Podcast: It Should Not Be Up to the Courts to Decide What Is a Joke

Anuvab Pal is a comedian, scriptwriter and actor who is a veteran of the stand-up scene. He has filled halls and theatres in New York and London and performs all over India, from comedy clubs to institutional gigs.

In this podcast interview with Sidharth Bhatia, Pal says audiences are responsive to jokes of all kinds, though occasionally they get offended. But the recent clampdown on comedians is worrying. “The persecution of comedians is having a chilling effect,” he admits, but wonders if a street protest by “a couple of hundred comedians will have any effect.”

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