Hyderabad: Stand-up comedian Anudeep Katikala was arrested for joking about Andhra Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister and Tollywood actor Pawan Kalyan. The state police picked up the comedian from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on 14 April.
The arrest comes three days after a first information report (FIR) was filed against Katikala at the Kakinada Police Station. A complaint was lodged by a member of the Jana Sena Party (JSP), Bade Venkata. Katikala was reportedly visiting his parents in UP, and he was on a walk with his father when two police officers came for his arrest.
“He had already issued a public apology after his jokes began to draw abuse from fans of Pawan Kalyan on YouTube,” the comedian’s family member told ThePrint.
Trouble began earlier this month after Katikala’s comedy set was uploaded on YouTube. He had joked about Pawan Kalyan, and actor Ram Charan, son of ‘mega star’ and actor Chiranjeevi (Pawan Kalyan’s older brother).
In the video, the comedian called Ram Charan a “feminist” for not being insecure about his wealthier wife, Upasana. He also joked that people could learn from Pawan Kalyan when it comes to divorce, as neither of his ex-wives had accused him of abuse. Before his arrest, Katikala told The News Minute that his jokes were not meant to offend, but that he was trying to normalise divorce.
However, fans of Kalyan were outraged and issued violent threats against the comedian. Katikala subsequently apologised, and said that he had intended to normalise feminism as well.
He’s now been booked under sections 356(2) (punishment for defamation), 353(2) (making statements in public that are likely to cause public mischief or alarm) and 79 (uttering words or making gestures intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Also read: The Nizam heirs’ endless property disputes are costing Hyderabad its heritage
Taken out of context?
According to Katikala’s family member, the police tracked him down using his phone number.
“As his father is a government official, the local police were informed and they provided details of the FIR. The Superintendent of Kakinada said they are just following protocol and that he has to be physically present for the case,” they said.
Katikala is currently on his way to Kakinada by train with the Andhra Pradesh police officials. The comedian is an IITian turned stand-up comedian. He founded the Telugu Standup Comedy scene in Hyderabad and the group Silly South Comedy, India’s first Telugu stand-up comedy collective.
The cops, according to the family member, have said that he will be taken to a magistrate and that he will mostly be given bail.
“Nobody seems to have watched the video with context, as Anudeep has also praised the actors in English while cracking the jokes in Telugu. The police were talking only about a specific part of the video. The witch hunt came despite his apology,” added the family member.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)