As Munawar Faruqui’s show gets cancelled in Bengaluru for second time, various artists express their views

"You have to have the intent of making the crowd laugh. So as long as that is happening, you should have the liberty to do it," said Shankar Chugani.
Comedian Munawar Faruqui (Video Screengrab | Munawar Faruqui YouTube Channel)
Comedian Munawar Faruqui (Video Screengrab | Munawar Faruqui YouTube Channel)

Standup comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show was cancelled in Bengaluru for a second time because the organisers had not sought permission from the police. City comedians speak to CE, raising concerns on restrictions on the freedom of expression

An artist should not be forced to quit his career. He has an audience base who wants to watch him. That’s his bread and butter. By not letting him do shows, it is like taking away his right to earn a livelihood.
— Pronoy Chowdhury

Comedy is a profession involving people who run their homes based on earnings from these shows. It’s unfair to these professionals. The concerns around the show are mostly bundled under the elusive term “public safety.” Wouldn’t it be more prudent to figure out solutions rather than cancel events? If I am hoping for the freedom of expression to express dissent, the entity I am expressing dissent against has the freedom of expression to lash back. As long as we understand that dynamic, we will be able to set aside corrosive emotions and express more articulately to defend whichever argument we are placing forth. Not letting someone perform their art makes very little sense in today’s world where access to someone’s art is just a few clicks away. — Shrirupa Sengupta

Coming from a comedy background myself, I’ve always thought it is wrong to let politics bleed into your comedy. We can’t risk mixing the two, because comedy is done to just have a few laughs and forget about it. Talking about religion is even trickier, it is overrated to bring religion into comedy. At the end of the day, the audience has a right to choose what they want to see on stage. — Sunetra Pandit

It is very sad that an artiste whose entire life is based on touring has to face this time and again. It would be great if a virtual route could be taken to not let the tickets go waste and let the audience get the show they wanted to watch. It should be the audience’s decision to watch or miss a show. Not someone else’s. By depriving the audience of the show, they are only increasing the curiosity of his material and ensuring he sells out auditoria. This is, in fact, acting as a great publicity strategy for Munawar despite believing the absolute opposite. — Bindu Rao

A comedian’s responsibility is to perform a show that gives the audience the best bang for the buck. Knowing the vibe of the audience, setting a show that is not crowd specific and showing them a good time is the priority. Making a political statement by doing standup comedy, I’m not so sure about that. Sometimes it is our job to modify our comedy in a certain way so that it is acceptable to a diverse audience. There’s an abundance of sensitive topics and if comedians are careful in their approach, they can have a jolly audience. At the end of the day, that’s our job, to make people laugh. — Pavan Venugopal

You can make a number of jokes about potholes, bad roads or politicians being corrupt. These are things you can poke fun at. Nobody is stopping us from doing this. Being a Kannada standup comedian and having done 200 shows, what I have figured out is that the audience is not really exposed to liberal topics. We need to ease in some subjects gradually. However, I believe that if the audience is not agreeing with you, then there is something wrong with your content/ jokes. — Karthik Pattar

I just hope that there is a space where comedians won’t get detained for saying what they have to say and there is some kind of understanding. Just because you have the liberty to say anything on stage, doesn’t mean you go up and yap. You have to have the intent of making the crowd laugh. So as long as that is happening, you should have the liberty to do it. — Shankar Chugani

DIYA MARIAM JIMMY, ISHITA ANN BRUNO, NEHA REBECCA CHACKO, TUNIR BISWAS , YOHANN SOLOMON

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