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Kunal Kamra is not new to controversies as the comedian has stoked row earlier, though not always for his jokes. Here is a list of controversies involving Kunal Kamra before the fresh one involving Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of controversy after his recent remarks against Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, that ignited outrage, leading to a violent backlash from Shiv Sena workers.
The Shiv Sena workers on Sunday vandalised the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar after stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's remarks on Eknath Shinde in his recent YouTube video.
The sketch, titled 'Naya Bharat' was uploaded on YouTube on Sunday. While performing a humorous rendition of a popular Hindi song from 'Dil To Pagal Hai', Kunal Kamra, during his set, sang, “Meri nazar se tum dekho to gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” which drew laugh from the audience.
This video of Kunal Kamra has hurt BJP and its allies a lot especially Shivsena
They are running after him, they are demanding FIR and arrest. The venue of this event is vandalized by goons.
NDA with 20 states govt and so much afraid of a comedian 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/lksQb4E0mi
Kunal Kamra referenced Eknath Shinde's 2022 revolt, which resulted in the division of the Shiv Sena into two groups—the Shinde faction and the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
However, the comment quickly stirred backlash, with members of the Shiv Sena strongly condemning Kamra’s statement. The party has demanded legal action against the comedian, including his immediate arrest.
Following his satirical comments during a stand-up performance, party activists stormed the venue and vandalized the hotel where the event was held.
Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel has registered an FIR against Kunal Kamra. Also, 11 Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) workers were arrested for vandalism including Rahul Kanal.
This is not the first time Kamra has faced public outrage; he has previously been embroiled in multiple controversies that have led to bans and legal action.
In 2020, Kamra shared a video of him allegedly heckling Republic TV founder and journalist Arnab Goswami on board a Mumbai-Lucknow Indigo flight.
In a two-minute video he posted on X, Kamra was heard saying to Arnab, “Here, I am asking coward Arnab about his journalism and he is doing exactly what I expected him to do.” Throughout all this, Arnab kept quiet.
The incident, which gained widespread attention, resulted in IndiGo imposing a six-month ban on him. Later, the ban was reduced to three months. Other airlines, including Air India, SpiceJet, and GoAir, also followed suit, imposing similar bans on the comedian.
In 2020, Kunal Kamra mocked the then Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde on social media. In a post on X, Kamra said, “One of these fingers is for CJI Bobde…ok let me not confuse you it’s the middle one,” along with a picture of two figures.
The comedian's post came after the top court granted interim bail to Arnab Goswami in a 2018 abetment to suicide case.
Contempt proceedings were filed against Kamra by the Attorney General KK Venugopal for obscene and derogatory comments against the CJI.
Kamra has been at loggerheads with the judiciary due to his contentious remarks. In one of his widely criticized tweets, Kamra in November 2020 had tweeted a morphed picture of the Supreme Court and had replaced the Indian Tricolor atop the SC with the flag of BJP.
The comedian landed in soup again after he shared an edited video of a seven-year-old boy singing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Germany. In the video, the boy sang ‘Hey Janmabhoomi Bharat’, which was replaced with the 2010 movie Peepli Live’s famous number ‘Mehengayi daayan khaaye jaat hai’.
The father's boy lashed out at Kamra and asked him to keep his child away from his “filthy politics”. He later deleted the video.
In May 2020, a plea was filed before the Supreme Court against Kunal Kamra for his remark that the Supreme Court was a ‘Brahmin-Baniya’ affair in his show ‘Be Like’.
The petition was filed as an intervention application in an already pending contempt of court against Kunal Kamra.
Earlier in 2021, Attorney-General KK Venugopal had approved contempt proceedings against Kamra for allegedly disparaging the judiciary and judges through his social media posts.
Kumar Kamra responded to the petitions saying that he believes there is a “growing culture of intolerance in the country, where taking offence is seen as a fundamental right which has been elevated to the status of a much loved national sport”.
Other than these episodes, Kunal Kamra has been in news for his clash with OLA CEO Bhavish Aggarwal or remarks on Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.
Kamra's show, Shut Up Ya Kunal, gained massive popularity, featuring interviews with influential figures like Asaduddin Owaisi, Kanhaiya Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal, Ravish Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Shehla Rashid. His brand of political satire continues to divide opinions, earning him both ardent supporters and fierce detractors.
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