Comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday criticised Bollywood studio T-Series, alleging that his stand-up special "Naya Bharat", which has kicked up a huge controversy over jokes targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, was flagged for copyright violations on YouTube.
Kamra on Wednesday dropped a new video from the comedy special, in which he performed a parody of "Hawa Hawai" from "Mr India" to criticise Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her policies.
The songs of "Mr India", which featured Anil Kapoor and late cinema star Sridevi, belong to T-Series label.
Kamra shared a screenshot from YouTube on X, which showed "Naya Bharat", his new video, has been blocked due to copyright restrictions and therefore is not visible to viewers.
Due to copyright claims, the video will not be able to generate revenue as well.
"Hello @TSeries, stop being a stooge. Parody and Satire comes under fair use legally. I haven't used the lyrics or the original instrumental of the song. If you take this video down every cover song/dance video can be taken down. Creators please take a note of it," the 36-year-old comic said.
"Having said that every monopoly in India is nothing short of Mafia so please watch/download this special before it's taken down. FYI - T- Series I stay in Tamil Nadu (sic)," he added.
In a statement, a spokesperson of T-Series said, "Mr Kunal Kamra has not taken any authorisation or approval for the usage of the underlying musical work in the song hence the content has been blocked for infringement of composition rights," news agency PTI reported.
"Naya Bharat", which also made jokes about recent political developments in Maharashtra, including the Shiv Sena and NCP splits, has amassed over 6.7 million views on YouTube.
Since uploading the video on Sunday, Kamra has also received monetary contributions from his fans through YouTube's Super Thanks feature, which allows creators to earn revenue and engage with viewers.
On Sunday night, Shiv Sena members damaged the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, where Kamra's show took place, as well as a hotel in whose premises the club is located.
Kamra has said he will not apologise for his comments made in the video.
Several netizens voiced their support for Kamra on the micro-blogging platform, criticizing T-Series for the copyright claim. Many users pointed out the "irony", alleging that the studio itself began by selling copied songs. Others argued that satire and parody should be protected under fair use, calling the move an attempt to stifle creative expression.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair also weighed in on the controversy, sharing a video on X that accused T-Series of using a backing track without permission.
"@TSeries stole a backing track from a Bengali artist without permission. If you use their songs, they will claim copyright in 10 sec, but when it’s about them, they can steal. This track was created by Rajarshi Mitter six years before the release of the song," Zubair alleged in his post.
Another user joined the discussion, calling out T-Series over past allegations of plagiarism.
"Hello @TSeries, you must have copied thousands of Pakistani songs by now. Does legality or shame not cross your mind then?" the user wrote.
Another user expressed frustration over the issue, announcing their decision to unsubscribe from T-Series and Lahari Music.
"I am unsubscribing from T-Series and Lahari of Kannada—these should be curbed. We actually wanted to show the power of Indians to America, that we are more in population and internet users, and so we subscribed to T-Series.
People, it's in your hands. It's up to you to show people's power, to curb monopoly—we all have to do it," the user tweeted.
While many users criticized T-Series over the copyright claim, several others came out in support of the music label, urging it to take legal action against Kunal Kamra.
"More power to you @TSeries, don't back off. Teach this Hindu-hater bigot ‘Tak Le’ Kunal Kamra a good lesson, the public is with you. File a copyright infringement case against this ‘Tak Le’ and also a defamation case," one user tweeted.
(With inputs from Online Desk, PTI)