Habitat Studio Where Kunal Kamra Performed Shuts Down Temporarily Amid Controversy

Kunal Kamra Controversy: Habitat Studio, where the comedian performed recently, announced on Monday, March 24, that it would be temporarily shutting down till they figure out the "best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy". This came after the studio was vandelised by the Shiv Sena workers in responce to Kamra's jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde .

The Habitat temporarily shuts down after Kunal Kamra controversy

The studio took to its official Instagram handle to announce their decision. In a lengthy statement, they shared being "extremely broken" by the recent events of vandalism. "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," the post continued.

Also Read: Comedian Kunal Kamra Booked for Defamatory Remarks Against Eknath Shinde

They have invited all artists, audiences and stakeholders to discuss and share their views and requested their guidance to respect the performer's rights. "The Habitat has always been a neutral platform for all kinds of artists to share their work in any language - for anything that requires a stage our doors remain open. Just providing a stage helps to encourage people in discovering their creativity, build their talent and sometimes find a new career," the statement further reads.

The statement concludes by saying, "Violence and destruction undermine the very spirit of art and dialogue.

For the unversed, the show was recorded in the same studio as Samay Raina's India's Got Latent, which sparked nationwide outrage last month for lewd comments made by a panellist, Ranveer Allahbadia, during one of the episodes.

What did Kunal Kamra say about Eknath Shinde during the stand-up show Naya Bharat?

In a recent show, Naya Bharat, released on social media, Kunal discussed Maharastra politics. During his stand-u,p he took a jibe at Shinde for switching sides and labelled him a "traitor". “Meri nazar se tum dekho to gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye!" was a line from his act. He was seemingly referring to the split of the Shiv Sena faction into two - the Shinde faction and the Uddhav Thackeray faction.

On Monday, March 24, Mumbai Police lodged an FIR against Kunal Kamra for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Shinde during a show, an official said. The complaint was registered under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) actions, including 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation), an official from MIDC police station said.

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