Ignore like I did if you didn't find Tanmay Bhat's spoof on Sachin-Lata funny
No it was not funny, but that's because I didn't find anything humorous in it. Barring one short laugh, I thought Tanmay Bhat's video was just a sad attempt at comedy, nothing else. When will we learn that using an abusive word in every sentence will not send the viewers clutching their stomachs with tears rolling down their face?
But should he be beaten up for it or jailed as some indignant political parties are demanding, I don't think so.
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Sachin Tendulkar is a legend and no satire can take that away from him. But he has been criticised far more for not having been a match winner on the field than this parody. Even otherwise, his way of speaking and his curly hair have been subjects of countless spoofs.
I think, when you reach where he has, taking umbrage at something so small would be the last thing on his mind. He is where he is, Vinod Kambli is where he is.
Watch AIB's response to the MNS' reaction to their spoof:
— Tanmay Bhat (@thetanmay) May 30, 2016
Lata Mangeshkar is no less an icon and am sure she can smile at a joke or two about herself, but telling the elderly why they are still alive is in very poor taste. I would say the same even if an old gentleman walking on the streets had been insulted similarly, it's just about respect. There is a fine line between humour and cheapness and Tanmay went over.
Many of those going berserk and sanctimonious on Twitter though are no better. They are probably the same people who have for instance recently been ripping Jawaharlal Nehru or abuse a woman journalist every second day.
The Thackerays though just need an excuse to flout their Marathi manoos and even in the best of times don't have a sense of humour.
Then there is Anupam Kher, the self appointed spokesperson on anything and everything who has now deemed himself to be one with a great sense of humour. It is all rather subjective, but I want to ask these gentlemen if this outrage against the "Bharat Ratnas" is selective or next time will they stand up when an ordinary citizen is also tackily made fun of?
This video aside, we Indians are missing a funny bone. If Deepika Padukone isn't recognised by a foreign tabloid we are outraged, if Sharapova who comes from a non-cricketing country doesn't recognise Sachin, we go crazy. We are so sensitive and full of complexities that we have forgotten to laugh at ourselves. Or maybe sadly, we never knew.
It's also possible that we don't really have a grasp of what a good comedy is. Kapil Sharma had his moments but more often than not is now condescending rather than funny. Navjot Sindhu or Sidhu Paaji in the same show was never humorous, that probably explains the need for canned laughter.
The show that replaced Comedy Nights with Kapil is also highly avoidable. Overweight and loud women swooning and falling into men's arms is not an automatic recipe for laughter neither are men dressed up as women. The judges on some of these shows laugh hysterically as though on cue we will find things amusing. Bollywood is no better, drunk men meandering on the streets and falling into ditches is just sad.
That is not to say, there are no comedians in the country. Some live acts are fairly entertaining and individual stand up comedians can make us laugh without being overtly offensive. But sadly, the regressive daily serials on television will still continue to be more popular.
Whatever he may be (or not) the only one who is constantly at the receiving end of jokes is Rahul Gandhi. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's new Jaguar worth almost Rs 50 lakh is so outrageous that its almost comical. But this time the joke is on the poor.
Our politicians by and large behave as though they are above everything. If they think nothing of filing police complaints in this instance, imagine the lengths they will go to if they were at the receiving end? The US president takes in a free for all and gives it back as good as he gets at the annual White House Correspondents dinner. He practically did his own roast of Donald Trump this time around. But it was okay.
We, on the other hand, are such complex people that we are only concerned with what "society" will say instead of living a life less sensitive.
Tanmay Bhat was not hilarious or respectful and even by roast standards this was all flat. It is easy to be aggressive and nasty these days, making people smile is a whole different ball game. Tanmay Bhat probably needs to learn the art better. That's all this should have been about.