Even before I had watched the All India Backchod’s (AIB) Knockout video, which went viral on the internet last week, I had already been subjected to a barrage of opinions on it. One side found it to be a celebration of homophobia, racism, sexism and general insensitivity, while the other found it to be a hysterical breath of fresh air in India’s nascent but fast-growing comedy scene. One way or the other, the concept seemed to elicit very strong reactions.
Still, these reactions were nothing compared to that of a few religious groups. That sentence hardly ever precedes anything good or sensible and so it has proved again. First, there was the Brahman Ekta Seva Santha, whose President Akhilesh Tiwari has asked for a first information report (FIR) to be filed against all parties involved in the show on grounds of obscenity.
Tiwari also decided not to spare us the clichés and termed it “an attack on Indian culture”. Hindu groups weren’t the only ones offended either. Five Christian organisations are also reported to have approached the police complaining that the show insulted Jesus and depicted Catholic priests as child-molesters. An FIR in both cases is expected to be filed soon.
FIRs being filed by outraged socio-religious organisations are hardly anything new. What actually took this from the fringes of the news to the mainstream was the legitimisation of these complaints by Maharashtra’s Bharatiya Janta Party legislator Vinod Tawde who has ordered a probe into the show. Tawde, who happens to be the state minister for primary, higher and technical education as well as medical education and culture, took time from, what one assumes, should be a fairly busy schedule to take exception to the performance.
Not only did Tawde take exception to the “obscenity” on display but also accused the participants of performing “without a performance license”. Newslaundry spoke to stand-up comic Anuvab Pal regarding the issue of a performance licence and he stated that while such a licence was necessary, he “couldn’t imagine AIB performing such a big event without the necessary licences”. Pal told Newslaundry that while a performer’s material is screened prior to licences being granted, the people in charge of the licensing are often not proficient in English, meaning that a lot of content slips by unnoticed.
After the news of the inquiry into the roast broke, public outrage and ridicule seem to have prompted a backtrack of sorts from the minister:
While his backtracking is a welcome relief, both to AIB as well as common sense, the issue of AIB having the requisite licensing remains to be seen. AIB, themselves, were not available for comments. The stand-ups, who are usually hard to silence, have been tight-lipped about the developments so far, restricting themselves to just this tweet:
While the AIB crew is maintaining a studied silence in the face of what is, almost certainly, an alien situation to them, I’m going to say what they probably want to but can’t, probably on the advice of a competent legal team – this whole issue smacks of stupidity.
To outrage over comedy, is to miss the point of comedy entirely. Comedy has always been used as a tool to address issues that typically are not addressed in “polite conversation”. Topics that are taboo, either culturally like sex or even legally like homosexuality, are all acceptable fodder for comedians. Through this, comedy becomes a tool to question social norms.
In this sense, comedians are constantly pushing boundaries, challenging people to overcome their discomfort and begin dialogues where normally only awkward silences would exist. The roast, whether one agrees with the format or not, achieves this, even if it does so through explicit jokes.
How long will it take before we actually look at Indian culture and realise that it is not this puritanical system we make it out to be? Profanity abounds on every street corner and in every gali. The choicest insults are woven so seamlessly into everyday parlance that we no longer bat an eyelid when we overhear it mentioned nonchalantly by adults, teenagers and even, to an ever-increasing extent, children. In fact, in today’s world of easy access and high exposure, profanity has moved from being taboo to a literary device that adds to expression rather than taking away from it.
Even if one were to refute that and accuse me of glorifying the obscene, the flak AIB is receiving both from the government and private parties is unfair. The performance took place with willing participants, in front of a willing audience (one would assume given that tickets were selling at 4,000 rupees a pop) and was only uploaded on YouTube where, at the request of the uploader (AIB) the content is age-restricted. In that sense, AIB have restricted their content only to those who expressly choose to, and are old enough to view it.
The show was not broadcast on television where minors or random people might have chanced upon it. Heck, the show even starts with a disclaimer describing it as “Rude, filthy and offensive”. What more could AIB have done to avoid offending the easily offended? Therefore, the problem lies not with AIB seeking to offend but with the upset parties actively seeking to be offended. Pal proposes the same solution the Supreme Court had mooted during the PK protests – “If it offends you, don’t watch it.” The court continues, “If we cater to every single person’s offended sentiments, where does it end?”
Update: AIB have removed the AIB Knockout video from their YouTube channel. We will update the story as it develops.