Dancer Raghav Juyal, the host of Dance Deewane 3, has issued a clarification after getting called ‘racist’ for his behaviour on the show. In a video on Instagram, Juyal urged everyone to watch the entire show and not judge him based on a short clip.
On Tuesday, a short video clip of around 40 seconds from Dance Deewane 3 went viral on social media. In it, Juyal speaks in parody ‘Chinese’ using words like “momo” and “chowmein” while introducing a contestant who hails from Guwahati, Assam. The clip resulted in much outrage on social media.
Calling it “unacceptable,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condemn it unequivocally.”
Prodyot Manikya Deb Barma Bahadur, the current head of Tripura’s Royal family, a political activist and the editor of TNT-The Northeast Today, also shared the clip and expressed his anger at the audience laughing and applauding Juyal’s monologue. “What angers me is that this third rate comedian is not just comparing us Northeastern people to the Chinese, but look at the way the audience is laughing and clapping at this terrible joke! And then people question why we feel that we are not part of the mainstream?”
Soon after the backlash, Juyal took to Instagram to clarify with a video addressed to “all my NORTH EASTERN friends.” In this video, he says that “being called racist” is affecting his mental health and that of his close ones. He adds that the viral clip is only a short edit from a very big show and urges everyone to watch the entire show, including the previous episodes, before judging. He explains that when Gunjan had initially come to the show, they had asked what other hobbies she had aside from dancing, and she had answered that she likes speaking ‘Chinese’. That is where it all began, Juyal claims.
He also shared a video from an older episode where actor Madhuri Dixit, a judge on the show, is seen asking Gunjan what she likes other than dance and the child says she likes speaking “Chinese” and goes on to speak in gibberish.
Later, on Tuesday, Gunjan’s father confirmed the same when speaking to Guwahati Plus. He said the reason behind Juyal’s introduction was simply his daughter’s earlier mention that she spoke Chinese. He also clarified that it was not a racist move by the host.
