AIB Knockout: Objectionable or not

According to a report in Apunkachoice.com, The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection to Deepika and restrained the Mumbai police from arresting her till March 16 in the AIB Roast obscenity case. The order was passed on a petition Deepika Padukone had filed seeking to quash the FIR registered against her. The court granted Deepika protection till March 16 when her plea would come up for hearing. Deepika’s lawyer argued that the actress was merely a spectator at the AIB Knockout show that had Karan Johar ‘roasting’ Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor.

Read on to know why AIB had to cancel their tour...

According to a report on Mid-day.com, AIB has cancelled its upcoming live tour, Stage Forty-Twoo which was scheduled to kick off in Pune on March 7, 2015. But the group decided to cancel it due to the controversies surrounding the AIB Roast which took place last month. The report further stated that AIB, post the AIB Roast starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Karan Johar, had decided to cancel the tour in a statement that they released, as the Roast drew a lot of flak and the AIB team was busy dealing with it. Not only that, they also stated that they would refund the tickets within seven days and that their next videos would be up soon.Further to the report on Mid-day.com, AIB also thanked everyone for their support and said that they would be back on stage soon with the hope of making the audience happier than before.

While the AIB Roast has been in the news of late, read on to know why it offended the Christian groups who intend to pursue the FIR they filed against AIB.

According to a report on Indianexpress.com, Christian groups met Bishop Agnelo Gracias to make it clear that they intended to pursue the FIR filed against the AIB, despite an apology issued by them. The Christian groups allege that the AIB Knockout show insulted Jesus Christ and painted Catholic priests in a poor light, the report stated. Quoting Fr Barrett, who was a part of the delegation, the report stated that the community is hurt by Bollywood’s repeated wrong, distasteful depiction of the community and its faith. Instead of complaining each time and protesting, the community wants to pre-empt the situation, the report quoted Fr Barrett. On the other hand, popular VJ Jose Covaco issued an open letter in response to AIB's unconditional apology to the Christian community. Jose, as a Christian and Indian, stood up for AIB stating that no matter how much displeasure was caused by the jokes, an apology wasn't really required. In his open letter, Jose wrote, “A couple of jokes, no matter how offensive, do nothing to diminish our faith and really should not affect us in any way. Even a million jokes can't do that.”

Read on to know what Aamir Khan had to say to Karan Johar after knowing about his participation in the AIB Knockout Roast...

Amid all the hullabaloo over the AIB controversy, Bollywood biggies Aamir Khan and Karan Johar seem to have locked horns over the issue. After Aamir Khan expressed his protest against the Roast and the participation of Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in the not so decent jokes, Karan Johar took to Twitter to speak up in his defence. The filmmaker tweeted, “Silence can mean several things...strength...weakness and indifference...to me it always signifies dignity...which is above everything else!”As the AIB Roast fire is yet to die down, check out who supported and who lambasted the B-town trio.

Seems like the AIB Roast that stirred a national debate, refuses to die down. The controversy that dragged Bollywood young guns Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and director Karan Johar for participating in the AIB Roast, has made headlines once again. The National Sports Club of India (NSCI), in Mumbai, seems to have angered the BJP who have in turn asked the BMC to cancel the lease deed of the club on whose grounds the event was staged, as per a report on Deccanchronicle.com. Further to reports on Deccanchronicle.com, BJP secretary Vivekanand Gupta wrote a letter to the civic chief, asking the BMC to cancel the lease stating that it violated the lease, wherein the grounds were meant to be used for the public and not for staging offensive shows. The club also received flak for hosting the show at its Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Mumbai.Civic chief Sitaram Kunte admitted to having received a letter from the BMC complaining about the same, and stated that they would ask the municipal authorities and then take a decision, as mentioned on Deccanchornicle.com.
While this has been the topic of discussion for a while now, we look at whether the AIB Roast is objectionable or not and what people have to say regarding it.

According to a report in Mid- Day, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has asked Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, who participated in the AIB Roast, to tender a public apology for the 'vulgar' act as the Federation has stated that the show was a "travesty of basic human decency in the name of art and a blot on the culture and tradition that we need to safeguard.” The letter reads, "It is unfortunate that young impressionable minds are being exposed to vulgarity being displayed by people who claim to be youth icons… They should tender an unconditional apology to entire industry and the people of India and promise never to repeat (such an act) which amounts to cultural terrorism." Kamlesh Pandey, president of the FWICE, said in the report that he is personally not against any kind of moral policing or censorship because it would imply that the creators were neither mature enough nor had a sense of responsibility to decide what was right and wrong for public consumption. But if a member of any association is found doing something which is not conducive to the image and the health of the film and entertainment industry, the FWICE is expected to take notice of this.

According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Karan who is generally seen enjoying the company of young actors of Bollywood was apparently given an earful from his older friends in the industry for his participation in the controversial AIB Roast. The Mumbai Mirror report stated that Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have criticised Karan for participating in the act, especially when his mother was sitting in the front row, the entire time. However, a source from the SRK camp informed us that this is not true at all. After shooting for the show, Karan Johar had confided in his close aides that his mother did not mind the jokes, rather she had a good time, stated the Mirror report.

Read on to know how others reacted to the controversial 'Roast'...

According to a report in Pinkvilla.com, the latest to join the bandwagon of supporting AIB Knockout is the Amul girl who has extended her support to the campaign in her own unique way. The dairy brand has released an animated version of the AIB ‘roast’ with the caption ‘Yeh roasti hum nahin todenge!’, a take on the Sholay song, ‘Yeh dosti hum nahin todenge.’ The picture depicts a scene from the roast featuring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Karan Johar, while the Amul girl peeps from behind. It also reads '‘AIB: All-India-Butter’. ‘Yeh roasti hum nahin todenge!' Now, that's a very innovative style to support the AIB Knockout, isn't it?

After the All India Bakchod team issued a letter explaining their point-of-view, internet parallel, The Viral Fever (TVF) has also issued a video message in support of the roast.Citing an example, one of the members of the TVF team, explains that if she is a vegetarian, she wouldn't expect sea food to be taken off the menu of a restaurant she is visiting. She would just opt not to order that as she is allergic to it. The TVF community are talking about the bigger picture in their video, where they claim that the reaction to the 'roast' is a scary one. They insist that if the same continues, there will be no freedom of speech on the internet medium and that would mean that they would have to think within the confines of what is permissible. Arguing that such moral policing will only lead to the death of creativity, the TVF supports AIB in its approach to the video that has enough disclaimers to warn people of the content. The TVF team also rightly points out that any religion or culture too big to be brought down by a couple of jokes.

TVF has taken it as an attack on the entire internet community and repeatedly urges anyone who is an internet user to stand up in support of the video. TVF would be happy to know that filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma supports the AIB roast just like them. Here's what he had to say...

According to a report on IANS, the latest celebrity to support the AIB Knockout is Ram Gopal Varma. RGV has always had a bitter-sweet relationship with Karan Johar, taking digs at his films on social networking platforms. So, it came as a shock when RGV decided to tweet in favour of Karan. The filmmaker posted a series of tweets that read, "The AIB show is final proof that India has finally come of age and I truly appreciate Karan for taking the plunge or more correctly the leap. Anyone who condemns Karan's AIB Show whether from government or various organisations are just the figureheads of repressive regressions. The sheer popularity of the AIB also shud b a call to the censor board to wake up smell the coffee nd look out the window at a new India. Karan took the lid off a volcano of lies nd hypocrisies and history will remember him as the guy who invented a new India."

While RGV supports the concept of a 'roast,' Farida Jalal has not particularly liked it. Here's why...

According to a Mid-day report, the latest one to take offence to the AIB roast is Farida Jalal whose name was used in one of the jokes of the show. During his act, comedian Ashish Shakya had joked, "You know Karan, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' is Ranveer's favourite film. Even now when he watches the movie, he has to reach for tissues because he is the only guy who can jerk off to Farida Jalal." The report quotes the veteran actress as saying that she had watched a bit of the show and couldn't watch it further due to the content. She confessed that she didn't know about the joke cracked at her expense but when informed about the same, she was quoted as saying that it was quite embarrassing for her. She also admitted to the fact that AIB had not sought her consent on the issue.

While, veteran actress, Farida Jalal hasn't taken to any social networking site to express her opinions on the roast, there are many others who have. Here's what they had to say...

The AIB Roast with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Singh can easily be declared a hit what with the number of viewers it has managed to garner online. However, not everyone is happy with the content of the show. Certain groups have filed a police complaint regarding the show post which the government ordered a probe into the issue and the Maharashtra CM too promised to take action if the content was found vulgar. The AIB team then had to pull down the videos from Youtube. The celebrities associated with the show have taken to Twitter to express their ire over the questions being raised about their presence in the show. Here's what they had to say...

Sonakshi Sinha @sonakshisinha
"So nice to see twitter is filled with such angels who point out hypocrisy n never use foul language n have nvr laughed at dirty jokes (haw)"

Karan Johar @karanjohar
"Not your cup of tea...don't drink it!!!"

Alia Bhatt ‏@aliaa08
"Some "not taking life so seriously" lessons are needed. DESPERATELY!!!!"

Despite the warning at the beginning of the video that alerted viewers of the objectionable content of the video, Twitter is abuzz with tweets that are terming the video to be a matter of national shame. On the other hand, there is also a strong group that is standing strong in support of the video and defending everyone involved with it. Both the hashtags - 'AIB National shame' and 'We stand by AIB Knockout' are trending on Twitter. The micro-blogging site is divided on the issue, with supporters and haters indulging in a battle of words. Here's an account of what they have to say.

Tweets against the AIB Knockout

Robert Rabbit ‏@GaltiSe_Mistake "Every Indian must have joked on Arpita Khan privately and now abusing others. Hypocrites and Spineless People AIB National Shame"

SuRyaKanta ‏@iamsks_surya "sonakshi & deepika r enjoying on vulgar jokes on women at #AIB National Shame. Every time they are telling respect women."

BajrangiAasif ‏@AasifOO7 "charity k naam pe kal p*rn show bhi accept karoge ? so called paid suppotr of cheap show. AIB National Shame"

Sunil panigrahi ‏@Iamsunil2 "@AnushkaSharma Agar Film Release Hone Wali H To in Stars K Women Respect ki yaad aati Baki Time Women Respect gai bhad me AIB National Shame"

Tweets against the AIB Knockout

Tauseef khan ‏@TheTauseefKhan "Utna hi karo jitna khud jhel sako - wise words by the wisest man SALMAN KHAN AIB National Shame"

Shahid Hasnain ‏@shahidHasnain "If some body asked women to produce 4 children and one talked about awarding those who have 7-8 children is not shame,but AIB National Shame"

JaiminiBhattacharyya ‏@Jaimini_8k "a bunch of jerks having some shitting views on opening up society does not imply the whole nation having same views "AIB National Shame"

Anshul Saxena ‏@AskAnshul "Once Sonakshi Sinha argue with KRK on vulgar jokes n was talking abt Women respect but now she loves maa-behan #AIBRoast AIB National Shame"

Tweets against the AIB Knockout

Sir Ravindra Jadeja ‏@SirJadeja
"#AIBRoast proved that Deepika's Cleavage Controversy and Sonakshi's KRK Controversy was Totally Publicity Stunt. AIB National Shame"

Anshul Saxena ‏@AskAnshul
"AIB National Shame : Shame on those celebs too who praised this show on twitter, and they talk about women empowerment, Pathetic #AIBRoast"

Anshul Saxena ‏@AskAnshul
"Few months ago,Deepika was shouting for women respect when TOI posted her cleavage n now she loves maa-behan #AIBRoast AIB National Shame"

@athar$ayyed ‏@atharalisayyed
"karanjohar talk about respect yourfamily &women in films he is having laugh on vulgar jokes on women In front of his mom #AIB National Shame"

Tweets against the AIB Knockout

Biswatosh Sinha ‏@biswatosh
"Seriously, it's not cool. They called themselves they represent youth, Indian youth is much more educated then them. AIB National Shame"

Zara_Ali ‏@4HappyEverAfter
"#AIB National Shame is not freedom of expression or media ! It is an expression of perverted depraved minds that endanger social norms!"

sabina lamba ‏@SabinaLamba
"Sec294 IPC-any1 sings,recites or utters obscene words,in/near public place,shall b punished wid imprisonment,fine,or both AIB National Shame"

पंजाबी मुंडा - रोहित ‏@iBeingSalmaniac
"Yes finally SalmanKhan got 2 know abt what D stupid tanmay elephant did nd Salman u did awsm by making a call to him AIB National Shame"

Tweets in support of the AIB Knockout

rOn ‏@iRonakGupta
"Everyone enjoyed the #AIBRoast until govt filed a case against it..n now people are like AIB National Shame!! We Stand By AIB Knockout!!"

DimpleBoy..:p ‏@sid_shubham
"We Stand By AIB knockout , saala ek ghnta video enjoy krne k baad kehte h, vulgar h, AIB National Shame h itni hi prblm h to mt dekho BC"

Amit Srivatsa ‏@amit_srivatsa
"AIB National Shame. Because our country and culture are so pure. And the 120 crore people here? Yeah, they were born by photosynthesis. Duh!"

Amit Srivatsa ‏@amit_srivatsa
"AIB National Shame. Because rapes, infanticides, political murders and corruption aren't our country's real problems. Lewd jokes are."

Tweets in support of the AIB Knockout

Beersome ‏@piyakkad_banda
"No one cares if ppl pass comment on ayesha takiya, but how dare you make fun of bhais family. AIB NATIONAL SHAME"

Arpan ‏@GoodOldBoots
"The people who are calling AIB National Shame should stick to Comedy Nights with Kapil. We Stand By AIB Knockout."

Sir Chetan Bhagat ‏@chetan_bhaqat
"AIB National Shame as women as not expected to enjoy vulgar jokes, rather they need to stay home and produce four #AIBRoast"

Santoesha Bissesar ‏@MsSantoesha
"India is trending AIB national shame.Yes,the same Indians who watched Grand Masti again & again and made it a superhit. @AllIndiaBakchod"

Tweets in support of the AIB Knockout

वंशिका सनसनिवाल‏@Vanshika_Sanwal "we stand by aib knockout the vid started wid a disclaimer nd if u r going to ban this plz ban all college hostels as they use filthier lng"

michelle pereira ‏@michellep77
"We stand by AIB knockout. It is on YouTube and not being telecast! Indians need a choice of content without narrow minded ones filing FIRs"

Shanti's Om ‏@DeepikasRomeo
"This is the reason why Deepika is raising awareness for mental health :P We Stand By AIB Knockout #IStandByRanJun"

ArjunKapoorFC ‏@ArjunKapoorFC
"We Stand by AIB Knockout. If u didn't enjoy it or laugh ur guts out, u r welcome to close the screen. Isn't that amazing?"

Tweets in support of the AIB Knockout

Ranveers sweeta ‏@versatilefan
"Well this proves that the govt can not take a joke�� it rather makes a joke out of itself . We Stand By AIB Knockout"

VISHAKHA (Tevarjun) ‏@arjunish
"The haters who found it ‘offensive,’ didn’t really get the basic point of it in my opinion. We Stand By AIB Knockout"

Thingummy. ‏@Meem_Hye
"Irony? People protesting against AIB are the same people who were preaching Freedom Of Speech some weeks before. We Stand By AIB Knockout."

Swayamsiddha ‏@swayamsiddha_
"#AIBRoast ws nt shown on national television bt free internet wer u can willfully choose nt 2 see nd get offended We Stand By AIB Knockout"

tushar ‏@tushar_rd
"We Stand By AIB Knockout @AllIndiaBakchod great job guys.. better than what government is doing against you..."

Let's take a look at the highlights of the controversial Roast that was aired on Youtube in three parts...

Disclaimer: All tweets have been sourced from Twitter and written as is.