Amid controversy, Kapil Sharma’s ‘kabaddi’ joke dug up – was it funny or offensive?

New Delhi: The comedy scene in India is in chaos at the moment. Following India’s Got Latent controversy, the future of comedy has been brought up by politicians, media channels and the parents of the country. Those who are avid Samay Raina watchers are aware of his content and the unfiltered jokes performed. However, Samay Raina is being bombarded with allegations of corrupting the youth with vulgar and abusive language.

Following Ranveer Allahbadia’s controversial remark, an old comment from Kapil Sharma has resurfaced on social media. From the old days of Comedy Nights with Kapil, the comedian made a not-so-PG joke that netizens are upset about. Here is what happened.

Kapil Sharma’s ‘kabbadi’ joke resurfaces – netizens pick sides

The clip shows Kapil Sharma performing his usual monologue before jumping into the show. The comedian brings up two things that Indians love – films and cricket. While on stage, Kapil joked about children who would never wake up early for an exam but would be up at 4 AM to watch cricket. Further, he added, “Cricket ka match shuru hona tha 4 baje, aur phir yeh ma baa ki kabaddi dekh ke so jaate hai.”

Some netizens questioned that the joke is levelled with innuendos, so why is Kapil Sharma not being ridiculed? In response, a few users shared their disappointment while others backed the comedian for his witty joke. A user pointed out that Kapil Sharma’s joke was layered. “Kabaddi could very well mean a fight between the parents. Kapil cracked a joke and left it to the audience’s interpretation. Ranveer capitalised, enunciated and underlined a bad joke in the name of dank comedy, just to project that he’s cool,” noted a Reddit user.

Which side do you agree with? Should comedians refrain from hidden sexual innuendos in their sets altogether? Or should they be more witty like Kapil Sharma was?