‘What are we laughing at?’: Kolkata comedians debate limits after ‘Rs 370 vasooli biryani’ row

‘What is real comedy?’

It is perhaps one of those debates that never gets a definitive answer. Political satire, social remark, dark humour — comedy has evolved along with time. Some comedians are celebrated for pushing boundaries; others face criticism for crossing them.

Recently, comedian Pranit More faced backlash after a viral video showed an audience member boasting about how he felt entitled to intimacy because he paid for a woman’s biryani on a date.

Not so long ago, India was debating the India's Got Latent episode row that erupted after YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia posed a highly inappropriate ‘would you rather’ question to a contestant regarding physical intimacy between parents.

So, is there a line that comedy should not cross? My Kolkata spoke with some comedians to get their point of view.

Funnyman and former radio anchor Sayan Ghosh believes some part of the blame should go to the audience, too. “It is a reflection of the society we live in today,” he said about some audience members losing sense of propriety.

Comedy, he said, often mirrors social attitudes, but he felt that does not mean harmful behaviour should be normalised or turned into punchlines.

“When jokes begin to validate rape culture or bullying instead of questioning them, we need to ask ourselves what exactly we are laughing at,” he said, adding that comedians have the power to shape conversations and should be conscious of the impact their words can have.

Content creator and comedian Debi Saha, aka Kolkatar Konya, felt that contemporary culture rewards provocation.

“Laughter is often a social signal. It tells us what a group considers acceptable, relatable, or harmless. Too often, some comedy spaces become arenas for a familiar and troubling form of male bonding: men finding common ground in stories that reduce women to commodities, conquests, or transactions,” she said.

“The audience’s laughter is revealing because it exposes how normalised such attitudes remain beneath the veneer of humour.”

Comedian Shiladitya Chatterjee said comedy should have boundaries.

“The important question a comedian must ask themselves: Was that joke even funny?” he said.

Any incident involving an audience member or comedian making problematic remarks that were then laughed at and validated by others is a problem, he said.

According to Chatterjee, the bigger issue is the decision to publish such a clip despite its content.

“Comedians have every chance not to upload their comedy skits that might meet with controversial remarks. But controversy gives a hundred times more reach than a genuinely good joke,” he said.

Subham Chaudhari, popularly known as the funnyman Bong Short, believes comedy should not be restricted, but said there was a clear distinction between humour and humiliation.

“When a performance crosses into misogyny or supports sexual harassment, it is no longer comedy,” he said.

Another standup artiste, Sarnajit Bala, said that comedy doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

“A joke about violence, especially against women, lands differently in a country where they already spend a significant portion of their lives calculating risk. Context isn't the enemy of comedy. Context is the entire mechanism,” he said.

Parts of the internet have decided that kicking downward is the new rebellion with jokes at the “underprivileged” fair game, he said.

Content creator and comedian Priyam Ghose said that comedians should be more mindful of their audience.

“As the younger generation looks up to comedians, they should be more aware of the kind of content they are putting out for his fans,” Ghose said.

He added that stand-up comedy remains one of the few art forms that allows people to express themselves freely, but that freedom also comes with a responsibility to influence society with greater sensitivity, even if it through humour.