Stand-up comedians Kunal Kamra, Varun Grover, and Arpit Sharma were among the many who took to social media to express support for Munawar Faruqui following the stand-up comedian’s hint that he would quit comedy after having 12 of his shows cancelled in two months owing to threats from right-wing groups.
“I am sad today that Munawar feels like quitting an art form he loves and is brilliant at – but am sadder that we have let our minds be manipulated enough to stay indifferent in the face of such developments,” wrote Grover in a statement on Sunday evening.
Earlier on Sunday, Faruqui had hinted at quitting stand-up comedy in a social media post following the forced cancellation of his show in Bengaluru that was scheduled for later that day.
“I think this is The End. My name is Munawar Faruqui and that’s been my time. You guys were a wonderful audience. Goodbye! I’m done,” the comedian wrote.
In the post, Faruqui mentioned 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 following 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.
Following Faruqui’s post, several actors, writers, comics, journalists, politicians and many others across the country took to social media condemning the situation that led to Faruqui having to say “goodbye” to comedy.
“Satire and stand-up have always been dangerous art forms because dissent is their foundational principle. But with a mix of fake news pandemic, crawling-in-the-mud mainstream media, and happy-to-look-away police and judiciary – we are always a day away from an artist being publicly lynched for their thoughts, and the lynching celebrated,” wrote Grover.
“The recent hounding on Munawar is yet another brick in the same wall,” he added.
Fellow comedian Kamra wrote, “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.”
Kamra, who is facing a contempt of court case for cracking a joke, further added that for any comedian to be so calculative is in itself “the slow death of the art form.”
Comedian and satirist Arpit Sharma, meanwhile, said, “As an artist, if I had ‘Khan’, ‘Farooqui’ or ‘Kappan’ as my surname, I would have had a different story altogether on social media. I know I get that escape gate being a Hindu. But, I always ensure that I utilise this privilege for truth and justice.”
“With you, Bhai,” he added, tagging Faruqui.
Recommended
Other celebrities who expressed solidarity with Faruqui included actors Swara Bhaskar and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, musician TM Krishna, advocate Karuna Nandy, journalist Rana Ayyub, and climate activist Disha Ravi.