#TanmayBhat: MNS, BJP, Sena line up to punch at AIB comic
Political parties spent most of Monday trying to capitalise on the controversy and one-up each other.
The farcical is political. Even as comedian Tanmay Bhat of the All India Bakchod collective started trending on Twitter for his face-morphed mock-up of Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar, the city’s politicians scrambled to make the most of the outrage his short Snapchat video spurred.
By the end of Monday, this was the tally -- Raj Thackeray’s MNS had managed to file two complaints, the BJP jumped the police hierarchy by delivering their complaint directly to the Police Commissioner, while the Shiv Sena raised the stakes further by pouring out their heartfelt grievance to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over email. The NCP changed the stakes entirely, by burning effigies of Bhat.
Instead of waiting on the slowgrinding wheels of justice via FIRs, city BJP chief and Bandra legislator Ashish Shelar used his clout to cut to front of the line and call Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar on Monday afternoon. He demanded stern action and soon after Padsalgikar asked the police’s special branch to probe the matter.
“I spoke to the commissioner and made the complaint and the special branch was directed to look into the matter. This kind of insult is not acceptable. This violates the liberty of the people. We have filed the complaint and the law will take its own course now,” said Shelar.
Caught on the back foot, the MNS had to make a power play. Raj Thackeray’s sister-in-law Shalini arrived at the police’s Cyber Crime Cell in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and filed a complaint demanding that the video be taken off the internet. “Bhat must be arrested at once and the video must be banned. If things go out of hand, then the government will be responsible,” Thackeray said.
The video featues Tanmay Bhat channelling the revered playback singer and the master blaster using Snapchat’s face-swap feature. He takes potshots at both. While Snapchats expire and disappear, Bhat who first uploaded the video titled “Sachin vs Lata Civil War” on May 26 has kept links to it alive on the internet.
With time running out and the Twitter controversy catching fire, the Sena had to jump the ‘roast’ Bhat bandwagon. Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe complained to CM Fadnavis via email. “The people who have made the video have a deranged mentality. The video is obscene and completely unacceptable. It also demeans Lataji as a woman and is cheap. This is just a stunt to get cheap publicity. It has hurt the sentiments of millions of people,” Gorhe said.
Now that other parties had explored and exploited all available legal avenues, the NCP decided to take to the streets. They escalated the comedian’s roast to the next level by burning Bhat’s effigy. Surekha Pednekar from the NCP’s women’s wing also led protests.
The Congress, in keeping with its general position, stayed silent.
Mumbai police said that they had received two written complaints at Shivaji Park police station. “We have retrieved the transcripts of the said video and are seeking legal opinion. We will take further action after that. We have written to Facebook and YouTube asking them to block the video,” said Sangramsinh Nishandar, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
The farcical is political. Even as comedian Tanmay Bhat of the All India Bakchod collective started trending on Twitter for his face-morphed mock-up of Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar, the city’s politicians scrambled to make the most of the outrage his short Snapchat video spurred.
By the end of Monday, this was the tally -- Raj Thackeray’s MNS had managed to file two complaints, the BJP jumped the police hierarchy by delivering their complaint directly to the Police Commissioner, while the Shiv Sena raised the stakes further by pouring out their heartfelt grievance to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over email. The NCP changed the stakes entirely, by burning effigies of Bhat.
MNS took the early lead on Sunday night and had the first mover’s advantage. Amey Khopkar, who heads the MNS’s film wing issued a statement saying, “The video is in bad taste and just not acceptable. They have insulted two Bharat Ratna recipients claiming that it is freedom of expression. The MNS will not tolerate such freedom of expression. We will deal with Tanmay Bhat in MNS style. The police must book him and he should be arrested.” Not content to rest on those laurels, Khopkar followed up the threat by filing a complaint with Dadar’s Shivaji Park police station early on Monday. Worried that the MNS was gaining ground with their strong, the BJP jumped into the fray.
Instead of waiting on the slowgrinding wheels of justice via FIRs, city BJP chief and Bandra legislator Ashish Shelar used his clout to cut to front of the line and call Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar on Monday afternoon. He demanded stern action and soon after Padsalgikar asked the police’s special branch to probe the matter.
“I spoke to the commissioner and made the complaint and the special branch was directed to look into the matter. This kind of insult is not acceptable. This violates the liberty of the people. We have filed the complaint and the law will take its own course now,” said Shelar.
Caught on the back foot, the MNS had to make a power play. Raj Thackeray’s sister-in-law Shalini arrived at the police’s Cyber Crime Cell in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and filed a complaint demanding that the video be taken off the internet. “Bhat must be arrested at once and the video must be banned. If things go out of hand, then the government will be responsible,” Thackeray said.
The video featues Tanmay Bhat channelling the revered playback singer and the master blaster using Snapchat’s face-swap feature. He takes potshots at both. While Snapchats expire and disappear, Bhat who first uploaded the video titled “Sachin vs Lata Civil War” on May 26 has kept links to it alive on the internet.
With time running out and the Twitter controversy catching fire, the Sena had to jump the ‘roast’ Bhat bandwagon. Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe complained to CM Fadnavis via email. “The people who have made the video have a deranged mentality. The video is obscene and completely unacceptable. It also demeans Lataji as a woman and is cheap. This is just a stunt to get cheap publicity. It has hurt the sentiments of millions of people,” Gorhe said.
Now that other parties had explored and exploited all available legal avenues, the NCP decided to take to the streets. They escalated the comedian’s roast to the next level by burning Bhat’s effigy. Surekha Pednekar from the NCP’s women’s wing also led protests.
The Congress, in keeping with its general position, stayed silent.
Mumbai police said that they had received two written complaints at Shivaji Park police station. “We have retrieved the transcripts of the said video and are seeking legal opinion. We will take further action after that. We have written to Facebook and YouTube asking them to block the video,” said Sangramsinh Nishandar, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
