Every time a controversy erupts in India, it takes only minutes for an old clip from Jaspal Bhatti’s Flop Show to resurface online. And this week was no different.
As social media erupted in outrage earlier this week over a detailed travel plan allegedly prepared for a senior BSNL official’s two-day visit to Prayagraj, a clip from the ’90s satire found its way to X.
A clip featuring Jaspal Bhatti as a flustered manager obsessing over samosas, seating charts and gulab jamuns — while ignoring the actual agenda of an impending meeting — began circulating widely.
The parallels were hard to miss.
The BSNL controversy involves Vivek Banzal, whose alleged 21-point travel document went viral for its elaborate instructions. Nearly 50 officials were allegedly assigned to manage arrangements for his February 25-26 visit to Prayagraj.
The document detailed everything from temple visits and a bath at the Sangam to personal comfort items including bath kits, slippers, shaving supplies and even hair oil.
In the viral clip, Bhatti’s character convenes a meeting — not to discuss strategy or policy — but to meticulously plan how to host the chairman. The seating plan is diagrammed with red dots for gulab jamuns and blue dots for samosas. Tea placement is debated.
And the meeting’s agenda? Deferred. “We will see the agenda tomorrow,” the manager declares, before delivering a final instruction: “But mind it, samosa should not be raw.”
BSNL cancelled Banzal’s trip after social media backlash and issued a statement saying the incident did not align with its professional standards. They added that appropriate action had been taken and that employees were reminded to strictly follow conduct rules.
Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also intervened, reportedly issuing a show-cause notice with a seven-day deadline for response.
This is not the first time that clips from Bhatti’s 1990s satirical TV shows have gone viral during a controversy. Last year, when several IndiGo flights were grounded, causing chaos across airports across the country, a clip from Bhatti’s 1990s show Full Tension, mirroring the situation, was widely shared on social media.