'Thin Line Between Humour & Mockery': Bengali Poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay SLAMS Krushna Abhishek For Disrespecting Rabindranath Tagore On The Great Indian Kapil Show

The Great Indian Kapil Show, hosted by actor-comedian Kapil Sharma, has sparked a major controversy after the makers were sent a legal notice for insulting Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and hurting the sentiments of the Bengali community in one of the episodes. And now, a post by Bengali poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay has surfaced online in which he slammed Krushna Abhishek for 'mocking' the work of Tagore.

In one of the episodes which was graced by Kajol and Kriti Sanon, Krushna was seen performing a skit in reference to the iconic song, Ekla Cholo Re, written by Tagore. During his performance, he said "Pachla cholo re" to mean five people walking together, despite 'pachla' not being an actual Bengali word. The comedian used the term to contrast the original song's message of walking alone, and also joked that walking alone could attract stray dogs.

However, this wordplay did not impress the Bengali community, and Srijato took to his social media handle to slam the skit. "There is a thin line between humour and mockery, and crossing it can prove to be risky. Often, people disregard whom they are joking about, what they are saying, and how far they go — all in a bid to chase high ratings and make people laugh. They forget where to draw the line," the poet wrote.

"The sarcastic gestures and conversations of Krushna Abhishek with the song Ekla Cholo Re has gone far beyond the level of respect and modesty, at least in my eyes. I am sure they wouldn't have the courage to make such ugly jokes on Ghalib, Kabir or Premchand. The show would be forced to shut shop the next day. Bengalis are used to such stereotypical jokes, and thus, they could crack these jokes. And that too in front of a Bengali actress (Kajol) who sat and laughed through the skit," he added.

As he concluded his note, he demanded an apology from the makers of The Great Indian Kapil Show for mocking Tagore and cracking jokes at the expense of the Bengali community.

For those unversed, the Bongo Bhashi Mahasabha Foundation (BBMF) sent a legal notice to the makers of The Great Indian Kapil Show for being disrespectful to Tagore and the Bengali community. In response, the makers said, "The Great Indian Kapil Show is a comedy program intended purely for entertainment," adding that the show is composed of parodies and fictional sketches, that do not aim to target a specific individual or community maliciously.