Pranit More apologises for ‘Rs 370 biryani’ video, says got ‘carried away’, seeks second chance

The stand-up comic says he failed to intervene when a member of the audience made ‘derogatory comments’ during his show. It was a ‘lapse of judgment on my part’, he says.

L to R: Pranit More & audience member who made 'derogatory' remarks on his show. | X

New Delhi: Comedian Pranit More issued an apology on Saturday over controversial remarks made by a member of the audience during his live show in Gurugram recently, and said he failed to intervene, which was a “lapse of judgment on his part. 

In a video statement released Saturday, More said he understood the anger people are expressing over the comments and that he accepted responsibility.

“You have seen my crowd-work video. I’m getting a lot of hate for it, and I think I deserve it too,” he said.

The controversy began after Pranit More shared a video from his show online. It showed a member of the audience, 22-year-old Himanshu Jangra, recounting a date when he spent Rs 370 on a plate of chicken biryani. When the woman asked him to drop her home, Jangra said he sought sexual favours for the money he spent on the biryani. More was seen laughing. 

In his Saturday video statement, More said the audience member made several offensive comments during the show, but he didn’t stop him because the people in the crowd were laughing, and “I got carried away”. 

“There was a lapse of judgment on my part,” he said. “An error. This is a very big mistake. I should have stopped it. I could have taken a stand. But I didn’t.” 

More admitted that he gave the person a platform.“Whoever has been hurt by all this, I want to apologise to them. I am cooperating in all the legal proceedings that are ongoing against me. From all of you, I plead for a second chance. I will become a better human being,” he said. 

“That was a learning for me too. I am working on myself and will work on my content too. You will see that reflected in my work too in the future,” he said.

The apology comes days after the comedy show video sparked widespread social media outrage and a wider conversation about what is expected of comedians during crowd-work sections of their sets, and how they should respond to offensive comments from the audience.

The controversy

The “crowd work” video was first released on Instagram by Pranit himself, and it went viral. Almost immediately, a few content creators, influencers, and public figures started attacking the stand-up comedian. 

Jangra’s employer, Starvik Design, Gurugram, issued a public statement saying they had terminated his employment. 

Also, the Maharashtra Cyber police registered a case against More, Jangra, and others for allegedly disseminating “obscene and objectionable” content on social media.

Another clip from the same show featured Dr Sejal Pawar making derogatory comments regarding medical cadavers and deceased male bodies used for educational purposes, which authorities flagged as highly disrespectful to the dignity of the deceased, he said.