AIB Roast: 5 reasons why it irked conservatives

The AIB Knockout Roast might have received a thumbs up from a large section of the audience who lapped up the no holds bared insult-joke session, but it looks like the brand of comedy has not gone down too well with some, who have raised their voice of disapproval. The matter has just taken a serious turn with the government now ordering a probe in the matter.

Known for their explosive, often controversial take on the most burning issues in the nation, AIB's videos are a huge hit among today's youth. And with the AIB Knockout 'roasting' actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, it was no different. But the 'explicit' content on the show has not been appreciated by a conservative section of the audience.

An aide of Maharashtra Cultural Minister Vinod Tawde told dna that they have sought clarification from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium authorities in Mumbai if there was a performance certificate and whether they had got permission from the state censor board for the show.

Talking on the matter, former Congress MLA K Hegde gave his reasons for protesting against the comedy act. 

"Explicit" content on the show:

"Using foul language and making derogatory gestures is not what one should do. What they did in the name of a joke was to degrade human sensibilities and make derogatory comments on people - especially women", Hegde said.

While the youth today might use expletives in their colloquial conversations with friends, Hegde also stated that "there is a huge difference between a personal conversation and talking on a public platform". The AIB Knockout was one show which none of us can watch with our family, he said.

I am not denying that we use expletives in real life too, but there's a difference in how you talk with your friends in a private conversation. Abusing in front of 4,000 people, with 12 lakh people watching it later, this was not fun at all."

No proper permission:

Although the event was organised for charity, Hegde alleges that there were no proper intimation given to the Government and no permissions were sought for. While Hegde or his party is no longer in power, he still demands that they should have been kept in loop before organising the event.

"For organising a show of such a grand scale, you need to inform and ask for permission to go ahead with it. AIB did not do any of that. Maharashtra Government has called for a probe in the matter now. We had no clue about the show and now the organisers will have to be answerable for their actions", said Hegde.

The AIB team called for online selling of tickets rather than advertising it, he alleged.

"If they were so clear about doing the right thing, why did they not advertise about the Knockout in any of the leading papers? Why did they choose to sell tickets online? That's definitely not the way you do it legally," claims the indignant Hegde.

Protest from religious organisations:

A few religious organisations have lodged an FIR against the AIB team and the organisers of AIB Knockout, alleging that the 'explosive' content hurt religious sentiments. "Brahman Ekta Seva Sanstha has already lodged an FIR against Ranveer Singh, Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor and the entire AIB organising team. Not just that, some Catholic organisations have also lodged an official complaint against them.

This has made the Government call for a probe in the matter," continued Hegde, "Humiliation of women is not right in any manner and they did it openly calling it a joke", he added. "AIB is known to lap up controversial things and they have done it in the past as well. With AIB Knockout, they have done the same and they have to stop doing this now."

Humiliation in the name of humour:

While millions over the web have applauded the trio from Bollywood and the AIB team for bringing in a shift in the industry today - where people are able to take jokes on themselves, Hegde feels there is a huge difference between 'humour' and 'humiliation'.

"I appreciate humour like everyone else does. But what happened on AIB Knockout can in no way be called humour. Humour, too is okay only to a certain limit. Abusing, humiliating, degrading and demeaning everyone around isn't humour at all."

Too racy political jokes:

The AIB Knockout was a two-hour show in total. What was up for public display was around an hour long show, with many scenes chopped off by the editing team. A source who did not wish to be named was present amongst the live audience during the show, and revealed that a lot of racy jokes were cracked on leading political personalities of the ruling party. Maybe, that's why the AIB team decided to delete certain controversial portions of the show, that took potshots at the ruling party.