A Can Of ­Sardines

The Indian stand-up comedy scene was one of the first to be hit by this wave of the ongoing #MeToo movement. It ­began with a woman stand-up comic calling out a man who was part of one of new-age Indian comedy바카라�s biggest gro­ups바카라�AIB, or All India Bakchod. Soon, stories about how big names in comedy stayed quiet about the matter and some other names of all­eged harassers came out too, puncturing the air built around Indian stand-up comedy that was considered to be one of the most 바카라�woke바카라� spaces in the entertainment industry.

For an entertainment space just about half-a-decade old and barely on its way to becoming a full-fledged industry, Indian stand-up promised the youth laughs that were free of sexism, racism, and every other retrograde-ism. It was a rather tall claim, as it turned out. When writer Mahima Kukreja took to Twitter to call out AIB comedian Utsav Chakraborty바카라�s sexual misconduct and his employers바카라� failure to act on the situation despite being in the know, the floodgates of India바카라�s very own #MeToo movement in comedy opened up. 바카라�I want everyone to know @Wootsaw is a piece of shit,바카라� she wrote, tagging Chakraborty바카라�s Twitter handle.  바카라�He sent me a d*#^% pic, was creepy, then cried saying I바카라�ll ruin his career if I tell others. I told two of the most influential men in comedy in India. Nothing happened바카라�,바카라� Kukreja said in a series of tweets on October 4. The cascading effect of Kukreja바카라�s words made skeletons tumble out of the funnymen바카라�s dark closets, with Gursimran Khamba of AIB being called out for sexual harassment a few days later as well. This ultimately led to Tanmay Bhat and Khamba stepping down from the comedy collective.

AIB, with its 바카라�progressive바카라� reputation was, of course, at the frontline of the scene. Hence, it was more shocking when some of its members were called out. But, all content in new-age Indian stand-up hasn바카라�t been sensitive and in good taste. The imm­anent exe­rcise after the #MeToo wave hit Indian comedy would be to go over this general gender apathy that not long ago made for smart millennial jokes in ­so-c­­alled progressive spaces.

Sample this gag on consent, the elephant on the stage: One of the most well-known names in Indian comedy, Zakir Khan, talks about the woes of dating Delhi women in his performance at the AIB Diwas in 2016. The joke seemingly ridicules a woman바카라�s refusal to kiss him, what Khan calls a 바카라�holier than thou바카라� attitude. She goes on to ask him to not 바카라�ruin the beautiful relationship바카라� they have. Khan concludes the joke by mocking the 바카라�line바카라� of consent, which he terms as the 바카라�unsafest line바카라� in the world, as a step further would turn him into a 바카라�mol­ester바카라�, while he was considered a loser anyway.

바카라�Suddenly a M*^F comes in...oh sorry, aunty. 바카라�Excuse me bhaiyya, mujhe swimming sikhni hai (I want to learn swimming),바카라� the woman says. 바카라�Aapki umar kitni hai? (how old are you)바카라� The instructor asks. 바카라�Forty-two바카라�, she says. 바카라�It바카라�s never too late바카라�, the swimming instructor says to the woman.바카라�

바카라� Jeeveshu Ahlu­walia on swimming and losing weight.

Another joke cracked by Delhi-based comedian Jeeveshu Ahluwalia, who바카라�s also been accused of sexual harassment on Twitter, doesn바카라�t say much, but is perhaps meant to be funny since it  incorporates a bunch of gender stereotypes in its narration.

바카라�Jeeveshu has been abusing women on stage for ages now, and he didn바카라�t stop himself from saying similar things to us in the green room. He would talk about their bodies and say very misogynistic things,바카라� says Navin Noronha, a stand-up artiste who바카라�s not only vocal about his homosexuality off-stage, but also chooses to address issues surrounding the LGBTQ community through his performances.

If these jokes expose a tendency to stick to reg­ressive attitudes, the 바카라�pre-MeToo바카라� time had also shown a picture of structural bias바카라�discrimination in pay scales, stereotypical audience response etc. This correspondent got a picture of how things stood in Indian stand-up while speaking to some of its known names just before #Me too kicked in a couple of weeks ago. 바카라�There바카라�s something very rotten going on, especially when it comes to money,바카라� comedian and actor Mallika Dua had told Outlook. She also mentioned how a male comic, managed by the same agency as hers at the time, was allegedly paid more for the same show they did together last year. 바카라�If you바카라�re up against a 바카라�brotherhood바카라� you can only do so much. What you then do is 바카라�throw tantrums바카라�, accept yourself for that and fight your way through it.바카라�

바카라�You have some second category or average looking girls who don바카라�t put up their own photos. They put group photos with other beautiful women, so you remain confused as to which one she is.바카라�

바카라� Nitin Gupta (Rivaldo) on women and their Face­book profile photos.

바카라�Pick a female politician of your choice. Usko kitne bhi chhote kapde pehenaake, kitna bhi drink karake raat ko...chhod do, unko kuchh nahi hoga (make her drink, wear skimpy clothes and leave her out at night, nothing will happen to her). You know why? Because there will be consequences. And that바카라�s the precise point 바카라� it바카라�s not about the lack of clothes, it바카라�s about the lack of consequences.바카라�

바카라� Nitin Gupta (Rivaldo) on Delhi rapes

Dua had also talked about lopsided solidarities. How, if a male comic was in trouble for something, 바카라�they바카라�ll bail him out of jail, but if some of us say something, it바카라�s immediately a tantrum.바카라� Part of it would come out as being true in Cha­kr­aborty바카라�s case, where two influential comics had chosen to stay silent about the issue and continued working with him even after his actions were brought to their attention.

Comic Kunal Kamra had spoken about how women stand-ups had it tougher owing to audience gender biases. 바카라�I바카라�ve seen it. Those two-three minutes when a female comedian is performing, people go out to take a cigarette break, or go buy a drink at the bar.바카라� Stand-up comic Pavitra Shetty has had to face similar attitudes. 바카라�A lot of people have come up to me and said that I am really funny for a 바카라�fem­ale comic바카라�. Every woman must be getting this,바카라� she said. 바카라�And the bias shines through when the same joke delivered by a man and a woman gets different reactions. When men are talking about private parts in a joke, no one is shocked. But the mom­ent I do the same, even if it바카라�s with regard to a topic like eve-teasing, I can act­ually see people cringe!바카라� she added.

바카라�Terey chouke ke chakkar mein banda chhakka bann jaayega바카라�

바카라� stand-up comedian at an open mic in Calcutta

The structural gender bias in the fast-growing comedy industry had alw­ays been visible, if only to a few observers. Amazon Prime바카라�s Comedy Specials, one of the first Indian stand-up shows to be hosted on an OTT (over-the-top) ­plat­form, had come under criticism in January 2017 for having a line-up of 14 exclusively male comics. Their partner for the show was Only Much Louder (OML), a company that manages most big names in Indian comedy. But there appeared to be a space opening up for discussing and negotiating such inherent biases, albeit at a sluggish pace. The subsequent show by OML바카라�hosted by Amazon Prime바카라�called Comicstaan, a stand-up comedy comp­etition, had one woman judge in a panel of seven and three woman contestants.

After the #MeToo revelations, the comedy space is looking at an uncertain reshuffle. Though still featuring on Amazon Prime, AIB바카라�s shows have been discontinued by Hotstar, a big hit to the comic collective which is, on its part, contemplating if it should dissolve as a group. As for those within the scene who have had smooth sailing up until now on the back of their casual sexism, now is an apt time for some serious self-reflection.