No Country for Funny Men
Newspaper editorials can criticise, but Kiku Sharda ridiculed a so-called godman, and this his political supporters could not tolerate
A still from the film MSG: The Messenger starring Gurmeet Ram Rahim Insan
To fully understand the import of Kiku
Sharda’s arrest for allegedly insulting the so-called godman Gurmeet Ram
Rahim Insan, one has to consider that the comedian was picked up by the
Haryana police from a suburb in Mumbai and taken all the way to the
north Indian state. Anyone who knows how zealously policemen guard their
jurisdictions will be surprised at the cooperation given by the Mumbai
police to their counterparts in taking Sharda out of the state.
But then, both states are ruled by the
BJP and both chief ministers have a strong RSS background. Both were
quick off the mark to ban beef and impose similar harsh sentences for
possessing and selling it. And, both don’t particularly like comedians
– Manohar Lal Khattar’s government has gone after Kiku Sharda while
Devendra Fadnavis’s was offended by All India Bakchod. One phone call
from Khattar to his counterpart would have got things moving.
Sharda was arrested – then released on
bail and rearrested – for “hurting the religious sentiments” of the
followers of GRRI, (whose website calls him Saint Gurmeet etc). One
might ask by what token is the sect started by Gurmeet a religion
– indeed, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, had
passed an edict against him for appearing in the attire of Guru Gobind
Singh in a congregation. The Akal Takht are against not just him but
many other so-called godmen who wean away Sikhs by slyly approximating
the words and imagery of the gurus and this has led to many conflicts
between the two.
Serious allegations
Besides, the colourful Gurmeet, with his
fleet of cars and his penchant for garish clothes and cheesy films about
himself – in one he sings about being a “love charger” – is also facing
serious allegations of murder and sexual abuse. All in all, he is a
prime target for ridicule and mockery, the kind that comedians love, and
also for proper investigation into his operations.
But Gurmeet has something that endears
him to politicians – a vast following – and a word from him can bring in
the votes. At the moment, he is aligned with the BJP and he had
supported their candidates for various elections, including in Delhi
last year. Alas, despite that, the BJP was miserably trounced, so it is a
moot point whether he is that influential. In any case, the BJP does
not want to upset him and the Haryana government was quick to react on
the complaint against Kiku Sharda and send its teams to arrest him.
Yet, it is not just the love and
affection for Gurmeet or his ability to swing votes that has prompted
the Haryana government to go after the comedian. Kiku Sharda is after
all just the face who read out the lines given to him. Anyone who has
seen Comedy Nights With Kapil will know that it has perfected the
formula of mixing low-brow jokes with celebrity guests. The humour stops
just short of plain crassness, but there is no dearth of sexist humour,
double entrendre and comedians in drag (Sharda being one of them). The
main star, Kapil Sharma, stays a bit above the fray and occasionally
preaches homilies about respect and universal love, but the overall feel
is decidedly below the belt.
This is supposed to be a “family show”
and the audience has both men and women, including a large number of
middle-aged uncles and aunties who are the first to chortle and guffaw
at jokes about women. The stars gamely participate, usually around the
time of a film’s release, because marketing a film on every platform is
now considered crucial and this show’s large following, especially in
the Hindi belt, makes it very influential.
Kiku Sharda is one of the regulars on the
show and arguably one of the better performers. But he is no star. And
for the Haryana government, he was the perfect target. Had they picked
up Kapil Sharma, there would have been a big hue and cry, while the
script writers were too anonymous. By going after an actor with
recognisability but no influence, they have fulfilled their objective –
they have sent out a message that making fun will not be tolerated.
Today a godman, tomorrow politicians, even the highest in the land; that
had to be nipped in the bud.
Mockery stings
For Khattar and co., criticism is
tolerable, ridicule is not. Newspapers can write thunderous editorials,
pundits can scream on television, social media can rant, and it will not
really matter; but mockery will not do. Because mockery stings and
ridicule can cut in a way nothing else can. Sensibilities are easily
offended by the bitter truths that comedians say with the sugar coating
of humour. Pompous egos are pricked and those with puffed up self-images
cannot deal with that.
For Khattar and his ilk, sexism or
“non-vegetarian” jokes in Comedy Nights With Kapil are not the problem
– even a dig or two against Radhey Ma, who doesn’t count for much is
fine – but making fun of Gurmeet starts getting too close to the bone.
If not nipped in the bud, the next joke would be about Gurmeet’s
association with politicians and then there will be jokes about the
politicians themselves.
As usual, the film industry went into its
customary purdah and pretended not to notice that an entertainer and
artiste had been arrested for something so trivial. Kiku Sharda is
hardly big enough to bother about and even when stars such as Aamir Khan
were attacked, they did not get the wholehearted backing of their
colleagues. Who wants to take panga with politicians or even
godmen (though cinema has a long and glorious tradition of making fun of
fake, saffron clad gurus who are up to no good). A few like Anurag
Kashyap and Vir Das criticised the arrest, but it was left to Rishi
Kapoor – who is emerging as a sensible, liberal voice and is using it
without fear or favour – to declare he would play the godman,
challenging any one to arrest him. He right away grasped the core of the
issue – Gurmeet and his backers were bullies who simply had to be
mocked.
The quick response of the government, the
police and even the judiciary to one complaint in a distant state shows
which way the wind is blowing. The Khattar government’s action will
have a chilling effect on not just comedians but also writers, actors,
painters and everyone else. They will all be careful about not taking on
sundry gurus and political figures – well, some of them at least – and
this is unhealthy for a democracy. Happily Kiku Sharda has said it will
not affect his work. All the more reason to give him total support.
This piece appeared in The Asian Age
