What began as a crowd-work segment at comedian Pranit More’s stand-up show has escalated into one of the most talked-about controversies this week. The backlash began when an audience member narrated a dating incident and suggested that spending Rs 370 on a meal entitled him to physical intimacy, triggering widespread criticism over issues of consent and misogyny. While the comments were made by the audience member, criticism soon extended to More for his reaction during the exchange. The controversy has since led to public apologies, social media backlash, an FIR by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, and responses from several public figures including Elvish Yadav, Rashami Desai, Sutapa Sikdar, Malti Chahar and more, bringing renewed attention to the responsibilities associated with crowd-work comedy and online content.
Sutapa Sikdar, wife of the late Irrfan Khan, expressed anger. She shared a post highlighting rape statistics in India and wrote, “Sorry?? After enjoying like a joker to get more laughter from more perverts in the audience? We don’t accept your apology — if we do nothing will change!” #mysogy #mentalrapes #enough #stop #pranitmore.”
YouTuber Elvish Yadav wrote, “₹370 ki biryani ne do cheezein expose kar di: Ek aadmi ko laga consent ka MRP hota hai. Aur ek comedian ko laga har uncomfortable silence ko laughter track se bachaya ja sakta hai. Biryani toh dum pe bani thi, controversy ego pe.”
Rashami Desai spoke about the 23‑year‑old Himanshu Jagra, who made the derogatory comments on the show, and called out Pranit More for entertaining him. She wrote, “Praful bhai, this is not comedy. It is an ordinary conversation and it has no content. They start communicating when they don’t have content or creativity. Pranit is not an artist. He’s also not a comedian. The fraternity will get trolled unnecessarily; this is really bad for genuine artists. And this boy has lost his job. Also, Pranit’s shows should be stopped. #Shame on Pranit. Shame on Gurgaon boy.”
Malti Chahar, who was romantically linked to Pranit during Bigg Boss, indirectly reacted to the row. She wrote, “₹370 biryani and Peddi… make you realise why many women are hesitant about marriage, why we value our independence, and why we choose to split the bill. Some women are even financially supporting men entirely. Yet we continue to be objectified, and a woman’s consent is apparently worth no more than a plate of biryani. After generations of fighting for equality, dignity and respect, it’s disheartening that we’re still confronting the same underlying mindset. To all mothers and future mothers: please teach your sons to respect women and understand the importance of consent.”
Comedian and actress Mallika Dua shared a strongly worded note on social media, reacting to the recent controversies involving comedian Pranit More, Himanshu Jangra, the 22-year-old Gurugram man linked to the viral “Rs 370 biryani” remark, and a KEM doctor who faced backlash for her comments about a male corpse’s private parts. She wrote, “Gaaliyaan rukni nahin chahiye, but let’s be clear: Woh l*du, comedian/comic/artist nahin hai. Us Jhtu keede ke saath koi ladki date pe nahin gayi thi; let’s be honest. Yeh roz 5 baar auto ke lite reject hota hai. He is a filthy scoundrel even in his C-grade made-up story. Uss jhtu ki jeb mein 370 kya 30 rupay bhi nahin hain. Vasooli vaale uske peeche lage rehte hain, I’m sure. He wasn’t fired from his job because of your outrage. He was clearly a below-average keeda even at work and was dispensable. He most definitely did not write that story in English.” In her post, Mallika called the doctor “badtameez” and said she lacked the competence, desire and basic decency required for the profession.
Kriti Kharbanda recently shared an Instagram story and dropped a savage response while reacting to the ongoing row. She wrote on the picture, “Manifesting (Not) the confidence of someone who treats Rs 370 like venture capital. Inflation is temporary. Delusion is forever”.
Reacting to the controversy, influencer and actress Dolly Singh shared a long note, addressing male comedians and content creators and calling for greater accountability. A part of her post read, “If you can act all mature, open-minded, women-respecting (saying you’re a feminist ally would be a stretch) in your sets and overall media footprint, please at least try to act the same performative act in your crowdwork and Instagram too! Of course there are many misogynistic pieces of s*** male creators/comics; what can we even say to them? But those who are at least nice (main toh performative hi bolungi vaise), I request you please bring it to your audience interactions too, online or offline. We’ve all seen the recent male comedian incident where not only did he let an as****e degrade a woman, promote extremely sexist and creepy behaviour on his live show, but he also laughed, clapped, laughed so hard he got up from his seat, requested a recreation of the incident, asked for details, got concerned over a religious mention but not for a woman, calculated the price of a kiss with said woman at 12 rupees, called that man the funniest in the room, and rewarded him with a cash prize of 5000 rupees. Disgusting behaviour.”
Kusha Kapila also reacted to the controversy. She wrote, “Urge women to call out disgusting comedy plenty. Please darna mat. Bakwaas kee hai toh drag karo badhiya se. Uploading a clip like that is a choice. Choosing to crack ‘certain’ jokes on women and hosting that on your channel IS A CHOICE. All of it IS A CHOICE. This, btw, is not comedy! It’s content designed to get a reaction. I am so glad so many women are calling it out. Bahut achha lag raha hai. Bahut mazza aa raha hai. Aaj main apne paison se order karke biryani khaungi.”
