“By talking about the video, you’re giving Tanmay Bhat exactly what he wanted” – Ram Gopal Varma

By Subhash K. Jha -

May 31, 2016 - 2:34 PM IST

Ram Gopal Varma, in all his wisdom, feels we're playing into the hands of Tanmay Bhat and All India Bakchod by talking about their offensive video featuring Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar.

“By talking about the video, you’re giving Tanmay Bhat exactly what he wanted” – Ram Gopal Varma

"Why do you think this guy put this sickening video up? Have you any idea what these AIB people do to get attention? They rip apart any and everything. To them it doesn't matter who the victim is, whether it is someone of Lataji or Sachin Tendulkar's stature is of no consequence. To them every individual, great or small, is a target for satire," says Ramu.

Ramu advises we ignore the slur on the legend. "By talking about the stupid video, we're only encouraging more people to see it."

Producer-writer Pritish Nandy feels it's wrong to corner the culprit for his cheesy video. "Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin do not have such fragile reputations that they can be easily destroyed by a stand-up comic. Tanmay Bhatt did what he usually does. You may not like it. You may not agree with it. But I assure you every Indian has not been insulted by him. Most of us have simply laughed it away... In a free society, people say what they want to."

Times Now's Arnab Goswami feels curbing Tanmay Bhat's exuberant satire is an attack of humorous content in India.

Says Arnab, "The video is a bit crude. But you can't beat him up or arrest him for it. If that were the case, then all the stand-up comedians in India would be in jail."

However, senior TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai disagrees with Arnab. "I found the video crass and stupid."