Freedom of expression in the world’s biggest democracy is under attack as police, politicians, and religious groups unite to target the country’s first celebrity roast they deem offensive and against Indian culture.
All India Bakchod (AIB), India's biggest comedy group, is facing multiple investigations by the police, after they hosted the country's first celebrity roast featuring prominent Bollywood celebrities.
![All India Bakchod (AIB), India's biggest comedy group, is facing multiple investigations by the police, after they hosted the country's first celebrity roast featuring prominent Bollywood celebrities.]()
AIB comedian Tanmay Bhat (left) takes a dig at actor Ranveer Singh (top right) who is dating one of Bollywood's biggest actresses, Deepika Padukone (bottom right).
AIB / Via buzzfeed.com
The Mumbai-based comedy collective roasted two Bollywood actors, Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, on Dec. 20 in front a live audience of around 4,000 people that included several other A-listers.
An edited version of the roast was uploaded to YouTube a month later, getting more than a million views within hours. It eventually reached around 10 million hits across three parts before the group took down the entire video on Feb. 3, after several police complaints and threats from political parties that objected to what they considered the vulgar, obscene, and sexually explicit content of the roast.
Religious organizations in Mumbai demanded the police to take action against AIB, the actors, YouTube, and others for violating religious and cultural sentiments.
![Religious organizations in Mumbai demanded the police to take action against AIB, the actors, YouTube, and others for violating religious and cultural sentiments.]()
Facebook: agnelo78
In a written police complaint, the president of a Mumbai-based right-wing Hindu organization, Akhilesh Tiwari, said the show was "extremely abusive and it is not only ruining the clean image of the Indian culture and women, but is also misleading today's youth," DNA India reported. "The police action would be a deterrent to them so that they would not dare to do such acts publicly in future," Tiwari said, while questioning their audacity to pass "dirty comments."
The president of a local Christian youth group that marched to the police station to register a criminal complaint said the show was "against Christ."
The state's cultural affairs minister initially assured there would be "no moral policing" but later backtracked and promised to take action against AIB if a government inquiry found the roast to be "vulgar," DNA India reported.
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