Rs 370 Biryani Row Himanshu Jangra Fired 2 Clients Stepped Back Pranit More

Two days after Himanshu Jangra was fired from his Gurgaon-based company for a now-viral inappropriate “Rs 370 biryani” joke he cracked during Pranit More’s stand-up comedy show, his boss has now explained what behind taking such a drastic step towards the 22-year-old employee. Vivek Vishwakarma, founder of design and marketing agency Starvik Design, where Jangra worked, has claimed that the online backlash towards the controversy started affecting their relationship with clients.

“Every post got hundreds and thousands of bad comments. Two clients we were in talks with also stepped back when this arose,” he said. “My work was getting hampered,” claimed Vishwakarma. “It was a business decision for myself, my brand,” he added, clarifying that Jangra’s sacking wasn’t personal. In fact, Jangra himself stopped coming to office two days before his termination because “he was also not comfortable”.

Jangra’s boss also clarified that before taking the decision, he first initiated an internal review on the employee’s conduct. “The team described him as professional, respectful, hardworking, and well-behaved at work,” reiterated Vishwakarma, also attesting for Jangra’s usual behaviour personally. “Things were offensive, but that was not the person that I knew at the workplace — that was a totally different personality. I know his mindset. He is quite a good employee,” the founder told NDTV.

Initially treating the “Rs 370 biryani” comment as a personal matter, Vishwakarma continued to treat Jangra professionally. He never confronted him on the controversy, but Jangra explained himself unprompted. “Sir, the vibe I was getting from there — the show was about that — and people were that much comfortable. I also got that much comfortable, and I went there. I also had a little — I didn’t know that it would go viral,” Jangra told his boss, who suggested to him that he should’ve been more careful with his words.

Vishwakarma claimed that while he’s no longer in direct contact with Jangra, he’s aware that the former employee has now returned to his hometown in Haryana and blocked all channels of contact. “His family, friends, circle, everybody got to know about this. He is getting threat calls and everything. He has isolated himself there,” claimed Jangra’s former boss.

Vishwakarma maintains that he empathizes with Jangra because of his background and age. “For a 22-year-old guy coming from a town in Haryana and getting all those things — he was already more influencer type,” said Vishwakarma, adding, “The reason why people are angry is very justified. My hope is that Himanshu reflects on this chapter of his life. My hope is that he learns from it.”

In his earlier statement, Vishwakarma had said, “A person can be wrong. A person can make a terrible mistake. A person should face consequences. But I hope we never become a society that believes people cannot learn, reflect, apologise, or change. Social media trolling is not a joke, and that too for a 22-year-old mind.”