Stand-up comedian Anudeep Katikala was detained by Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday, April 14, in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, where he had been visiting his family. The comedian has been facing abuses and threats of physical violence from fans of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, over a recently published video of his stand-up performance on Tollywood stars and fandom culture.
Two police officers from Kakinada district traced Anudeep's phone to a park in Prayagraj at around 7 pm on April 14, while he was with his father, a family member told TNM. The comedian was booked by the Kakinada I Town police following a complaint by Jana Sena party, East Godavari Joint Secretary, Bade Venkata Krishna.
The family member told TNM that Anudeep was first taken to a local police station before being transported to Kakinada by train. The police informed the family that upon arrival at Kakinada, they were likely to serve him a notice and release him on station bail, as most of the offences are bailable.
In the joke that has invited strong backlash from Pawan Kalyan’s supporters, Anudeep said that actor-producer Niharika Konidela, who got a divorce in 2023, could seek advice from her uncle on navigating such situations. Pawan Kalyan’s three marriages have often been cited by his political opponents in the YSRCP to criticise him. Jana Sena supporters argued that by referencing Niharika’s divorce, Anudeep was being “misogynistic” and “dragging the names of women” into his stand-up routine.
An FIR was registered against Anudeep at the Kakinada I Town police station on April 11. Pawan Kalyan’s constituency, Pithapuram, also falls under Kakinada district.
In his complaint, Jana Sena leader Bade Venkata Krishna alleged that through his video, Anudeep had “targeted Deputy Chief Minister Sri Konidela Pawan Kalyan and his family members, damaging their reputation, insulting them with sarcasm, and vulgar language, and also spreading false information through social media to disrupt peace and order, inciting enmity and creating pandemonium.”
Anudeep has been charged under Sections 356(2) (defamation), 353(2) (making statement containing false information, rumour or alarming news with intent to promote enmity between different groups) and 79 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 67 (publishing obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
In an earlier conversation with TNM, Anudeep said that his intention was to destigmatise the subject of divorce through the jke. He pointed out that in the middle of the joke itself, he mentions that divorce itself is not a funny thing, and that the actors’ personal reasons for doing so must be respected.
“The only point of that joke is that when you’re in a difficult situation, you try to take advice from someone who has already been through it. If you’re getting knee surgery, you might take advice from a relative who has already undergone one,” Anudeep had explained.
The video also included jokes on actors Ram Charan, Balakrishna, and Jr NTR. Fans of Ram Charan were also upset over a joke in which Anudeep calls Ram Charan a “feminist” for appearing secure even though his wife, Upasana, seems to be wealthier than him.