Offensive nonsense or comic brilliance? People's take on AIB roast

"You can pull down the videos, but you can't undo the hits, the hype or the hilarity!" This tweet by one of Ranveer Singh's many fan clubs seems to echo the general sentiment surrounding the entire furore over stand-up comedy group All India Bakchod's 'roast' series. However, as is the case with every such 'viral' story, there exist people clucking their tongues in disdain – whether it is at the crass language used, the jokes in 'bad taste', or, in the grand scheme of things, the underlying hypocrisy among the youth.

Rae Bareli-based engineer Ankur Bajpai has liked the AIB's previous work, but this one 'pinched' him. "I feel that Deepika's cleavage and other such social matters should not have been joked upon. I know many people will argue that if Deepika didn't have any problem, why should I. But with so many social problems against women going on, I feel we need to have a limit," Bajpai says.

AIB's popularity isn't restricted to just India, as told to dna by Karachi-based media student, Uzair Asif. His Facebook news feed was filled with people sharing the videos. "Which is a very rare case, and should tell you something about the popularity and appreciation for the AIB here," says the 22-year-old.

Dr Ashley Tellis, an LGBT rights activist and writer, says that he didn't watch the entire series because he couldn't bear the humour. "I've watched them live and almost vomited at their puerile, non-funny, sexist, misogynist, racist bits," Tellis says.

What about the defenders of Article 19 1 (a) of the Indian Constitution then? "Using the logic of freedom of expression is like saying the censor board member (Ashoke Pandit) was also just expressing his opinion and so are fascist hate speech groups. All rights come with responsibilities," the writer opines.

Ruchi Jaggi, assistant professor, Symbiosis International University, Pune, doesn't agree with the idea of supporting the 'hypocritical Bollywood fraternity'. She says that the AIB show cannot be the yardstick of free spirit and expression. "Who are we supporting? A homophobic, sexist and crassly commercial fraternity? For me, the plaintiff (right wing groups) and defendant (Bollywood, in this case) are equally hypocritical," she says.

For those who got offended by the remarks passed, 25-year-old Mohammad Shadan Khan, a Santa Cruz-based banking professional, has a fitting reply, "You sat through the entire 55-minute-long webcast, just to 'get offended' and have your sentiments hurt. Who is the fool here?"

LLB student Pankaj Bajaj saw only certain parts of the roast, and found it 'utter nonsense'. "After this roast, what if tomorrow, they too begin abusing their female counterparts? These celebrities have been preaching the wrong things and should be prevented from doing so," the Ambarnath resident says.

Shashwat DC, a media professional, smells a rat, saying that more publicity always generates more money. By virtue of the flak they’ve been receiving, AIB is trying to milk the opportunity, he says. “The conversation will now sadly move off-track, from vulgarity and culture to freedom and liberty,” he says.

Suparna Sharma, a Delhi-based senior journalist, echoes Shashwat’s sentiments, saying that AIB pulling down the ‘Roast’ series is a cop-out. She makes an interesting point while giving the examples of Penguin, Perumal Murugan and now, AIB when she says, “It is said that in these times, when we all need to stand up to those who want to muzzle and stifle voices, it's the ones who claim to be picking the torch first, who buckle first.”

Mumbai-based creative innovator Sandeep Sugumaran says that for Indians, the roast itself was the biggest break to start experimenting with a lesser known genre of comedy. “We need a start somewhere. And the controversy over this video has just added fuel to the fire. Now I am sure, many of this kind will surface,” 25-year-old opines.

Digital Marketing professional Rajeev Ranjan has been an avid viewer of Comedy Central Roasts – from Denis Leary to Pamela Anderson, to Charlie Sheen and even the roast of USA president Barack Obama, and wishes that the series had more than three parts. The content of the jokes, he says, is debatable, for a lot of the jokes were repetitive, but he adds that the show was above his expectations. “I was so happy that finally, comedy roasts have arrived in India and celebrities are being open about the entire thing where they are made fun of. The joke delivery was as good as the ones done on Comedy Central Roasts,” Rajeev says