AIB Knockout: Why Ashoke Pandit is not fit for Censor Board

In the West, there’s a litmus test celebrities fancy passing, one that often redefines the way the world looks at their celebrity statuses. Among other things, it requires them to grow a sense of humour that’s unorthodox and a skin that’s thicker. They call it a "roast", and it requires them to be the butt of all jokes - mild or unabashed - for over an hour. The public humiliation is in full consent of the roast master and the roastee, and the audience have the discretion to stay back or walk out at any point. The digs may cover a wide range; from the celebrity’s hideous fashion sense, horrible parenting skills or poor career decisions. The celebrity emerges a hero in displaying grace and adventure, and perhaps even exhibiting some of his/her own wit in all this to make it sassier.

In the West, roasts are often badges of honour, with those on the likes of Terry Bradshaw, James Franco, the US President, and now Justin Bieber, who’s getting his long-due aspiration to be roasted, fulfilled around his birthday in March. It graduates them from people who have proved their mettle in their jobs to icons who don’t shy away from laughing at themselves, when censured.

But what happens when the humiliation spills over the trifling and all-favourable entertainment space of the auditorium, and on to the no-nonsense space of social media? For one, it stops being funny. So, when Censor Board member Ashoke Pandit decided that the best way to channel his wrath at India’s very own brazenly explicit roast was by making a tasteless observation of its host Karan Johar’s sex life and family on Twitter, even those who would "ROFL" AIB’s most expletive scripts awkwardly stopped laughing.

Positions of power do come with social responsibility, and in this case, Pandit happens to be a filmmaker himself. For good or for bad, his stand could be considered by many as reflective of the Censor Board’s, in spite of it having no regulation over stage shows. We called up SVe Shekher, a popular South Indian playwright, slapstick comedian, actor and also a Censor Board member to comment on this, and he had one honest answer from the view point of each of these roles he had.

“Satire is a form of humour and universally accepted. It needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But publicly hitting someone below the belt is unacceptable. Karan Johar’s mother had nothing to do with the show and warrants no reason to be pulled in,” he said. “But then the Censor Board has no business fixing this show, so Ashoke Pandit’s views are his own,” he added.

So, why is it so criminal to tweet a comment reeking of ribaldry about a man who hosted one of India’s most profane and abusive shows in recent times? Because AIB recognises the "roast" as a legitimate style of comedy that has been adapted since 1949 in New York. It was conceptualised to entertain a packed house of 4000 people, and another set of YouTubers who shared a fascination for crude, abusive humour and gave the video over 1,70,000 views in its last one week. Because it was created with the intention to allow two young actors to take jibes and laugh at the seamiest sides of their lives and careers, and later probably go get a drink like friends do.

But Ashoke Pandit spoke to amuse no one but himself. His obscenity was neither asked for, nor consented. His views were expressed to demean. And that needs more regulation than any film, play, stand-up comedy or book would. The only thing he’d probably drink to is his ego.