The vibrant stand-up comedy scene of the city seems to be under siege as many stand-up comics confess to self-censorship setting in among them, after shows by Munawar Faruqui and Kunal Kamra were cancelled recently.
When shows of the two well-known artists were cancelled in November-December 2021, it led to murmurs of "Brand Bengaluru" taking a hit. Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao took a dig at Bengaluru and invited them to Hyderabad and recently, Mr. Faruqui performed there, though amid protests.
City-based stand up comic Kjeld Shresth said self-censorship had indeed slowly crept in and nobody wants to crack any “risky jokes”. “I am personally thinking twice about every joke I write,” he said. Another stand-up comic, who did not want to be named, said that any form of self-censorship will eventually make any art insipid, especially comedy. “But I can’t afford to become the target of the mob and the ruling regime,” he lamented. He also said he did not understand why the police were not duty bound to provide security to the show and not prejudge the show based on a petition by a fringe group and ban the show.
