Kunal Kamra’s Hyderabad show switches venue amid right-wing disruption

The venue of one of the two shows of Kunal Kamra’s stand-up comedy event in Hyderabad, scheduled to be held at the Vishweshwarayya Bhavan in Khairatabad on October 11, had to be shifted after objections from right-wing groups. 

A group of people holding saffron flags, reportedly members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), were seen raising slogans against Kunal Kamra while calling him anti-Hindu, outside the venue. The police took around 15 of them into custody to prevent them from disrupting the show. Members of the Bajrang Dal also reportedly threatened to disrupt the event, demanding cancellation. 

While the 3pm show was performed as scheduled, the 6pm show was shifted to TGRTC Kala Bhavan amid threats from right-wing outfits. 

The Bajrang Dal’s Hyderabad unit had threatened to stop the show claiming Kumal had insulted the Hindu gods Ram and Sita, according to ANI. 

Earlier in July, during the anti-NEET protests in Delhi, Kunal had addressed the crowd at Jantar Mantar and said that the government was “taking the name of Sita's husband (Ram) and doing the work of Nita's husband (Mukesh Ambani),” criticising alleged corruption under the BJP-led Union government. 

 In August, when Kunal performed his show in Bengaluru, police had to take stringent security measures to ensure he could perform without interruption, amid demands from Hindutva groups to cancel the event. The show had to be held amid heavy police presence, with Karnataka State Reserve Police personnel and Bengaluru city police officers stationed outside the venue, barricades placed at the entrance, and security checks conducted for every attendee before they were allowed inside.