Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui has been removed from yet another show after organizers received repeated calls for dropping his name from the comedy fest. BJP has also filed a complaint against him asking police to ensure that he doesn’t perform.
Faruqui’s name was removed from the line-up of performers citing “public safety”. He was about to perform in the three-day Gurgaon Comedy Festival. The festival was scheduled from December 17-19 in the Airia Mall.
“We did not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments or put the public in danger. So we removed him from the panel. The decision was taken yesterday and we made changes to the poster and ticketing platform. For us, the safety of artists and the public is a priority. The audience is everything,” said Mubin Tisekar, co-founder of The Entertainment Factory.
Tisekar also stated that they received backlash after sharing the poster of the comedy fest which included Faruqui’s picture too. “After tweeting about Faruqui’s performance, we started getting calls. At the end, it’s about making people laugh, so we don’t want to go ahead with it,” he said.
Calling it a mutual decision, Tisekar said, “It was a joint decision of Faruqui and him that he should not perform for public safety as many messages were making rounds on social media and we do not want to land in any controversy.”
BJP Files Complaint Against Munawar Faruqui
Accusing Munawar Faruqui of insulting Hindu gods and goddesses, Arun Yadav, Haryana head of BJP’s IT department, has filed a complaint against him and has demanded to ensure that he doesn’t perform.
“To maintain peace and harmony between different sections of the society, I request you to look into the matter and stop him. His activities have offended my Hindu faith,” Yadav stated in his complaint.
He added, “Faruqui has been continuously hurting the feelings of Hindu community at large on open platforms such as live performances and shows. We will not allow him to perform in the comedy show in Gurugram.”
Is Munawar Faruqui Leaving Comedy?
Over a dozen shows of Munawar Faruqui have been cancelled in the past two months. Recently, he shared an emotional post over his social media handles with a caption “Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, artist has lost). I’m done, goodbye. Injustice“.
That announcement appears much like the end of his comedy career. His fans were in shock and showered him with motivational messages asking him to stay strong and continue what he has been doing. Later, it was reported that he might not do any more shows.
30-year-old stand-up comedian from Indore spent one month in jail for allegedly insulting Hindu deities and Union home minister Amit Shah. After that, he has always been the target of right-wing groups. Several of his shows have been cancelled after that over alleged vandalism threats.
