Stand-up comedian Varun Grover is being criticised on social media for one of his jokes on actress Ayesha Takia. A short clip from a show is being circulated on social media that shows Varun making a sexist and vulgar comment on Ayesha's private parts. The comment was made while Varun was making a joke on Amitabh Bachchan being a part of almost every project in India.
"He is like everywhere. He is like aise nikal rahe hai, itne zyada nikal rahe hai jaise Ayesha Takia ke boobs," Varun said on the show. While the clip is now being shared on social media, the remark was actually made during a show in 2012.
Film-maker Ashoke Pandit apparently first shared the clip on Twitter. He also tagged actresses Shabana Azmi, Richa Chadha, Swara Bhasker and Nandita Das and criticised them for being silent.
"Silence of @AzmiShabana ji @RichaChadha @ReallySwara @nanditadas on this misogynistic statement by @varungrover Where he literally abuses & molests @Ayeshatakia is sad. I appeal to all those who respect d dignity and respect of women to name and shame this so called comedian [sic]," he tweeted.
Actor Anup Soni too reacted to this video, and tweeted, "@varungrover this is a bad one...Really bad one...This is not comedy."
Silence of @AzmiShabana ji @RichaChadha @ReallySwara @nanditadas on this misogynistic statement by @varungrover Where he literally abuses & molests @Ayeshatakia is sad. I appeal to all those who respect d dignity and respect of women to name and shame this so called comedian. pic.twitter.com/MsdThLMKH4
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) April 24, 2019
@Ayeshatakia I have been ur fan since Tarzan ☺️ & you’re really beautiful. Make sure you take action against @varungrover I am ashamed of his statement. #ShameVarunGrover https://t.co/nlwUEt4zIB
— Chowkidar Surbhi Srivastava (@SurbhiRsv) April 24, 2019
Not expected from @varungrover . https://t.co/3GH6r1BLkE
— Vaibhav Palaye (@VaibhavPalaye) April 24, 2019
For the cheap standup comedians like @varungrover and his ilk comedy means Boobs,Pussy,dick and balls. They can't think beyond this. Perverts masquerading as Standup comedians and dishing out porn as Comedy. https://t.co/gn5XIDpBLy
— Chowkidaar Arun ?? (@ArunMahakaliBJP) April 24, 2019
While Varun is being vehemently lambasted for his seven-year-old comment on Ayesha, Richa counter-attacked Ashoke by tweeting, "Sir,for you and for all those waiting to attack me again,I'd just like to say so much goes on in our country on a daily basis,(crime or otherwise), that for me to outrage at the speed with which you expect, I'd have to leave my day job as an actor and sit on Twitter all day." Meanwhile, no response from Ayesha or Varun has come yet on this issue.