‘What is real comedy?’
It is perhaps one of those debates that never gets a definitive
answer. Political satire, social remark, dark humour — comedy has evolved along
with time. Some comedians are celebrated for pushing boundaries; others face
criticism for crossing them.
Recently, comedian Pranit More faced backlash after a viral video
showed an audience member boasting about how he felt entitled to intimacy
because he paid for a woman’s biryani on a date.
Not so long ago, India was debating the India’s Got Latent episode row that erupted after YouTuber Ranveer
Allahbadia posed a highly inappropriate ‘would you rather’ question to a
contestant regarding physical intimacy between parents.
So, is there a line that comedy should not cross? My Kolkata spoke with some comedians to get their point of view.
Funnyman and former radio anchor Sayan Ghosh believes some part of
the blame should go to the audience, too. “It is a reflection of the society we
live in today,” he said about some audience members losing sense of propriety.
Instagram/ @rawsayan
Comedy, he said, often mirrors social attitudes, but he felt that
does not mean harmful behaviour should be normalised or turned into punchlines.
“When jokes begin to validate rape culture or bullying instead of
questioning them, we need to ask ourselves what exactly we are laughing at,” he
said, adding that comedians have the power to shape conversations and should be
conscious of the impact their words can have.
Content creator and comedian Debi Saha, aka Kolkatar Konya, felt
that contemporary culture rewards provocation.
Instagram/@KolkatarKonya
“Laughter is often a social signal. It tells us what a group
considers acceptable, relatable, or harmless. Too often, some comedy spaces
become arenas for a familiar and troubling form of male bonding: men finding
common ground in stories that reduce women to commodities, conquests, or
transactions,” she said.
“The audience’s laughter is revealing because it exposes how
normalised such attitudes remain beneath the veneer of humour.”
Comedian Shiladitya Chatterjee said comedy should have boundaries.
“The important question a comedian must ask themselves: Was that
joke even funny?” he said.
Instagram/ @ShiladityaChatterjee
Any incident involving an audience member or comedian making
problematic remarks that were then laughed at and validated by others is a
problem, he said.
According to Chatterjee, the bigger issue is the decision to
publish such a clip despite its content.
“Comedians have every chance not to upload their comedy skits that
might meet with controversial remarks. But controversy gives a hundred times
more reach than a genuinely good joke,” he said.
Subham Chaudhari, popularly known as the funnyman Bong Short,
believes comedy should not be restricted, but said there was a clear
distinction between humour and humiliation.
Instagram/@BongShort
“When a performance crosses into misogyny or supports sexual
harassment, it is no longer comedy,” he said.
Another standup artiste, Sarnajit Bala, said that comedy doesn’t
happen in a vacuum.
“A joke about violence, especially against women, lands
differently in a country where they already spend a significant portion of
their lives calculating risk. Context isn’t the enemy of comedy. Context is the
entire mechanism,” he said.
Instagram/ @SarnajitBala
Parts of the internet have decided that kicking downward is the
new rebellion with jokes at the “underprivileged” fair game, he said.
Content creator and comedian Priyam Ghose said that comedians
should be more mindful of their audience.
“As the younger generation looks up to comedians, they should be
more aware of the kind of content they are putting out for his fans,” Ghose said.
Instagram/ @PriyamGhose
He added that stand-up comedy remains one of the few art forms
that allows people to express themselves freely, but that freedom also comes
with a responsibility to influence society with greater sensitivity, even if it
through humour.
