India is no place to roast. We get regular reminders about that. And when it involves borrowing money, things can escalate fast, as the recent Screen Awards controversy shows. For those living under a rock, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi and stand-up comedian Zakir Khan have received backlash over their jokes and remarks while hosting the Chetak Screen Awards 2026. While Khan is getting slammed for his Bollywood roast amid Dhurandhar 2’s success, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi landed himself at the centre of severe trolling for his debt joke on actor Rajpal Yadav.
During a light-hearted exchange with Yadav, Dwivedi took a dig at the actor in connection with his Rs 9-crore cheque bounce case. When Yadav shared his thoughts on the global uncertainty and currency fluctuations, Dwivedi remarked, “Rajpal bhai, dollar Rupee kitna bhi upar neeche ho aapko utne hi paise lautane padenge jitne udhaar hain (no matter how much the dollar and rupee fluctuate, you will anyway have to return the due amount)”.
Yadav is a stellar comic actor, so we should really give him his due to recognise the difference between a personal attack and a failed attempt at a roast. The Iran war has us all boiling — generally, sans gas cylinders — but getting riled up about everything is never a good idea, even doctors say so, while prescribing medicines for high blood pressure.
Could Dwivedi have just avoided cracking that joke at the expense of Yadav, as the actor later mentioned in an Instagram video? Sure. But since it was a dig, Yadav gets to decide whether it was palatable or not.
Yadav could have been justifiably upset, but apparently, it was a skit which Khan and Dwivedi conceived and it does not bother him. So social media can effectively rest, because let’s be honest, we all have our terrible moments, and clearly Khan and Dwivedi had theirs. Have we all not woken up in cold sweat at some point in our lives, simply looking at our life choices, people we have dated, situations we have reacted poorly to, and jokes we have cracked?
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The larger issue
What Dwivedi’s joke brought up was an extremely touchy topic for Indians — borrowing money. From not revealing our salaries to never really asking for what we deserve, discussing money is as uncomfortable for most Indians as talking about sex with family. This is also a highly publicised case, with Yadav being jailed, and then helped by his industry peers with money and job offers.
All in all, it was not one of Dwivedi’s best moments, who is usually a sharp interviewer. Maybe the award show presenter in him needs more preparation. But, well, it did make a lot of people in the audience laugh. So should we not get mad at them too?
But the larger issue is our own relationship with money — we do not like reminders for our dues. EMI notifications are closely guarded family secrets and taking loans is usually a hush-hush matter. The debt collectors and reminders are the villains, not the borrowers.
But let’s not forget that in Yadav’s case, those who lent him money are the victims. Just because he is an actor, it does not mean he gets away with not returning the money he has borrowed.
Except when one is a public figure, both love and brickbats are extremely public, whether it’s Dwivedi’s dig at the actor or social media users reminding the journalist that his attempt at roasting Yadav could have been an inside joke.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)