No laughing matter

For those of whom making jokes is serous business indeed, these questions certainly aren’t a laughing matter. And they seem to agree that while certain types of humour may not be to everyone’s taste, taking the legal route is perhaps an extreme measure. “The public has all the right to be offended at anything,” says comedian, writer and playwright Anuvab Pal.

“I personally find so many things and so many jokes offensive. But that doesn’t mean I should go to the court and file a case. If you find a joke offensive, then ignore it. Or there are myriad ways in which you can assert or avoid them. But going to the courts is not acceptable.”

Sorabh Pant of the East India Company Comedy collective agrees. He says that while the collective ensures that any comedian whose humour is found to be offensive is blacked out by the group, seeking judicial intervention in these matters is “immature”. “If it is politically correct, it cannot be humour,” Sorabh states.

He adds that while the East India Collective does try to ensure its content is “tolerant of everyone”, tolerance levels themselves differ from person to person. “What was happening with the people of North East in Delhi? They were being subjugated and that can’t be accepted. Sardar communities are quite often the source of these jokes, and persecuting someone on a regular basis with these jokes would be a big issue,” Sorabh says.

Anuvab Pal also says that several communities and groups may find themselves the object of a joke — but if everyone were to take offence or seek bans, soon no topic would be left on which it would be okay to make a joke. “Take the case of mother-in-law jokes. How would it sound if mothers-in-law filed a case against mother-in-law jokes?” asks Anuvab. “Yes, it is also true that jokes lead to straight-jacketing and stereotypes but that doesn’t mean you should ‘ban’ a joke.”

Of course, tolerance may be easy to preach, but it can be difficult for the individual/group which is the butt of a joke to practise. This is what comic actor Gurucharan Singh — popular for his turn as Mr Sodi in the TV show Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah — believes. “Humour is good; laughter in all forms is good. But not at the expense of hurting someone’s sentiments. When a joke is made about the religious inclinations of people, it can hurt,” he says.