On 24th March, Rajya Sabha MP and veteran actor Jaya Bachchan raised concerns over the shrinking space for free expression. Her comments came in response to the attack on alleged stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s office by Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) members. Ironically, in 2014, she had raised objections over mimicry done by Radio Jockeys (RJs).
#WATCH | On Kunal Kamra row, SP MP Jaya Bachchan says, "…If there is restriction on speaking, what will become if you? You are anyway in a bad situation. There are restrictions on you. You would be told to speak just on this and nothing else, that do not interview Jaya… pic.twitter.com/GWpkNyEDHS
— ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2025
Reacting to the backlash against Kunal Kamra over his video indirectly mocking the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, and the FIR, she asked, “Where is the freedom of speech?” She added, “If restrictions are placed on what people say, what will happen to the media? You people are already in bad shape. Soon you’ll be told—say only this news, don’t say anything else. Don’t take Jaya Bachchan’s interview.”
Taking aim at the ruling party, Bachchan added, “There is freedom of action only when there is violence—beat up opposition members, rape women, murder them. What else is left?” She also criticised Eknath Shinde, saying, “You left your original party for power. Wasn’t that an insult to Balasaheb Thackeray?”
The irony – her 2014 call for a ban on mimicry
While Jaya Bachchan has suddenly realised that there is a need for ‘freedom of speech’, her own record says otherwise. In August 2014, she had raised objections in Parliament against mimicry and jokes by radio jockeys. She called such humour “absolutely objectionable” and accused RJs of being guilty of obscene jokes and disrespecting lawmakers. At that time, she asked then Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar if he was going to do anything about it and demanded action against what she saw as an attack on the dignity of Parliament.
The change in her stance on freedom of speech is a stark reminder that for several public figures like her, the value of free speech depends entirely on who is speaking and whom they are speaking against.
The latest Kunal Kamra controversy over song mocking Eknath Shinde
On Sunday, 23rd of March, Shiv Sena workers reportedly vandalised the hotel – The Unicontinental Mumbai, in Khar – where Kunal Kamra did his “comedy” skit. Members of Shiv Sena also gathered outside various police stations demanding action against Kamra.
In his skit, Kunal Kamra performed to a parody song set to the tune of the 1997 Bollywood song ‘Dil to pagal hai’. In that, he had referred to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as ‘Gaddar’ (traitor) for his defection in 2022.
