When late comedian Robin Williams quoted, “When in doubt, go for the d**k joke,” he was giving a solid word of advice to stand up comics/comedians from all over the globe. While we are unsure if Krushna Abhishek has ever heard of this golden statement or not, we do understand that humour is pretty restrictive in India. Religion is one thing no would dare to joke about. Sex is limited to innuendo but off limits (beyond a certain point) on TV and with the growing support for equality and feminism, people are suddenly too sensitive. This has made life quite tough for comedians. And one who is having a particularly tough time is Krushna Abhishek. From Kavita Kaushik to John Abraham, everyone has a reason to be miffed with Krushna and his team. He has been accused of being racist, sexist and downright humiliating.
(Also Read: Revealed! The real reason behind John Abraham and Krushna Abhishek’s BIG FIGHT)
There is no doubt that Krushna is one helluva talented man. He can mimic, dance and crack jokes as well. We also commiserate with his position. He is on a show that is supposed to be a roast. And it is supposed to host celebrities, preferably A-list ones every week. Knowing how touchy our stars are about the minutest of things, we can expect very few of them to take insults on national TV. Yes, they are being made fun of in The Kapil Sharma Show too, but everything is within a format that is far from insulting. Krushna Abhishek has often complained that ‘other party’ maligns the image of his show but frankly, he can take a cue or two. And we are not talking about using the fart jokes that have replaced the ‘D**K’ in the Indian milieu.
Research…We are sure that there are zillion of bloopers made by an actor in his or her films. These might not be related to his acting skills (or lack of it) or box office performance of films. We are sure a few giggles evoked at the cost of their costumes, dance steps (can be huge source of entertainment) and romantic pairings, will not offend a star. The newbies on Krushna Abhishek’s show might swallow all the insults as part of being professional but no star would like to revisit his failures as part of promotions. After all, you are not some megastar to poke at their dukthi nass. Krushna needs to understand that promotions are a tough job and no one likes to encounter an annoying character when you are going through a drill.
Jokes on complexion, sexuality and disability have been the main-stays of film humour since quite some time now. Krushna, like us, grew up in the 90s and has surely laughed at them. Well, so have we. However, attitudes are changing courtesy social media. Issues, which would be insignificant a decade back now outrage us. We don’t blame ourselves. Many of us opine correctly, because our frank opinion (or an absence of it) would make us look as downmarket or without a sense of consciousness. This would not be a problem for Krushna if he said this in a film. However, his coming on a show that airs of weekends on a channel that prides itself on being socially aware is simply unacceptable by a large majority. While breaking out of the usual comic mould might take efforts (or should we say, creativity), playing safe is an easy thing to do.
People, who know Krushna will vouch that he is not at all like the obnoxious anchor that Comedy Nights Bachao Tazaa has made him to be. For how long can he safeguard his real persona? What is alarming is that celebrities are calling for a boycott on the show. What has gone so drastically wrong with a simple roast format. Did the hosts forget to laugh at themselves in their quest to create jokes out of the guests? This is another important point as the only jokes that gets repeated on the show are ones on Bharti Singh’s weight. With the lady comic genius being appointed as the face of a beauty care brand, jokes on her extra kilos will also become redundant. If this is not high time to pull up the socks, we wonder when will Krushna and co really learn something?