Indian comedy club trashed after political joke
Now police investigate... the comedian!
A comedy club in India has been trashed after a stand-up cracked jokes about a local politician, prompting the police to order an investigation… into the stand-up.
Footage posted online shows all-male crowd throwing furniture and using chairs to smash lighting fixtures at the Habitat comedy club in Mumbai last night.
Worker said to be from the local authority, were seen arriving at the venue this morning armed with sledgehammers, apparently to finish the job. It is reported they were to demolish the club under the justification it had been illegally built on ‘an encroached area’ adjoining the Unicontinental Hotel.
#WATCH | Mumbai: BMC officials arrive at Unicontinental Studio in Khar area of Mumbai. The officials have arrived here with hammers. Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/dLb1O2z3uT
— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2025
The disturbance occurred last night after comic Kunal Kamra ridiculed Eknath Shinde, the deputy chief minister of the Maharashtra state.
Kamra reportedly called the politician a ‘traitor’ in reference to his defection from one political party to another in 2022, prompting chaos in the region.
Soon after the show ended, supporters said to be Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena party stormed the venue.
The club issued a statement after the attack, distancing themselves from Kamra’s material.
They said: ‘We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us.
‘Artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices. We have never been involved in the content performed by any artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer.
‘We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy.’
Police are investigating the vandalism, but also confirmed that a defamation complaint had been registered against Kamra for allegedly insulting a political leader.
Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, an ally of Shinde, told reporters: ‘Insult of leaders cannot be tolerated. Everyone has the right to perform stand-up comedy, but freedom should not be unrestrained behaviour. Action will be taken under the law.’
Another political warned Kamra: ‘You will be forced to flee India.’
Kamra has not responded directly to the complaint, but posted a photo of himself with a copy of the Indian constitution, which protects freedom of speech and expression, captioned: ‘The only way forward.’
Published: 24 Mar 2025
