BHUBANESWAR: Freedom of speech and expression is fundamental in any modern democratic setup. People possess the right to criticise their chosen representatives if fail to fulfill their promises. While political satire thrives in western societies, it is often met with opposition and even death threats in the largest democracy on the planet.
International comedians and talk show hosts such as Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervies and Gerorge Carlin among others were famous for their political satire and gags on political leader. Shows like Saturday Night Live are quite popular for their political gigs.
Recently, Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj in his show ‘Patriot Act’ talked about the upcoming Lok Sabhha elections in India where he cautioned Indian people to be wary of ‘Desi’ uncles and aunties. In the show, he covered nearly all facets of Indian politics. The 33-year-old threw light on Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, RSS and corruption during the Congress rule.
However his show was met with a mixed response. Some users slammed him for his comments on the RSS, while others were clearly not impressed with the ‘research’ gone into the episode. In October last year, a young comedian Shyam Rangeela was in the news for his mimicry of Narendra Modi in a private TV show which was later asked not to be telecasted.
The incidents clearly paint a grim picture of political satire in our country. Young comedians like Kunal Kamra and Varun Grover get death threats repeatedly. However, the situation is somewhat different in the state. Multiple Odia comedians have used political satires to corner the state government. They have even mimicked powerful politicians of the state including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. However, such comedians facing any degree of opposition is unheard of in the state.
City-based comedian Roshan Bisoi said, “Political satire is important in these times. It is one of the most powerful mediums of dissent. We have been actively putting satirical content on our live shows. Apart from this, we conducted a political satire show called ‘Desh Mera Rangrez’ which was very popular among youths. Mimicry artist Pragnyan Ranjan Khatua said, “Political satire is a way of expression and entertainment. However, we are often criticised for our content on politics.”
Akash Baghar of Bhubaneswar Komedians said, “The reason why there hasn’t been a local outrage against satire is absence of impactful content to begin with. We as a community tend to react faster to poor attempts at humor, case in point Abhijit Iyer. Imagine the reaction to humour that’s credible, funny, impactful and unfortunately for the creator, viral.”
Another comedian Satyabrata Mohapatra said, “Standup show is a place where a comedian gets to express his/her political views before a neutral or politically pre-inclined mass in a humorous way. Kunal Kamra and Varun Grover have only questioned the governance in their own way and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. We comedians have equal rights as voters. The right to have a political opinion is one of our fundamental rights.”
Comedian Asit Panigrahi from Don’t Question Your Authority said, “The comedy scene in the state is very impressive. Satirical shows are quite successful in Odia channels. The best thing about Odisha is that no one takes offence. I haven’t faced any kind of opposition here even though my content is based on politics and several taboo topics.”
The study proves that the country can take a leaf out of the state’s book in terms of reaction to political satire. Comedians who engage in political satires should not be gagged. Rather, it should be viewed as constructive criticism in order to make our society more tolerant.
Arindam Ganguly, OP