Writer-director duo Devanshu, Sudhanshu Singh explain why they retained #MeToo accused Gursimran Khamba's name in Chintu Ka Birthday trailer
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; June 4, 2020)

Back in 2018, the Vinay Pathak and Tillotama Shome starrer, Chintu Ka Birthday was dropped from the MAMI line-up after All India Bakchod (AIB) member Gursimran Khamba was entangled in the #MeToo controversy. However, two years later, the producer has been credited in the trailer of the film. Writer-director duo Devanshu and Satyanshu Singh stand by their final outcome. Satyanshu says, "Even when our film was suffering, we opted to stand by the movement by not claiming the film."

He adds that they didn't dispute MAMI's decision in 2018. "Considering we haven't spoken against MAMI's decision, means that we are supportive of the movement."

On probing further about acknowledging Khamba in the trailer credits, Satyanshu believes it is only "fair". "When this film was dropped, family members and friends were heartbroken. They wanted us to fight [for the film], but we maintained our silence. There is enough precedent in the past, where people in the wrong have [moved on] and done their thing. Khamba is a friend and I know the truth better than most people. I believe it is a fair credit," insists Satyanshu.

After being stuck in the cans for long, the light-hearted family drama, set in Iraq 2004, will finally see a digital release on Zee5. Writer-director duo insist they stuck their neck out for the film because of their faith in the project, they insist. Devanshu says, "It's not over confidence, we believed in the film when we wrote it back in 2007. It has stayed with us for 13 years, so one can imagine how special it is to us. On gauging the reaction of viewers, we agreed that the film is in indeed special. I am glad it is releasing digitally, but as directors, we understand the logistics."

MUMBAI MIRROR (October 9, 2018)

Over 10 days after actress Tanushree Dutta emerged from a selfimposed exile to revive sexual harassment accusations against her Horn OK Pleassss co-star Nana Patekar, the #MeToo wave has taken root in the Hindi film industry.

Sexual assault allegations have also returned to haunt Queen director Vikas Bahl and his associates. Over a year after Mirror broke the story (April 2017) about the filmmaker harassing a crew member in Goa. The survivor has spoken up about the ordeal again. Following the renewed backlash against Bahl and his friends, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena, who cofounded the production house Phantom Films’ and are being pulled up for not doing anything to protect the survivor at the time, the quartet has dissolved the company.

In the wake of newer testimonies, most prominent of the lot being from Bahl’s Queen heroine Kangana Ranaut’, who revealed that she too had been subjected to the filmmaker’s predatory behaviour, a major digital platform has reportedly dropped Bahl as the director of an upcoming show. Hrithik Roshan, the lead of his directorial Super 30, released a statement urging the film’s producers to take a ‘hard stand’ against the director. “It is impossible for me to work with any person if he/she is guilty of such grave misconduct.

I am away and have access to sporadic information. I have requested the producers of ‘Super 30’ to take stock of the apparent facts and take a hard stand if need be. This is not to be hushed or brushed under the carpet. All proven offenders must be punished, and all exploited people must be empowered and given strength to speak up,” Hrithik tweeted on Monday.

On Monday, actor-filmmaker Rajat Kapoor took to Twitter to apologise for his actions after a journalist accused him of “lewd” and unprofessional behaviour while a former assistant director revealed that he had harassed her to “shoot a film in an empty apartment” 10 years ago. After another journalist revealed that Kailash Kher had kept his “hand on my thigh,” the singer was quoted as saying that he was disappointed. “Those who know me will know how much I respect humanity, especially women, even more for the ones who work in media since their work is difficult,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, skeletons continue to tumble out on the comedy scene after Twitter user Mahima Kukreja called out comedian and YouTuber Utsav Chakraborty for harassing several women in the last few years. Aravind Subramanian, Jeeveshu Ahluwalia and Kanan Gill have joined the list of offenders as revealed by anonymous accounts by Twitter users. The comedy collective AIB put out a statement on Monday, revealing that its founder and CEO Tanmay Bhat, who has been accused of inaction even after being apprised of Utsav’s behaviour, has “stepped away” from the comedy collective.

“We have been closely monitoring the sequence of events on social media around the allegations against AIB and against our co-founder and CEO Tanmay Bhat. We cannot overlook Tanmay’s role and in light of this he will be stepping away from his association with AIB until further notice,” read a statement from Vidhi Jotwani, AIB’s Head of Human Resources.

Gursimran Khamba, an AIB cofounder who has been accused of sexual misconduct by a former female friend, has also stepped down from his position at the company after issuing a separate statement in which he apologised for his “bad behaviour,” adding, “But I categorically deny any violation of consent”.

A rowdy, live stand-up act that signed up filmstars for voluntary ridicule, is proof that Bollywood's newly famous are redefining stardom
MUMBAI MIRROR (February 1, 2015)

The definition of a Roast, for those who are aren't adept in the kitchen, changed when the funny men at All India Bakchod released their AIB Knockout online earlier this week. Roast (v): to cook film stars by direct exposure to deeply offensive insults, especially in front of thousands.

The Roast is a tradition that dates back to 1949, where comics invite guests of honour, who are ridiculed publicly. The goal — to have a good laugh.

Last December, the comedy collective founded by Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba, went down in comic history for hosting the first Roast of its kind in India at Worli's NSCI grounds before an audience of 4,000. Their meat of choice — Bollywood's new breed of actors; Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Roastmaster, director Karan Johar.

The three celebrities, along with film critic Rajeev Masand, and Roadies producer Raghu Ram joined standup comics Abish Mathew, Aditi Mittal, Tanmay, Gursimran, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya to form the panel of Roasters. What ensued was a slew of insult comedy that spared no one, on stage or off it. Deepika Padukone's (she was in the audience) choice in men; Arjun's academic failure; Karan's sexuality and Ranveer's reputation with the ladies were all up for taking. The result — close to three lakh hits in two days.

Tanmay credits the "overwhelming appreciation" to the stars. "Bollywood's young actors and directors share the sensibility of India's youth; they are good at taking a joke," he says.

The idea to host a Roast happened by chance. "In August, we were discussing the possibility of making a video with Ranveer. I met him at a dance studio where he was practising, and we got talking about the Roast format. He said he was in if we ever did it." That proceeds from the NSCI show, minus venue rental and production cost, went to charity, made it easier," says Vijay Nair, CEO of Only Much Louder (OML), a live music and entertainment conglomerate that handled production. "We weren't just taking their pants off for fun. It was for a good cause," smiles Tanmay.

It was Ranveer who suggested AIB approach Arjun, who agreed instantly. "We wanted Karan Johar to be the Roastmaster because he would lend legitimacy. Besides, he is known for his wit and sarcasm," he continues. Once Johar was on board, the date was set.

What the creative team didn't know was who would turn up in the audience.

Actors Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Kapoor and Alia Bhatt booked a seat each for Rs 4,000. "Stars invited their colleagues and friends, but we had no idea who would turn up," says Tanmay, who calls the gang "just four middle-class kids with no connections". "The three stars weren't our first option, they were our only option".

But, over the last two days since the Roast ambushed the Internet, it isn't being celebrated for its stellar content, but for the ease with which stars are lending themselves to be the butt of jokes.

Bollywood enthusiasts will recall an awards function in 2010, hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, where Shah Rukh cracked a joke about actor Neil Nitin Mukesh's triple-barrelled name. It backfired, when Neil snapped (his singer-father Nitin Mukesh was beside him), asking him to "shut up".

In 2013, veteran actor Manoj Kumar filed a criminal case against Shah Rukh and Farah Khan, director of Om Shanti Om (2007), in which the superstar had mimicked Kumar. Khan, who together with brother Sajid Khan, had a made a career of parodying old-school Bollywood, had apologised to the veteran. That sort of move, explains Tanmay, "is to avoid going to jail". AIB couldn't follow the no-holds barred approach of a conventional Roast. "As comedians, we had to find the line. In a conventional Roast, it doesn't exist," he says.

And so, they had to stick to script. The team of six comics wrote all 300 jokes that made it to the show. After thinking of 60 jokes a day for more than a fortnight, they had a bank of 1,000. Following which, it was the question of sifting to stay with the best.

The grammar of a joke means they needed to allow for all permutations and combinations — for instance, jokes that were about Karan, a rebuttal from him, transitions that could mean taking a joke forward later, etc. After the material was ready, it was sent out to the stars for vetting, unlike in a traditional Roast where no one has a clue of what's coming at them. Jokes that a star wasn't comfortable about were deleted; these included those that a star believed would upset someone else in the fraternity. "For the online video, another round of editing was put in place because some stars didn't want all of it going out," explains Tanmay. This included jokes that played on ruling politicians and party.

Of the Roastees, Karan, says Tanmay, encouraged AIB to go all out. "We were surprised when he later said his mother and maasi were going to be in the audience. He was a great sport."

The point of a Roast, he says, is consent. It is not the same as picking on someone on Twitter.

After vetting, the players could prep themselves on delivering humour with comic timing. This made things simpler for Rajeev, for instance, who was nervous about his bit. "I wanted to explore humour, let people see a side of me they usually don't on TV. I knew what they would be going for; being fat, being paid for reviews, etc. I wanted to see how good I was at giving it back to them," he says, adding, "But nothing prepares you for what happens on stage."

What industry observers are asking is if the young stars have, in effect, defanged their critics and hecklers.

The trend was set, say some, by the Alia Bhatt Genius of the Year video which was a game-changer. After becoming the butt of jokes when she wasn't able to name India's President on the rapid fire round in Karan Johar's chat show, in August last year, she collaborated with AIB to silence Internet bullies with a video that showed her taking IQ classes. With self-deprecating humour as tool, the 21-year-old, six-film-old actor, silenced her detractors. It's also likely that no one will joke about Arjun's battle with weight and nepotism after this. "That was a shrewd move," says Rajeev.

Filmmaker and critic, Raja Sen, says, with this, the demystifying of stardom is complete. Other than Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, almost every star is on social media. They are accessible, available to fans, killing the established practice of a star talking to a select few. "There used to be so many holy cows in the industry. This show managed to do away with quite a few. Even if it was scripted and they were all role-playing, this kind of role-playing was important," he says.

But, offering themselves to the mercy of a punch line isn't everyone's choice. When one of the guests met Priyanka Chopra after the Roast, curious if she would have participated, her answer was, no. "Why would I subject myself to this?" she asked. Those who know Shah Rukh and Saif say that the two are game at laughing at others, but they wouldn't enjoy it if the joke was on them. Rajeev agrees that the old guard would rather steer clear.

It's definitely not hurting business, though. "Bollywood has helped open up the scene to a wider audience and more people have discovered the Indian English comedy genre," believes Nair.

While the Roast went off smoothly, to a standing ovation, in fact, the challenge for the AIB team came after.

"A Roast is filthy, offensive, hilarious. The point isn't just to shock but also make people laugh. I expected more backlash, but fans have taken it well, except a few. But then, taking offence is our national sport," says Tanmay.

Audience reaction can be difficult to judge. "For instance, I think Mr Bachchan may have a spectacular sense of humour but the audience might be offended. It's a weird culture where supporters go crazy, saying, 'how dare you!'"

How does one top a show like this? "Mr Bachchan would be a spectacular Roastmaster," is all Tanmay will say.

With his documentary on stand- up comedy in India, I Am Offended, director Jaideep Verma hopes to break stereotypes and capture an exciting, new scene in India in its nascent stage
Deepali Dhingra (MID-DAY; February 1, 2015)

Before he started work on India’s first documentary on stand-up comedy, I Am Offended, Jaideep Verma had never watched a stand-up comedy show. But for the 47-year-old director — who earlier made documentaries such as Baawra Mann, based on Sudhir Mishra’s life and Leaving Home, based on music band Indian ocean and even a film titled Hulla in 2008 — humour has always been paramount.

Verma was piqued by stand-up comedy when he heard about stand-up comics Andy Zaltzman in London and Varun Grover in Mumbai, who happen to be his good friends. “While shooting a show for Andy in Mumbai in December 2012, I discovered Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat and Aditi Mittal and liked their work. So I decided to explore the scene further,” he says.

Over the course of one year, between 2012 and 2013, Verma worked on the 102-minute documentary that presents Indian stand-up comedy in the overall context of humour and the culture of offence. Featuring prominent stand-up comics such as Johny Lever, Vir Das, Raju Srivastav, Varun Grover, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya, Rohan Joshi and legendary literary humourist PL Deshpande among others, the director says he hopes to capture an exciting, new stand-up scene in its nascent stage in India, one that challenges the status quo in many ways.

Through the course of the shoot, Verma made a few discoveries of his own. “These stand-up comics are extremely bright, even when it sometimes does not show in their performance. Sometimes, they make choices after second-guessing the audience or because they get too self-conscious and that falls flat. But they are quick-witted enough to turn it all around." In an anecdote that standup comic Varun Grover shared with him in the film, he mentions a corporate show where things turned ugly because the company’s management was second-guessing the audience there. “Comics learn to treat corporate shows as stints where they experiment with their ‘safer’ material,” he says.

The documentary releases on February 5 on the YouTube channel, Being Indian original, as part of its launch.
Verma hopes to break a few stereotypes — including one that most stand-ups here are clones of Russell Peters. “Many artistes are far superior to Peters. I hope it comes across in the film,” he says. As for the title of the film, he says that Indians have the propensity to take offence. “But when they’re not looking over their shoulder to see who might be getting offended, they enjoy that same humour, which is strange,” he smiles.