New Delhi: In a dimly lit room in Hauz Khas, a man takes the mic and talks about his life’s downfall and the biggest tragedy of all: hair loss. If he ever goes fully bald, he jokes, that might become his entire identity. Five minutes later, another comedian pokes fun at how senior citizens complain when you don’t talk to them, but then get offended when you do.
At the comedy club Light Room on 8 April, the jokes and laughter flowed freely—about hair, marriage, uncles and aunties, friendship. But one topic was conspicuously absent: politics. And it’s much the same at other Delhi comedy clubs.
The stand-up scene is full of horror stories about what happens when politics and politicians become the punchline. Cautionary tales abound—Kunal Kamra, Vir Das, Munawar Faruqui. FIRs, trolling, venue pressures. Watching from the sidelines, many budding comedians are deliberately steering clear of political humour.
“We joke about ourselves and talk only about what’s happening in society. Politics is a part of society, but looking at the recent controversies, it feels like it’s better to stay away from it,” said one artist, asking to remain anonymous. It’s a rule of thumb he follows whenever he performs at comedy clubs that platform newcomers in Delhi-NCR.
“Earlier, before writing a joke, we used to think about whether it would make people laugh or not. But now, we have to worry about whether it might cause a controversy,” he added.
The latest reminder of how badly things can go wrong came in March. At his ‘Naya Bharat’ show in Mumbai’s Habitat Comedy Club, comedian Kunal Kamra called Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde a “traitor”. The backlash came after Kamra shared the clip on social media. Shiv Sena workers vandalised the venue. Multiple FIRs were registered against Kamra. His show listings disappeared from a booking site. The police even summoned audience members.
The recent controversies have divided both comedians and audiences. One group argues that some topics are too sensitive and that comedy should sidestep issues that target a community or offend anyone. The other group supports freedom of speech and says politics, like any other topic, should be fair game.
“If you like the joke, laugh; if not, just move on. There’s no need to get offended,” said 34-year-old Shubham Mann, who had come with his friends to attend a show at Comedy Cartel in New Friends Colony. “If a comedian can’t talk about his own country’s politics, then how can the public talk about it openly?”
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Self-censoring comedy
“Do you remember your first kiss?” Prince asks the audience as he steps onto the stage at Comedy Cartel. A few smiles ripple through the crowd of about 15. This changes to roaring laughter as he recounts the story of his own first kiss.
He tells the audience it all started with a midnight challenge from his girlfriend: “Come to my house right now. And if you do this I’ll give you a kiss.” Excited but clueless, Prince turned to his best friend, who instantly got more excited than him and started a WhatsApp group to plan “Mission First Kiss”.
The rest of the story involves Prince’s father somehow being added to the group, a frantic exchange of strategies to reach the girlfriend’s house, and finally being greeted near her colony by a pack of neighbourhood dogs—not with love, but with a full-speed chase that sent them fleeing for their lives.
As Prince delivered the final punchline, the entire room burst into laughter, applause, and hoots. These are the kinds of humorous personal anecdotes and self-deprecating jokes that now dominate Delhi’s comedy’s scene.
Clubs like Comedy Cartel and Light Room give emerging comedians a platform to perform. Shows usually run for over an hour, with a new performer taking the stage every 5 to 10 minutes. Crowd interaction, through questions and banter, is an integral part of such shows. But anything opinionated is largely off the table.
“We are emerging comedians. We don’t want to take any kind of risk that could end our career even before it has really started,” said 23-year-old comedian Sumit Pathak. “It’s better to make fun of yourself than risk offending someone.”
‘Respectful boundaries’
When Naveen Chandra Dubey steps onto the stage, he makes a joke about Section 377 being scrapped because being sent to a closed room full of men wouldn’t feel like punishment for gay men.
Most people laugh but then he notices Khushbu Singh in the crowd doesn’t seem amused. Curious, he asks, “Ma’am, didn’t you find my joke funny?”
A friend sitting beside her explains that Khushbu works on gender equality and is sensitive to any jokes involving the LGBTQ community.
Then, 30-year-old Khushbu speaks up. “I enjoy humor and light-hearted fun as long as it stays within respectful boundaries. But mocking a community that’s already facing so much—that’s something I just can’t accept,” she tells Dubey. He clarifies he respects the community and that it was only a joke.
For Khushbu, it’s only fair that comedy comes with consequences too.
“Just as comedians often make jokes without thinking about the consequences, people who feel offended are bound to react,” she told ThePrint later. “Comedy should be about making people laugh. It doesn’t always have to come at someone else’s expense.”
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Outrage to applause
It’s not just politics. The lines of offence are flexible and often difficult to predict. Even ‘light humour’ isn’t always risk-free.
For instance, last month, comedian Swati Sachdeva’s joke about her mother discovering a vibrator went viral. What followed was a barrage of criticism on social media, accusing her of crossing a line by involving her parents in her act. She was called “shameless” and “vulgar”.
“Maybe comedians should be given a list of topics they’re allowed to joke about. Only then might they be safe,’” said one artist, asking to remain anonymous.
Yet, at the same time, a wave of support is visible, with audiences standing by comedians both on social media and during live performances.
Walking out of Light Room in Hauz Khas with two of his friends, Aryan Rajput voiced his irritation at the policing of comedy.
“So much is happening in the country, yet all the focus and debate is on comedy. Honestly, there’s no real need for that,” he said.
Amid the Kamra controversy and even India Got Latent’s Ranveer Allahbadia before him, there has been strong criticism on social media over the government’s actions against comedians. Many are questioning whether these steps are an attempt to distract the public from more pressing national issues. Some are also calling for the return of political comedy.
One post on X, shared over 350 times and turned into a meme, went: “Prisoners in jail before: Murder, theft, dacoity. Prisoners in jail now: made a joke on a Chief Minister, made a joke on parents.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)