Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon has criticised the ban on Kunal Kamra by several airlines after he heckled journalist Arnab Goswami onboard a flight.
Speaking at an event, Raveena said, “Ok, I like Kunal Kamra. Does that help? No? That doesn’t help! Actually, personally I don’t like him because he makes very personal and bad jokes but the ban on him was not justified. That I will stand for. Nonetheless, everyone has two sides of the coin.”
Raveena was speaking at an event to promote organ donation and was accompanied by Priyanka Chopra’s mother Dr Madhu Chopra on stage.
Kunal has shared a video on Twitter where he was heard heckling Arnab onboard Mumbai-Lucknow flight on January 28. After the post, IndiGo banned him for six months. Air India also restricted the comedian’s access to their airline services after the video surfaced online. Rohit Mateti, who was the captain of the flight on which the incident happened, wrote a letter to the airline asserting that Kamra’s conduct through the flight may be considered “unsavoury” but could not be classified to be that of a “Level 1 Unruly passenger”. The letter was leaked online.
The ban on Kunal has been sharply criticised as civil aviation rules only mandate a three-month ban for first level unruly behaviour, as was the case. Besides, the rules require that the pilot-in-command should have filed the first complaint and initiated the process to take action. Captain Rohit Mateti’s letter said he did not raise it because in his view, Kunal Kamra didn’t cross the line.
Kunal Kamra's act now seems almost like the only option to expose an establishment and its stooges. He called Arnab out in a very crude way and the response was a vulgar show of authoritarianism. Kamra's protest still does not feel right to me but i almost feel it was necessary.
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) January 29, 2020
I used to know Arnab earlier – not exactly a friend but as someone passionate about news and debate. It is sad to see him becoming a preposterous, partisan and obnoxious servant of a dictatorial establishment. He symbolises the mostly comatose state of tv journalism in India.
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) January 29, 2020
Earlier, filmmaker Hansal Mehta had also criticised the ban. Hansal tweeted, “I used to know Arnab earlier – not exactly a friend but as someone passionate about news and debate. It is sad to see him becoming a preposterous, partisan and obnoxious servant of a dictatorial establishment. He symbolises the mostly comatose state of tv journalism in India.”
“I did not like the way @kunalkamra88 heckled Arnab on a flight. I felt it was unnecessary and uncool coming from someone who usually criticizes with such sharp wit. But seeing the even more uncool response by airlines (with govt blessings) to his behavior I have mixed feelings…Kunal Kamra’s act now seems almost like the only option to expose an establishment and its stooges. He called Arnab out in a very crude way and the response was a vulgar show of authoritarianism. Kamra’s protest still does not feel right to me but i almost feel it was necessary,” he added.
