- Madhur Virli's 2024 set mocked rape victims with insensitive and sexist remarks
- Madhur Virli is a Delhi-based comedian known for dark humour and storytelling
- Following backlash, Madhur Virli deactivated Instagram and issued no public apology
The past few days have not fared well for comedians, and the credit goes to them and their insensitive, misogynist, and sexist writing. First, Pranit More's crowd work clips, with an audience member equating a woman's dignity to Rs 370 chicken biryani, went viral, and now, Madhur Virli's old set from 2024, in which he made crass remarks on heinous crimes like rape, has been circulating on social media.
The backlash is justified, and according to social media users, people are not enraged enough. In both videos, when men were speaking about or referring to women while making callous remarks, the audience laughed, exposing that many people share a similar mindset.
While Pranit More's crowd work videos, featuring Himanshu Jangra and Dr Sejal Pawar, are recent, Madhur Virli's video is from a 2024 show titled 'Love & Latex'. If your day does not get over without hours of doomscrolling, you must have come across his set in which he appears to mock rape victims and survivors, but more on that later.
Who Is Madhur Virli
Madhur Virli is a Delhi-based comedian known for his dark humour, sharp writing, and relatable storytelling. His special 'IIT Dream' is among his most widely-appreciated sets, which resonated with professionals and students.
After graduating from IIT Delhi, he followed a conventional career before his early break in 2018 when he won the stand-up category at the Inter-IIT Cultural Meet. It helped him earn recognition in the comedy community.
He has performed specials for YouTube and live shows across Indian cities. He also shared clips on social media and rose to fame. His observations on mental health, relationships, and student life, rooted in a middle-class upbringing, helped him build a strong connection with urban youth.
Madhur Virli And Rape 'Joke' Controversy
In the video making rounds on the Internet, Madhur Virli joked about rape and made fun of survivors and victims. At one point, he said that out of 10 rape cases, nine involve only rape, while one case might be rape followed by murder.
Further explaining his stance, he said that after a man has raped a woman, she might ask him to "cuddle", which he suggested could prompt him to stab her with a knife. "Now cuddle with knife," he said, and the audience burst into laughter.
He also said, "Rape victims say that we would have preferred death over this. But kabhi bhi kisi laash ne nahin bola ki rape he ho jata [No dead body has ever said that rape might have been better].", after which the audience laughed again.
But neither of his statements was a joke. He might have thought of them as parts of edgy comedy and dark humour, but they were insensitive remarks.
He made these statements about a heinous crime which affects thousands of women in India and millions globally. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's Crime in India 2021 report, 20,046 rapes were reported in 2020. This translates to 86 rape cases lodged every day in the country.
Of all the subjects, Madhur Virli picked rape for his set. Amid the 'Rs 370 Biryani' row, the comedian's old video drew backlash. A social media user shared the clip and wrote, "If this is your idea of a joke, what exactly are you bringing to the stage? Because this isn't clever, it's not layered, it's not even remotely intelligent."
"It's just you picking something disturbing, throwing it out there, and trusting that people are numb enough to laugh. That's not skill. That's not bravery. That's just you getting a reaction out of something you didn't even earn. And the audience laughing at this? That's the real problem," she added.
Another said, "This isn't dark humour, this isn't edgy comedy, this is just harmful. When 'jokes' like these normalise putting down certain groups of people, it does something to society that we don't even realise in the moment, and the scary part? People are laughing."
But the positive takeaway is that more and more people are raising their voices against not-so-funny but deeply insensitive sets.
Following the backlash, Madhur Virli has deactivated his Instagram account and has not publicly reacted to the controversy. He has issued no statement, no apology, and no clarification. He has remained out of the public eye since.
After Pranit More's clip, Madhur's video came into the limelight as part of a larger scrutiny of Indian comedians and what they consider funny. From now on, comedians will likely think twice before portraying harassment, misogyny, and insensitivity as funny, edgy, or dark humour.
Also Read | 'Rs 370 Biryani' And Dead People: When Does Comedy Stop Being Funny?
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