NCW rejects apology of comedian Pranit More in 'Rs 370 Biryani’ controversy

Comedian Pranit More appeared before the NCW on Tuesday in relation to the Rs 370 Biryani case. NCW had summoned Pranit as well as Himanshu Jangra for questioning. Both appeared at the NCW office on Tuesday. The comedian maintained a low profile and did not interact with the press present outside.

Pranit sparked controversy earlier this month for sharing a moment from his crowd work shows where an audience member, Himanshu Jangra, made insensitive comments about women in his show.

The 23-year-old man said he went on a date with a woman, spent Rs 370 for a plate of chicken biryani, and therefore deserved a “return” on his investment. The video went viral and sparked major online backlash.

Both Pranit and Himanshu later apologised, and the video was deleted from the comedian’s social media accounts.

Pranit, in his initial apology, wrote ‘comments made by the audience member do not reflect my views’. The National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance of the comment that was made.

Pranit appears before NCW

Pranit and Himanshu Jangra appeared before the NCW on Tuesday. Pranit wore a mask as he made his way towards the NCW office. While media persons present outside tried to interact with the comedian, Pranit did not say a word. He walked ahead and went inside the premises.

The commission had scheduled a hearing in the case on June 22 at 4 PM. In a press note, the women’s council expressed serious concern about the jokes being made, which trivialised the conduct and presented it as entertainment. According to PTI, NCW rejected their apology. During the proceedings, chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar expressed profound anguish and concern over such demeaning content being promoted and normalised in the name of comedy.

She firmly reiterated that while the commission supports creative freedom, freedom of speech does not extend to normalising the violation of women's bodily autonomy or converting heinous crimes such as rape and murder into material for entertainment.

Comedian Madhur Virli also appeared separately over alleged derogatory remarks against women made during a stand-up performance. He also wore a face mask and walked out of the premises without offering any comment on the matter.

About the ‘Rs 370 biryani’ controversy

In the now deleted video posted by Pranit, Himanshu gave details about his date and claimed he paid Rs 370 for a plate of biryani and thus wanted a return of ‘investment’ and get physical in return. Himanshu then gave graphic details of his intimate moments, even as Pranit laughed along and called it ‘peak Gurgaon content’. After facing severe backlash over the video, Pranit apologised.

Read: Pranit More Rs 370 Biryani row: Man behind the viral remark breaks silence

“I’ve seen the criticism regarding a recent crowdwork clip. The comments made by the audience member do not reflect my views. Looking back, I should have challenged the remark instead of laughing and moving on,” read a portion of Pranit’s statement.