Amid controversy over YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia’s remarks on a roast show, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that while he had not watched the video clip, anyone who crosses the limits of decency will face action. Two Mumbai lawyers have already filed a police complaint against Allahbadia, better known as the BeerBiceps Guy.
“I have been informed about this, though I have not watched it yet. I came to know that it was very vulgar and this was wrong. Everyone has freedom of speech but this freedom ends when we encroach upon others’ freedom. Everyone has limits, if anyone crosses them, action will be taken,” the Chief Minister said.
Lawyers Ashish Rai and Pankaj Mishra have filed a complaint seeking an FIR against YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia and other comedians, alleging that their remarks on the show India’s Got Latent were offensive to women.
In their complaint to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phalsankar and the state women’s commission, they urged authorities to take action, stressing that such content should not be ignored. The complaint specifically names Allahbadia, along with comedians Samay Raina and Apoorva Makhija, among others.
As per media reports, the lawyers have called for the shutdown of ‘India’s Got Latent’ and urged authorities to file a case against the comedians and the show’s organizers. Earlier, Ranveer Allahbadia’s remarks sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many accusing the show of promoting vulgarity under the guise of comedy. Journalist and lyricist Neelesh Misra also weighed in, sharing a clip of Allahbadia’s comment and criticizing the platform’s creators for having “zero sense of responsibility.”
“I am also not surprised at all that four people at the desk – and lots in the audience – celebrated this and had a great laugh. You, the audience, normalised and celebrated this and people like these,” he said in a post on X. “Decency is not incentivised in India – by platforms or audiences – and creators are stooping lower and lower for audience reach and revenue.
Banal, crass, insensitive are words only for boring uncool people. These creators can say anything in the name of freedom of speech and get away with it. Again, meet the creators who are shaping our country’s creative economy,” Mr Misra said.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the fact that such comments draw applause must worry us. “This isn’t creative. It’s pervert. And we can’t normalise perverse behaviour as cool. The fact that this sick comment met loud applause must worry us all.”
Amid the massive row, Allahbadia has apologised for his comments and said “comedy is not my forte” and that “it wasn’t cool”. The 31-year-old posted an apology message on X with the caption, “I shouldn’t have said what I said on India’s got latent. I’m sorry.” In the video message, he said, “My comment wasn’t just inappropriate, it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte, I am just here to say sorry.”