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Uttar Pradesh minister Asim Arun on Friday cautioned comedians to strike a balance between "provoking thought and maintaining respect" and said they should try to "appeal to the hearts" without resorting to "mocking" people. Arun's remarks come amid growing scrutiny of content produced by comics and social media influencers, following a controversy over YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia's remarks at comic Samay Raina's now-deleted show 'India's Got Latent'.
Allahbadia's clip went viral and has now snowballed into a massive controversy with potential legal action against the podcaster, Raina and a whole host of people who appeared on the show in multiple states.
In a Facebook post, Arun said comedy should not rely on ridiculing someone's personal circumstances, appearance, or challenges. He stressed that the true challenge for artistes is to provoke thought while maintaining respect.
"When we were kids, making jokes about baldness, obesity, and similar things was very common. Fortunately, society has become more sensitive today, and such mockery has gone out of fashion. Sadly, some people have become insensitive again," the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare said.
The minister also noted that a YouTuber recently posted a video in which he made a joke about people with disabilities.
"Ridiculing someone's disability, poverty, clothing, language, or appearance calls into question the very essence of an artiste's craft. Does comedy need to rely on mocking someone's personal situation? Can comedy only be made by saying hurtful things? The challenge for comedians is to strike a balance between being provocative and being respectful," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News Agency staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)