New Delhi, June 7: An association of nurses has written to information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley complaining against the "vulgar and derogatory portrayal of nurses" in The Kapil Sharma Show and demanding action against Sony TV channel.
The All India Government Nurses Federation, which represents nurses in government hospitals across the country, has especially objected to the episodes of the popular comedy show telecast on May 7 and 8 in which two nurses - played by actors Rochelle Rao and Kiku Sharada - were shown dressed "inappropriately and insulted" by participants. Members of the federation demonstrated against Kapil at Jantar Mantar today.
A show crew member termed the protests an "overreaction", while the government said it would scan the episodes and check if there was anything "objectionable". "While one nurse is shown as a hypersexual woman, dressed skimpily, the other nurse is shown as a fat ugly woman who is ridiculed by everyone," federation secretary general G.K. Khurana said.
"We can't accept this kind of stereotyping of women in our profession and want the Centre to intervene. The show's makers are adamant on ruining the seriousness and the selflessness of this noble profession," Khurana added. Another episode, telecast on May 29, raised the hackles by showing nurses as cheerleaders.
Former cricketer and MP Navjot Singh Sidhu is a permanent guest on the show, which started on April 23 after Kapil wound up his other popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, on Colors channel.
The federation has demanded that Kapil apologise for the controversial episodes - including one in which actor Akshay Kumar was shown throwing water on the "ugly" nurse - and such portrayals be stopped. "As it is, nurses are treated shabbily by hospitals, doctors and patients in this country despite our hard work and dedication. If comedians start mocking us in shows like this, a wrong message will go out to the public," said Purni Kathuria, another senior member of the federation.
An email query sent to Sony TV over the protests and the federation's demands remained unanswered till tonight but a senior member of Kapil's production said the nurses' association was "overreacting."
"Not only nurses, but a doctor and a teacher too, are characters on our show. By that logic, can we not show people belonging to any profession in comedy shows like this?" the member asked.
An official in Jaitley's ministry confirmed having received the nurses' federation's "complaint". "We have asked a director-level official to go through the episodes and find out if there has been any violation of the Cable TV programming code. If anything objectionable is noticed, we will initiate proceedings against the channel."
Sharada, the comedian who acted as one of the nurses, was arrested this January on charges of hurting religious sentiments after he mimicked Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The outcry against Kapil's show comes weeks after comedian Tanmay Bhatt was threatened with attacks after he did a Web video spoof on Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar.
