The AIB Hullaballoo!

In the last fortnight or so if there is something other than the Delhi elections, that has hogged immense limelight in the social media, then it is the All India Bakchod, AIB Roast controversy. AIB, per say is not an entirely new entity and is into existence through there hugely popular videos since 2013, much on the lines of similar social media players like Qtiyapa and The Viral Fever. However, they have all of a sudden become so controversial thanks to the AIB Knockout Roast comedy show that was held in Mumbai by the AIB team, featuring the Bollywood stars like Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Karan Johar as the protagonists and other popular Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhat, Anurag Kashyap to name a few as the key attendees.

So what is this whole concept about a Roast comedy show? Wikipedia defines it as an event in which specific individuals, a guest of honor (in this case Arjun and Ranveer), are subjected to good-nature d jokes at their expense intended to amuse the event's wider audience. This type of events are created as a mock counter to a toast. Such events are intended to honour specific individuals in a unique way. In addition to jokes and insult comedy, such events may also involve genuine praise and tributes. The implication is that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and it is seen by some as a great honor to be roasted. The individual is surrounded by friends (In this case Alia, Deepika, Sonakshi, Anurag to name a few), fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment as well during the course of the evening. The party and presentation itself are both referred to as a "roast." The host of the event is called the "roast-master (Karan Johar in this case)". In a nutshell, anyone who is honored in such a way is said to have been "roasted."

Quite naturally, the language that was used in the AIB roast session wasn't holy and that coming from the A grade Bollywood celebs made it all the more jazzy. And when the leading ladies of the Bollywood sitting on the first row laugh out loud on these rather un-parliamentary jokes it becomes all the more eye catching. And as the videos went viral in the social media the usual miscreants popped up with vengeance to set the gravely disturbed moral orders right. Now, it is a hugely debatable issue that whether the show and the team of AIB should be banned and prosecuted in the court of law, as on one hand there is certainly a level of vulgarity attached with the content on display but then there is something known as freedom of expression and speech as well that people have every right to exercise. So who decides this thin line which acts as a balance between these two contrasting facets?

Will it be the Shiv Sena’s and BJP’s of the world, who any which way make an appearance on the Valentines and the Friendship Days of the year to safe guard the supposedly deteriorating Indian cultural values, acting as the self-anointed moral police of the nation. Or will it be the part time intellectual professors like Aamir Khan who profess being sensitive and respectful towards the society and refrain from such vulgarity. It can’t be the former as they are no more a maverick political outfit who can  indulge in such acts of hooliganism and forcefully shut things up at their own discretion, they are the ruling party at center and should act more responsibly and sensibly in dealing with such situations to cater to the interests of all the groups involved. And it can’t be the latter too as his work pieces like Ghajini, Delhi Belly etc. won’t pass his own professed vulgarity test, so it would be rather prudent for him to stay away from giving such hypocritical sermons. In fact, it would be best if we let our honorable court of law to decide what should be the permissible limit for freedom of expression and speech, keeping in mind the best interests of the society and these artists as well.

However, everyone is entitled to have an opinion, be it in favor, be it in against. I for that matter didn't enjoy the show at all, not because I am against the usage of such language or found the show too vulgar but just because I didn't find it funny enough. I would rather prefer watching movies in the genre of Gangs of Wasseypur and Satya to enjoy such crude language and humor associated with it. But that doesn't mean that I advocate a ban on such shows or groups, it’s an evolving art in our country and shouldn't be treated with a sense of unjust paranoia. And for the purists who are too concerned about such acts maligning our rich cultural heritage and ethos,  they should rather worry about the other far more vulgar and obscene videos more easily available for consumption by the masses in the social media.

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