Assam has filed a police case on the grounds of the show “India’s Got Latent,” in which a celebrity guest made indecent and vulgar remarks on the comedian Samay Raina’s show. The latter was registered after section 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code; multiple FIR were lodged against Allahbadia who has a huge following of 4.5 million on Instagram and 1.05 crore on YouTube. This controversy started last month when Allahbadia, who was a guest judge on the program, asked a contestant this question: “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day of your life or join in once and stop it forever?” This did not go down too well with the public, and many people outrightly criticized it as being vulgar and contemptuous of women’s dignity.Allahbadia, as well as others in the case, are Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, Apoorva Makhija, and Samay Raina. The Assam police for the first time were able to take action, with the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeting about the same.Ashish Ray and Pankaj Mishra, Bombay High Court lawyers, have sent letters to the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the state women’s commission. Their point of contention was that the film made by was alleged discriminatory and violated the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines. However, no such investigation against him has been mentioned so far. Rahul Easwar, who is a commentator, has also been through the FIR and asked for this to be filed under The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita too.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis disapproved of Allahbadia’s statements and said, “Everyone has the freedom of speech, but that freedom ends where it impinges upon another person’s freedom.” “Everyone has limits; if anyone crosses them, action will be taken,” he said.Accordingly, Allahbadia has then expressed his regrets about his remarks, saying that he was sorry for what he said and that comedy is not his forte. On the other hand, acceptance of it is still scarce due to the fact that most people ask for more severe actions to be imposed on him and others who also behave with such explicit and vulgar intentions.“For quite some time now, I’ve been a semi-regular viewer of ‘India’s Got Latent,’ and I should tell you that the latest episode disappointed me. I choose to be a fan of the show, and I find that a certain level of satisfaction and humor is fulfilled, but on this occasion, I felt a wave of vulgar and dirty comments that were not just uninteresting to a certain extent but that also made me feel very bad and to be affected as well.I do agree that the show is made to be edgy and go to the limit, but between being humorous and being unacceptable, there is a very thin line. Ranveer’s dark jokes were so nasty that everyone was horrified; therefore, I’m not shocked by public resentment towards him.The viewers, like me, expect the show’s makers and participants to give content of a higher caliber and in a more responsible and respectful manner. The matter of entertaining the audience is not the only issue but also making sure that they speak and do so with care as to what impact their words have on people.I’m happy that the authorities have gone after him and the show creators. It’s a step in the right direction, and I wish it would shake the entertainment industry up so that it could watch out for the material they put out.As for myself, I’m not sure whether I will continue watching the show or not. I would like to see the way they approach their content change radically before I could even look at them as an option to be given another chance. Meanwhile, I would of course never give up searching for other shows that can give me the same entertainment value, keeping in mind that my values are not compromised and that both the producer and the audience are equally respected.” – Tanziva, A regular audience had mentioned this during a discussion with true-to-life.Numerous prior episodes of the exhibition “India’s Got Latent” were criticized for using colloquial language that was not suitable for the parliament, where the contestants frequently made deprecatory, sexually-based comments about women and the physically disabled. In the contest, the individuals performed their talents all around, which led the show’s content to be more of an obscene and explicit nature.The lawsuit against Allahbadia and others signals to the social media influencers and content creators to be more responsible and respectful in their behavior. With great power comes great responsibility, and it’s time for influencers to recognize the impact of their words and actions on their followers and the wider community. Stay updated with the latest news.
By Anusmita Bhatta
Reporting for True To Life News Media Pvt. Ltd.