
00:28You have such great saints on your podcast,
00:30and you have such a bad mentality.
00:32This is not our culture.
00:34And as people debate about his comments,
00:36an FIR was registered in two states,
00:38and it also came up in the parliament.
00:40OTT platforms, all podcasters,
00:43should make strict rules for them,
00:46and they should be punished immediately.
00:49We have also made some rules for impoliteness.
00:52If someone crosses them, it's a very bad thing.
00:56If such a thing happens, it should be investigated.
00:59Amid the controversy,
01:00Allahbadia posted a video apologising for his comment on the show.
01:03My comment wasn't just inappropriate, it wasn't even funny.
01:06I'm just here to say sorry.
01:07Many of you asked if this is how I wish to use my platform,
01:11and obviously this is not how I wish to use it.
01:14I'm not going to give any context or justification,
01:16or reasoning behind whatever happened.
01:18I'm just here for an apology.
01:20I personally had a lapse in judgement.
01:22It wasn't cool on my part.
01:24The podcast is watched by people of all ages.
01:26Don't want to be the kind of person that takes that responsibility lightly.
01:30And family is the last thing that I would ever disrespect.
01:3331-year-old Allahbadia, who studied engineering,
01:36gained social media fame after starting his YouTube channel in 2014,
01:40and sharing his journey of fitness and weight loss.
01:42He eventually transitioned to long-form podcast,
01:45where he interviewed bigwigs.
01:47Dr. Jai Shankar, the most requested podcast.
01:50He also co-founded Munk Entertainment in 2018,
01:53and was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2022.
01:57The controversial episode of India's Got Latent,
01:59featuring Allahbadia, had snowballed into primetime discussions.
02:03But there were some social media users who defended the show, saying,
02:06What's behind the vest?
02:08When such songs are played in festivals,
02:10people don't say anything.
02:11Look at comedy as comedy.
02:13Definitely, this needs conversation, but not an FIR.
02:16Allahbadia was a guest on India's Got Latent,
02:19which is hosted by stand-up comedian Sameer Raina.
02:21Raina describes his show as an unnecessary reality show.
02:25It features people from across India,
02:27who showcase their talent in 90 seconds.
02:30A panel of judges rate the performances,
02:32and the winner gets a cash prize.
02:34The show often features judges who are celebrities,
02:36YouTubers, and singers,
02:38and they interact with the performers.
02:40During the course of the show,
02:41the judges are known to roast the performers,
02:43and sometimes even other guests.
02:45The show is estimated to earn around 1.5 crore per month
02:49from YouTube memberships.
02:50Multiple police complaints were filed against 30 people,
02:53including Allahbadia, content creator Apoorva Makhija,
02:57and Raina, as well as the organisers of India's Got Latent
03:00for the use of abusive language,
03:02promoting obscenity,
03:03and engaging in sexually explicit and vulgar discussion.
03:07Section 294 of the Bharatiya Naik Sanhita
03:09punishes anyone who sells, imports, exports,
03:12advertises, or profits from obscene material,
03:14including books, paintings, and figures,
03:17as well as any obscene content shown online.
03:19It refers to material that is excessively sexual
03:22or meant to arouse sexual interest,
03:24and that could corrupt or negatively influence people
03:27who are likely to see, hear, or read it.
03:29First-time offenders can face up to two years in prison
03:32and a fine up to Rs 5,000.
03:35Publishing obscene material online
03:36can lead up to three years in prison
03:38and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh,
03:40under section 67 of the IT Act 2000.
03:43Now, if the case regarding the controversy
03:45of India's Got Latent was taken forward,
03:47the court will decide if the comments were just vulgar
03:50or if they were obscene,
03:52meant to arouse sexual thoughts.
03:54But this wasn't the first time
03:55the show had gotten into controversy.
03:57Nearly a week before this incident,
03:59Samay's India's Got Latent was under scrutiny
04:02after a contestant from Arunachal Pradesh
04:04mentioned people eating dog meat.
04:06An FIR was registered against the contestant
04:09for damaging the reputation of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.
04:12Not just Samay, but many celebrities on YouTube
04:15had ended up in legal trouble because of their statements.
04:17Back in 2015, an episode of AIB Knockout,
04:21the comedy show,
04:22had to be pulled down from YouTube
04:23after several right-wing groups and Twitter users
04:26protested against its below-the-belt jokes
04:29and abusive language.
04:30A police complaint was also lodged
04:32against filmmaker Karan Johar,
04:34actor Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor.
04:37Stand-up comedian Munawar Farooqui
04:39was accused of cracking jokes about Hindu deities
04:42and the Gujarat riots in April 2020.
04:44A lawyer in Uttar Pradesh reported him to the police.
04:50The following year, in January,
04:52Munawar spent a month in a jail in Indore, Madhya Pradesh
04:55on the complaint of a Bharatiya Janta Party lawmaker's son
04:59who alleged he had insulted Hindu gods.
05:05Stand-up comedian Veer Das said he was called a terrorist.
05:08During a show in the US in 2021, Veer said,
05:15Many politicians and social media users
05:18called him out for insulting India.
05:20Seven charges were filed against him in India.
05:22He then issued a clarification, saying,
05:35In Alabadia's case,
05:37social media users found that the controversial question he posed
05:41had originally been asked in a podcast on a different YouTube channel.
05:45After the India's Got Latent controversy,
05:47Samar Rehna's shows in Surat and Ahmedabad were cancelled.
05:50The comedian also deleted all episodes of India's Got Latent from YouTube,
05:54saying,
06:11The comedian also deleted all episodes of India's Got Latent from YouTube,
06:15saying,