Pulkit Mani has cancelled his comedy shows in Noida, Lucknow and Kanpur following a political controversy over his encounter with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Indore. Mani (seen as ‘hunnywhoisfunny’ on Instagram) announced the cancellations through social media as the debate over his performance went on.
The controversy started after Mani shared the stage with Rahul Gandhi during the Congress-organized student-focused event in Indore on September 19. A video from the programme, circulated by the Congress on X, showed Mani doing mimicry and political humour on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders during the show. Rahul Gandhi was laughing along with the comedian in the performance.
After the event, the performance was criticized by BJP leaders who objected to the jokes and references made during the act. BJP criticism was especially directed at the part of the performance that they said was disrespectful to PM Modi and references to his late mother. Congress leaders were quick to defend the performance and denied that PM Modi’s mother had been insulted.
As the political exchanges continued on, Mani announced that his performance in Noida had been cancelled. On Instagram, the comedian said it was because of “unforeseen circumstances” and apologised to the public for the inconvenience.
On a separate note, Mani announced that his shows in Lucknow and Kanpur had also been cancelled. This time he attributed the cancellations to what he described as “repeated threats from goon activists.” Mani did not publicly admit the threats or name the individuals behind them. So far, reports on the episode have referred to the threats as claims made by the comedian and not independent facts.
The cancellations have come just days after Mani’s appearance with Rahul Gandhi and have added another dimension to the political dispute surrounding the Indore programme. And it has reignited debate about political satire, comedy performances and how comedians can respond to the fact that they are performing in a context that is very political.
BJP leaders have strongly criticised the episode. BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan questioned the nature of the humour used during the event and criticized Rahul Gandhi for laughing during the performance. Other BJP leaders also voiced their opinions about the comedian’s mimicry and called for a response from the Congress leadership.
But Congress leaders have maintained that the performance was a mimicry and humour. The party’s defence has framed the episode as part of the programme’s overall interaction with students and young people as part of its wider student engagement. The ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event itself dealt with the issues of students, education and employment and Rahul Gandhi took over the platform to criticize the Modi government.
For Mani, however, the immediate result has been the cancellation of three performances in Uttar Pradesh. The comedian’s comments about threats have also underlined the security issues of public comedy shows in the event of a public comedy show getting into political controversy.
And the episode also illustrates how quickly a comedy performance of political satire can move well beyond the arena of entertainment and become a political debate. With the Noida, Lucknow and Kanpur shows being cancelled, it will be a question of whether Mani will reschedule the performances, and whether the controversy around his appearance at the Indore event will continue in the coming days.
