- Comedians Kenny Sebastian, Raunaq Rajani, and Shreya Priyam Roy discussed the Rs 370 biryani controversy
- The controversy involved a joke normalising misogyny in Pranit More's live comedy show
- Shreya Priyam Roy highlighted that audiences encourage the creation of misogynistic content
Comedians Kenny Sebastian, Raunaq Rajani and Shreya Priyam Roy, along with Warren Viegas, CEO of LVC Comedy, joined NDTV Yuva 2026 for a session titled 'Gustakhi Maaf'.
During the conversation, the comedians discussed the Rs 370 biryani controversy involving stand-up comedian Pranit More's show and the larger debate around misogyny in comedy.
The controversy erupted after a viral crowd-work clip from Pranit More's live show featured an audience member claiming that spending Rs 370 on chicken biryani during a date entitled him to physical intimacy. The clip sparked criticism online, with many questioning the normalisation of such jokes.
During the NDTV Yuva session, the host said it was surprising that a young man in 2026 could make such a joke and consider it funny. Shreya Priyam Roy said the large audience for misogynistic content was one of the reasons such material continued to be created.
"India has a lot of people, and it's natural for us to have a lot of misogynistic people. So even if someone is creating misogynistic content there, there are so many lakhs of people who are ready to consume it and enjoy it, and that's the reason these guys are also going into it again and again. But it's good that these people are getting called out time and again," she said.
Raunaq Rajani pointed out that while people may make such jokes privately, the situation changes when someone with a public platform says them.
"Our dads probably make these jokes in the privacy of their family get-togethers, but someone with a voice, with an influence on young minds, is going out and normalising something like this. That was a little shocking," he said.
Kenny Sebastian, meanwhile, said the conversation should not only focus on comedians but also on the audience that encourages such content. He also questioned why similar scrutiny is not always applied to people in positions of power.
"We are ignoring the audience that also encourages it. When you see the joke, there are people laughing in the room, people are buying tickets for this, and we are only talking about comedians. We're not even talking about people in big, powerful positions who are also misogynistic, but they are not on camera. People who even make laws for us are pretty misogynistic," Kenny said.
He further said that the behaviour of people who make decisions that directly affect citizens should also be part of the conversation around misogyny.
"I think in a world where comedians being misogynistic is okay versus lawmakers being misogynistic, who actually affect our lives, being misogynistic is a bigger problem. So I keep saying, like, people have asked me countless times about where the line is with comedy, and I think people running our country are saying far worse things," he added.
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