Kunal Kamra Lashes Out At Shiv Sena Leader Threats Wont Stop Me Samay Raina

A couple of months after maintaining he has “no remorse, no apology” before a committee of the Maharashtra legislature for his remarks targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Kunal Kamra has doubled down on his beef with Maharashtra politicians, this time lashing out at Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande a couple of weeks after her alleged “threats” against stand-up comedians.

Kunal Kamra took to his X handle on Tuesday in order to respond to Manisha Kayande. “Apparently legislators in the state of Maharashtra want to re-write our constitutional freedoms. They are not content with dragging me through endless legal proceedings & ensuring that I don’t get a single performance space across the state,” he wrote, claiming that the Maharashtra government hasn’t permitted him from doing any stand-up comedy shows in the state after his remarks on Eknath Shinde.

“Ms. Manisha Kayande – ‘Wants to punish further’ — your threats won’t stop me from doing my job. I suggest you stop giving sound bites to please party leaders, and start doing yours,” added Kamra in his post on X.

Kamra is already facing a breach of privilege inquiry after Pravin Darekar, a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, referred the matter to the legislature’s privileges committee.

Earlier this month, Manisha Kayande, while addressing the recent “Rs 370 biryani” controversy, told PTI, “A lesson should be taught to such stand-up comedians. They are crossing all limits and making fun of anyone. They say whatever they want. I will introduce a motion in the upcoming monsoon session against such acts.”

She also looped in Kunal Kamra’s viral parody song, and said, “They make fun of anyone and earn money. They say whatever they want under (the guise of) the freedom of expression. This will not be tolerated in Maharashtra.” Earlier this month, even Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advised stand-up comedians to not misuse their right to freedom of expression by violating another’s right to dignity.

The “Rs 370 biryani” controversy blew up online after a video from stand-up comedian Pranit More’s Gurgaon show went viral. It involved an interaction with audience member Himanshu Jangra, who joked that after paying Rs 370 for a biryani he shared with a date, he expected her to get intimate with him. More, instead of shutting Jangra down, said, “Peak Gurgaon behaviour”, eliciting more laughter from the live audience.

A clip from Samay Raina’s popular roast show India’s Got Latent also resurfaced and went viral recently. In the video, which is from season 1 in 2024, he’s seen suggesting a contestant to lend his shoulder to his girlfriend in exchange of physical intimacy. Samay has already faced three FIRs as a result of a major controversy last year.

While Kunal Kamra never named Eknath Shinde, he used a parody of the title track of Yash Chopra’s 1997 hit romantical musical movie Dil To Pagal Hai to dub the Maharashtra deputy CM as a “gaddar” for turning on his party. After his show, Shiv Sena members vandalised the venue, The Habitat, and forced Kamra to flee from Mumbai.

After the Maharashtra legislature committee asked for an apology, Kamra said via X, “The way I remember the last three questions of my cross-examination this evening — Do you feel remorse? No. Are you sorry about what you said? No. If you tender an unconditional apology, this matter will be looked at differently — No, I can’t, as the apology would not be sincere. Also, it would set a terrible precedent for other artists and their freedom.”