Comedian Kunal Kamra took to Twitter on Wednesday and announced that his shows in Bengaluru, which were scheduled over the next two weeks, have been cancelled.
“They’ve been cancelled for two reasons. Firstly, we didn’t get special permissions to seat 45 people in the venue that can seat more. Secondly, threats have been made to shut the venue if I were ever to perform there. I guess this is also part of the COVID protocol and new guidelines. I suppose I am seen as a variant of the virus now”, Kamra wrote.
“For those on Twitter that have been wondering how ‘A Kamra goes on to perform while a Farooqui has had to quit comedy’ we can find solace in the fact that the ruling class is at least trying to oppress with equality. Maybe if we continue down the road of equal oppression, we would get to a point of equal liberation, in a post climate change era,” he further wrote.
Kamra also put forth some ‘steps on how to cancel a show’. Among them were: “Inform the police that there could be violence” and “Be ready with celebration memes that show your victory and togetherness in missing the point.”
“You can also apply this formula to an artist that you don’t agree with, you don’t find funny or don’t like their art. You can also use it to keep yourself busy and keep life exciting,” the comedian wrote.
Kamra was recently criticised on Twitter for continuing his shows despite fellow comedian Munawar Faruqui announcing his exit from stand-up comedy following the forced cancellation of his show in Bengaluru.
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In his post, Faruqui had talked about the cancellation of 12 of his Dongri To Nowhere shows beginning with Ahmedabad, followed by Mumbai, Raipur, Goa, and finally Bengaluru, in the last two months due to threats from Bajrang Dal, the Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). He further referred to his arrest in Indore earlier this year for a “joke he did not make” which was the beginning of the comedian’s hounding by the right-wing groups.
Post Faruqui’s announcement, several comedians issued statements condoning the events that led up to him quitting.
Kamra, who is facing a contempt of court case for cracking a joke, had also taken to Twitter and said, “With every passing year, I feel laughter is costing comedians more and more. It’s costing them their spontaneity and it’s costing them their impulse. I have even heard some comedians telling jokes to their lawyers and showing their video to a legal team before they release it online.”
He had further added that for any comedian to be so calculative is in itself “the slow death of the art form.”