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Is the outrage over Tanmay Bhat's video parody of Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar justified?

What started out as a joke by All India Bakchod’s (popularly known as AIB) co-founder, Tanmay Bhat, has turned on its head in a way that no one could have imagined. Wait, maybe we are wrong about that – considering the demi-god status of both Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar in India, there might have been a lot of people who would have guessed that the video would snowball into a national controversy.

Within hours of the video surfacing on the Internet, it started attracting scathing criticism from various quarters – with Twitterati, Bollywood celebrities and even politicians being at the forefront. Bhat, a well-known stand-up comedian, posted a short skit titled Sachin v/s Lata Civil War on Snapchat using the app’s face-swap feature, and mimicked the two Bharat Ratna awardees in a rather impolite manner. That set off a wave of outrage and indignation that is yet to subside.

Bhat had also been in a controversy earlier with an AIB Roast and a monologue that he posted on feminism. But did his work this time really warrant so much attention?

About the video

Tanmay Bhat imitates Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar using Snapchat’s face swap feature

The video posted by the comedian shows an argument between the two legends about who is the better batsman – Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. Bhat starts by imitating the batsman considered by many to be the greatest of all time, and spouts lines such as "Virat is good with the bat, and the ladies”. He then moves on to his trademark roasting antics, uttering a few words in Marathi and portraying Tendulkar in negative light.

Bhat, who is also a  scriptwriter and producer, then goes on to insult melody queen Lata Mangeshkar by saying she is 5,000 years old and that it’s time for her to die. 

The ‘On Air with AIB’ anchor not only mimicks both the Indian legends, but also throws former Indian batsman Vinod Kambli into the mix for good measure. He then goes on to make the ultimate insult about the singer, saying that her fans will mourn at her funeral by singing her songs. The video ends with a number of taunts and insults in Marathi.

Who is Tanmay Bhat, exactly?

Tanmay Bhat
Tanmay Bhat on the sets of On Air with AIB

Tanmay Bhat is one of India’s youngest comedians and is a co-founder of All India Bakchod. He shot to fame with his podcast videos and TV series ‘On Air with AIB’ which was telecast on Star Plus as well as Star World. He is no stranger to controversies, famously drawing criticism when he made a disputable video on feminism.

An FIR was filed last year in Mumbai for his comedy roast show for using excessive vulgarity and profanity. He, along with Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Karan Johar and other invitees, were subjected to a strong backlash from conservative voices in the country after the relase of the roast video.

Also read: Vinod Kambli to file defamation case against Tanmay Bhat over Snapchat video

The FIR filed against Bhat: What do the cops have to say?

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has allegedly filed an FIR against him and demanded that the video mimicking Tendulkar and Mangeshkar be immediately removed. Other political parties including the BJP and the Shiv Sena have also demanded that action should be taken against him and AIB. 

The Mumbai police has initiated a probe following the complaints and the massive outrage from the political parties. DCP Sangramsingh Nishandar said an inquiry is being conducted by the special branch after Shelar complained about the issue to the city police chief Datta Padsalgikar.

 ACP Yashwant Pathak of the Cyber Crime Cell stepped into the controversy and said that an investigation is on to find the comedian's IP address, and that he has been in touch with Google and two social media sites to block the video.

How celebrities have reacted to the issue 

Bollywood has also reacted sharply to the video, and Bhat's portrayal of the two legends did not go down well with many of them. Several actors have slammed the video, saying that it is in poor taste and has nothing to laugh about.

Anupam Kher, the experienced Bollywood actor who holds the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for his contributions to cinema, was least impressed with the comedian’s work.

Another Bollywood actor who has mastered comedy through the years, Riteish Deshmukh, was quite shocked with the disrespect towards the legends that the video portrays.

Seasoned comedian Satish Kaushik went on to question the AIB member’s sense of humor. 

Celina Jaitely was shocked and demanded a public apology. 

 

How Tanmay Bhat himself has reacted to the stir

Finding nothing wrong with his comedy video, Bhat has ‘requested’ the viewers who liked the video to email their views to him about what they liked. A series of tweets followed after his video went viral.

The comedian also mockingly demanded money from Snapchat, because he sees himself as a contributor in the app's increased engagement.

Referring to the stir caused by the Roast last year, he tweeted 

The Sportskeeda verdict: is the outrage justified?

Since this is Sachin Tendulkar we are talking about, we aren’t really that surprised about the video creating such an uproar. The man has been known to make people go up in arms for issues much milder than this, with even well-loved personalities like Maria Sharapova and Dickie Bird suffering the ire of his fans.

But is that really needed? It’s a comedy video after all, which by definition implies that it shouldn’t be taken seriously. The only thing Bhat seemed to be looking for were laughs, and while he didn’t succeed in that, it doesn’t mean he should be crucified for his actions.

Yes, the video isn’t particularly high on the humour quotient; we barely let out a chuckle throughout the length of it. By all means, people are entitled to voice their criticism of the quality of the writing. If a comedian doesn’t make you laugh, he needs to be told about that.

But calling for his arrest, and demanding an apology from him for being disrespectful? That’s too extreme in our opinion, and not a reflection of our easygoing nature at all. Some people love offensive humour while others are embarassed or even upset by it. There’s a fine line between funny and offensive, and not everyone agrees on where that line is. 

Heaven knows we ourselves have been at the receiving end of criticism plenty of times from our readers who have been upset by our ‘fake Facebook walls’. But we stand by our words when we say that the content is not intended to offend anyone, and we’ll keep publishing more fake Facebook walls.

Not all humour is well-crafted and polite, and a comedian’s work doesn’t always make you laugh. But all we can do, and all we SHOULD do, is take it with a pinch of salt. Sure, criticize low-quality humour when you see something that shows lack of effort. But don’t call for the creator’s arrest.

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