Mumbai: The Habitat Studio in Mumbai’s Khar, vandalised by Shiv Sena workers on Sunday night, has decided to shut down, at least for the time being.
The management, in an Instagram post shared: “We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us. Artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices. We have never been involved in the content performed by any Artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer. We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy.”
The Studio that also goes by the name Habitat Comedy Club was vandalised after stand up comedian Kunal Kamra comments against Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde at a show there. In that show, Kamra had called Shinde a ‘gaddar’ (traitor). An FIR has now been registered against him by a Shiv Sena leader under several sections of the BNS.
The police have also booked Shiv Sena leaders and workers for vandalising the Club. The hotel, in which this club is located, has also been vandalised.
In the show, Kamra sang his own version of a popular song from the film ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’. Without naming Shinde, the comedian referred to an auto-rickshaw driver, with glasses and a beard, who first caused a rift between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, and then split the Shiv Sena itself before joining hands with the BJP again.
He also had his own take on the split in the NCP and how confusion was created in the minds of the common voter by giving him a choice of nine buttons to press. Kamra also criticised Shinde for usurping the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray.
“Imagine calling Sachin Tendulkar’s son for a meeting and then telling him: “Sachin Tendulkar is my father from now on. Go and look for another father.” That is what happened in this case,” Kamra said, sending the audience into splits.
The Shiv Sainiks weren’t laughing though. Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske called Kamra a ‘contract’ comedian and warned that he would be chased around the country by his party workers, till he finally leaves India.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray stood firmly by Kamra though. In an ‘X’ post, he taunted Shinde by referring to him a ‘Mindhe’, a Marathi word meaning subservient. He also branded the people who vandalised the property as cowards and claimed that what Kamra had said was 100% correct.
