Kamal Ghorui
VIJAYAWADA: Hyderabad-based stand-up comedian Sarat Uday’s show in Bengaluru was disrupted on Saturday by a group of protesters, allegedly from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), over jokes he had cracked about Andhra Pradesh chief minister and party president N Chandrababu Naidu nearly two years ago.Despite the comic apologising for his remarks two years ago, the group forced him to apologise once again on stage on Saturday. A video of the incident, which occurred at Koramangala, has gone viral on social media.According to Uday, the disruption began soon after he started his act. A man from the audience approached him, claiming to be his fan, but objected to his past remarks on Naidu. Soon, a few others joined him, and the group began to hurl abuses at Uday. More people gathered and they allegedly threatened to beat him up. The group also questioned his remarks about an assassination attempt on Naidu in 2003 by Naxals, and warned Uday against repeating such content in his acts.They reportedly tried to compel him to raise slogans in support of TDP leaders, which he declined, stating that his comedy had references to multiple political parties, including the opposition. The group left before police reached the venue.Reacting to the incident, AP state TDP president and MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao strongly condemned the protest.“The party will not encourage such behaviour. We will not support any such protest against freedom of speech,” he said.He, however, cautioned stand-up comedians, artistes, political commentators, and individuals against making comments on sensitive issues. He said such individuals will face angry reactions from public when they cross their limits of freedom of speech.“They think that they can earn instant fame by passing indecent or controversial remarks on reputed personalities. But they are thoroughly wrong,” he said.Saturday’s incident is the third involving comedians facing protests over political satire in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, stand-up comedians Anudeep Katikala and Rafiq Muhammed were arrested by AP police in separate cases for their remarks against politicians from the ruling coalition in the state.
