On December 5, Gurgaon Comedy Festival that is happening between December 17 and 19 at Airia Mall, Gurugram, dropped controversial figures and alleged comedians Munawar Faruqui and Varun Grover from their posters. Nishant Suri has replaced them for the third-day line-up. Earlier, there were three comedians lined up for each day, but as of now, the last day has only two comedians lined up.
It is unclear whether they were dropped from the festival or they dropped out themselves, but in the past, because of earlier derogatory statements made by Faruqui during shows, his multiple appearances were cancelled across the country. Notably, Faruqui has announced possible “retirement” from comedy twice. However, both times he crawled back into the comedy scene after gaining traction and support from the left-leaning crowd.
In the recently changed poster of the Comedy Festival, the last day’s slots have been changed. The organizers have added Nishant Suri as one of the performers, while Faruqui and Grover are missing from the poster. The other performer Atul Khatri remains for the third day. The side-by-side difference can be seen in the image below.
Why were Munawar Faruqui’s shows stopped?
Munawar Faruqui, who hails from Gujarat, is an alleged comedian and a controversial figure. He was accused of making derogatory remarks against Bhagwan Ram and Mata Sita. Moreover, he also mocked the 59 innocent pilgrims who were burnt alive in 2002 in Godhra when they were returning after performing Kar Sewa at Ayodhya.
In January this year, Faruqui was arrested and stayed in jail for around a month, along with another comedian for making derogatory statements during his shows. After the incident, when he was released, he made a statement that he might leave comedy, but it turned out to be a PR stunt. Later, he started his India tour by the name Dongri to Nowhere that was cancelled after complaints against him filed by VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu outfits stating his show might result in law and order problems.
Subsequently, after around 12 shows got cancelled, Faruqui cancelled his tour and published on his social media handles that he would be leaving comedy amidst repeated cancellation of the shows. He got support from the left-leaning crowd and intellectuals, including celebrities and media personalities. While forgetting how hurtful and derogatory his acts were for the Hindu community, they blamed Hindu outfits for “curbing a comedian”. Interestingly, after announcing once that he would not do comedy anymore, Faruqui was lined up to perform at Airia Mall on December 17.
Varun Grover was accused in #metoo
Notably, the other comedian, Varun Grover, who was dropped from the festival, was accused of sexually harassing a woman earlier. In 2018, during the #metoo movement, an anonymous girl claiming to be his college junior at BHU had alleged that Grover had sexually harassed her on the pretext of auditioning for a play.
Another controversial figure, known for making derogatory comments, Atul Khatri, is still on the list of comedians performing at the show.