Kunal Kamra seeks clarity from BookMyShow after sudden delisting
Mumbai: Comedian Kunal Kamra, has responded after ticketing giant BookMyShow removed him from its platform and deleted all traces of his past shows. Kamra took to social media on Saturday, asking if he could still list his upcoming performances.
“Hello @bookmyshow can you please confirm if I have your platform to list my shows… If not it’s fine. I understand…” he wrote.
The move came after Rahool Kanal, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) youth leader and general secretary, requested BookMyShow to stop hosting Kamra’s shows. Kanal was recently arrested for vandalising The Habitat, a venue where Kamra performed.
In a letter to BookMyShow’s parent company, Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Kanal thanked the platform for its quick response.
“I thank you for even taking him out of the BookMyShow search history,” he wrote.
“Thank you for keeping your portal clean and keeping such artists out of the list of pure entertainment. We all being Mumbaikars love and believe in every form of art but not personal agendas,” he added.
Kanal had earlier accused Kamra of consistently targeting top political leaders, including the Prime Minister and several Chief Ministers, through what he described as a “campaign of vilification.”
He claimed that Kamra’s content was “Premeditated, scripted, provocative, and malicious.”
According to him, Kamra’s jokes and comments had crossed legal and ethical lines, hurt public sentiments, and could possibly disturb social harmony.
Backlash over song targeting Eknath Shinde
Kamra has faced criticism recently for a song performed during a show, in which he allegedly referred to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a traitor. This led to three legal cases being filed against the comedian.
Though the Madras High Court has given Kamra temporary protection from arrest, the Mumbai Police have begun investigating the case. They have started recording statements from the crew involved in the show. While authorities have assured Kamra's safety, he has not yet responded to three police summons for questioning.
(Agency inputs)